Evan Noonan, having entered the world of cross country and track last year, has risen to the top. As a sophomore, Noonan has accomplished what most runners only dream of achieving on the track and trails. He specializes in distance running, and his events are the three mile, 3200 meters, and 1600 meters. His personal records are 14:21, 9:52, and 4:33, respectively.
Noonan decided to start running because of his dad, who was a very successful distance runner himself, and this mixed with his burn-out from soccer inspired him to start running.
Through dedication and work ethic, Noonan has brought himself to this point of success and along the way has discovered what motivates and pushes him to become a better runner. His motivations include “the feeling of crossing the finish line” and seeing “all [his] hard work pay off” along with his strong teammates and coaches helping him along the way. The barrier most runners face, the mental aspect, is Evan’s favorite part of cross country because even though the sport is physically draining, what leads one to success is their mental strength. The mental aspect provides an additional challenge, making it all the more gratifying to see desired results.
In the 2022 cross country season, Evan said the training hours he and his teammates put in starting in the summer greatly prepared him for this season, and that he is very appreciative of the coaching staff that facilitated that. In the first half of the season, Dana Hills Cross Country competed at OC Champs, and at that race Evan was the fastest sophomore and was the second place overall runner by only 0.5 seconds. Later in the season, at League Finals, Evan won the whole race by beating the person who beat him earlier. Promptly following this victory, Evan earned an individual and team award at CIF Southern Section D3 Finals. He placed first individually with a time of 15:03, and the Dana Hills boys and girls varsity teams both won. Evan described the environment following the win as one of excitement and triumph in the air and was so happy to experience this with his teammates. Then, at the California state meet, Evan won the entire boys D3 race. This checked off not only one of Evan’s season goals, but two as this qualified him to compete at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon for California. At NXN, with temperatures near 32 degrees and extreme winds, Noonan ran a 15:47. This amazing performance put Evan as the 46th runner in the nation and the second fastest sophomore in the nation.
Following an impressive cross country season, Evan looks forward to track. He is excited for a chance to show off his individual skills and strength and his goal is to break the nine minute barrier in the two mile.
Author: Tessa Anderson