Not everyone is trying to break the four minute barrier in the mile; some guys are just trying to break five or even six minutes. That was the case for Glen Allen's Grant Schowalter and he is anecdotally the reason Glen Allen doesn't make cuts to their team as well.
This 2017 graduate entered high school and running was not his strong suit. His teammates made it very clear, though, that he took it seriously and worked very hard. That hard work is super evident looking back now. His teammates were also quick to note at how inspiring his improvements were to them.
"Grant's story will be the #1 reason I will not cut athletes. He has grown so much as a person through his experience on the team that I would never want to take that away from anyone just because they were not initially "good." I love sharing his stories with others, to show them just because you're new to running or not "good" compared to others does not mean you can't accomplish a lot -- with a lot of determination and hard work, who knows what each and every runner can accomplish." - Coach Jenn Ennis
Grant went from running 35:18 in his first 5K to running a 5:00.18 1600m in his final high school race. That progression included running his final XC race on varsity to help Glen Allen win the 5A South Regional title. That progression didn't come overnight, either. It took years of hard work. And it saw his 5K time cut nearly in half to a solid 18:40.
"He worked his butt off. There were no excuses -- every bad workout, poor race, relapse in training, he said he had to learn from it." - Coach Ennis
