On Oct. 20 sophomore cross-country runner Brandon Turbush was named D2 Men’s Cross-Country Hero of the Week, for his impressive 8K performance. Turbush finished seventh out of 106 runners with an 8K time of 22:47 at the Western New England Invitational.

In a vote for the award Turbush received 50.06 percent of the vote with a total 409 votes. He finished 45 votes ahead of Frank Durkin of Caldwell who finished with 44.55 percent of the vote.

“Winning Hero of the Week was a huge honor for me. It made me feel all the hard work I had put in this season had paid off. I would like to thank my teammates for motivating me in that race, and for voting for me to be hero of the week as well as my family and friends,” said Turbush.

An award like this doesn’t just go to anyone, it takes hard work, dedication, and motivation in order to get noticed and that hard work begins in the offseason.

“My goals coming into this season were to run hard, be a leader for the freshman, and try to get my 8K under 27 minutes. I reached those goals by focusing more in training, and picking up the intensity. I also held myself to a higher standard, so the freshman would have someone to look up to. Teammates Mike Reddy, Jordan Higgins, and freshman Kyle Andrewson have all pushed me to be the best I can be and helped me attain my goals,” said Turbush.

Cross Country is a sport where one individual might receive an accolade but in the end, it all comes down to the team effort. In the Western New England Invitational, the team finished third out of 14 teams, which has been their best finish thus far.

“I am most happy with our growth as a team. Last year our team was all freshman and we were experiencing everything for the first time together. This year the sophomores grew from these experiences and were able to lead our freshman accordingly. Our team has grown closer overall, we are a family and we race for each other out of the course. I could not be happier with our season,” said Turbush.

On Sunday, Oct. 22 the cross-country team competed in the NE-10 Championships. The team finished 13th, accumulating a total of 387 points. Turbush led the way for the Chargers with an 8K time of 28:04. The Chargers will compete in the NCAA Division II East Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 4.