Running home

One of the athletes I’m hoping to meet at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland is Jacob Swearingen, a senior at Potosi High in Missouri. After winning his second state class 3 title, Swearingen placed 2nd in the Midwest Regional in Terre Haute and was the first individual qualifier for Portland.
-(Marc Bloom, The Harrier)

I first took note of Swearingen in 2006, when Potosi had a great team led by a pair of All-Americans and made the nationals. In Portland, one of Potosi’s top two got sick and was hospitalized. He still competed but was not himself. Potosi needed someone to step up for key points. Swearingen, then a sophomore, stepped up. He placed 17th, the first soph in the field, and Potosi was 8th in the team standings, only 4 points out of 5th.

In the last two years, as Swearingen continued improving and winning races, I would recall his extraordinary effort in Portland. But I never gave him much thought; as a team, Potosi has lost some ground, at times the coach, Steve Davis,...