Junior Jonaven Huwiler has been running cross country since his freshman year, following in the footsteps of his older sister, a graduate of La Salle.
Outside of sports, Huwiler enjoys art. Similar to his sister, Huwiler found a passion in photography, an interest that he pursues as a hobby, as there are no photography-specific classes or clubs offered at La Salle. Aside from photography, Huwiler is in Art Foundations, one of his favorite classes because he can let his creativity flow.
Until his freshman year, Huwiler had never run cross country and spent his time in middle school and elementary school playing basketball and football.
Though Huwiler was reluctant to continue with cross country after the end of his freshman year, he was eventually convinced to by his mom and later found his enthusiasm for running.
After participating on junior varsity his freshman and sophomore years, Huwiler now runs on the varsity cross country team. Despite going into cross country not knowing anyone when he began, Huwiler said his team feels like a family.
His main reason for continuing to run is because of the commitment he has to his team. For Huwiler, dedication is the most important quality of his team. “We all have to stay consistent,” he said. “We all push each other to stay dedicated and not miss practices.”
Though he hasn’t had any injuries through his cross country career, Huwiler faces the physical pain and mental strain brought on by the struggle of simultaneously managing his sports and the academic rigor of junior year. However, these struggles only encourage Huwiler to push himself further.
One of Huwiler’s personal goals he has for himself this year is to maintain a 4.0 GPA. His classes that are the most difficult, he said, are AP United States History, AP Pre-Calculus, and Biology.
Huwiler appreciates Mr. Dan Marcantuono, his religion teacher, the most this year because he watches Huwiler run and talks to him about cross country.
Even though Huwiler is taking two AP classes, he has a good balance between school and cross country. Through the hardships of school, Huwiler said one reason he enjoys running is because it can relieve the stress that he feels.
According to Huwlier, his team bonds the most during their practices, the contents of which can vary from a simple workout to runs of between four and 11 miles, all in preparation for meets, which are 3.1 miles, or a 5k.
Between league meets and invitationals, Huwiler explained that he prefers invitationals more, saying, “you get to cheer on your teammates, there’s so many different races, there’s so many more people — it’s like the community is just so much bigger,” Huwiler said. “It’s more exciting in my opinion.”
This cross country season, Huwiler’s goal for himself and his teammates is to make it to the state championship.
