DISTANCE RUNNERS
OF THE MONTH
September


Brittany Tinsley

Senior at
 Indian Lake High School
 

P.R. 's
Cross Country 16:57
Track 11:02 (3200)
  5:04 (1600)
Favorite Shoe Nike 

College Choice
University of North Carolina St.


 "Tinsley Going for Gold!"

     After standing on the podium in her first appearance at the state cross country meet, Indian Lake’s Brittany Tinsley was challenged by her coach Greg Tuttle.  “He told me I could break 18 minutes by the time I was a senior.  I remember thinking no way, “ said Tinsley. 
     Tinsley has made her coach look like a fortuneteller.  The senior his started her final campaign with two sup 18 performances.  The first coming at the Greenville Invitational in which Tinsley out-distanced a quality division I field recording a, then, personal best 17:48.  A week later Brittany matched her Greenville time at the prestigious Tiffin Distance Carnival.
     Tinsley began running in junior high, following in the footsteps of her older sister Tiffany.  She was an instant success, even winning the league meet as a 7th grader.  Now Tinsley has her sights on an even bigger goal.  Over the past summer Brittany averaged over 50 miles a week.  The added mileage has helped her distance herself from the state’s top DII runners.  “My goal is to win state this year,” said Tinsley.
     Last year Tinsley dominated the Troy Regional and was the favorite to win the state meet.  “I just went out too slow, and I just couldn’t get back into the race,” Tinsley added.  Her third place finish at last year’s state meet marked the third time she’d received All-Ohio honors in Cross Country, a remarkable feet.  She has also earned all-state honors in track in the 1600 and 3200.
     Brittany, ranked 8th in her class, has narrowed her choices of colleges to Belmont (Nashville) University and the University of Kentucky.  She will major in accounting.  Good luck Brittany.


 
 Levi Fox
Senior at
Troy  High School
PR's
Cross Country 15:29
Track 4:16 (1600)   9:18 (3200)
Advice  ”Something inside of me just said, ‘Hey, I want to beat him’ and I just took off.” 
Favorite Shoe Brooks
   

College Choice
Ohio St. University



"Troy's Fox Leads the Pack!"
    Distance running legend Steve Prefontaine was once quoted after a race, ”Something inside of me just said, ‘Hey, I want to beat him’ and I just took off.”  Mr. Prefontaine couldn’t of said it better for Troy’s Levi Fox.  It began at the inaugural Alliance Running Cross Country Invitational.  It was like the NCAA final four.  The area’s top runners duked it out on the grounds of the Miami Valley Career Tech Center.  Springboro’s Chad Balyo, Carroll’s Tom Middleton, Beavercreek’s Nik Schweikert, and Troy’s Levi Fox battled meter for meter during the race.  But it was Fox who simply looked over and thundered through the last 800 en route to an impressive victory.  A week later Levi registered another impressive performance recording a personal best 15:29 at the Pickerington Inv.
     Levi’s journey to the front of pack began during his freshmen year.  “I decided to run Cross Country my freshmen year to get in shape for basketball,” said Fox.  “I started off in the low 20’s and gradually kept getting faster.”  Fortunately, Fox was teamed with running standouts Kyle Hinkleman (Ball St.) and Andy Subler.  “Kyle and Andy really motivated me to get better,” Fox stated.  Levi caped off a remarkable turnaround by posting a 16:57 at the regional meet.
     The following year he gave up basketball and baseball to focus on running.  As a sophomore, Fox finished 25th at the state cross country meet.  In track, he  added a 9:39 (3200) and a 4:24 (1600).  His junior year was even better.  It included a 4th place finish at the state cross country meet and a thrilling come from behind runner-up performance in the 3200 in track, which Levi lists as his best race to date.  “I was in 7th place going into the last lap of the 3200 and ran something like a 63 second last lap to finish second, “Fox recanted. 
     This past summer Levi gradually ramped his weekly mileage up to 65 miles by summer’s end.  His dedication and work ethic has caught the eye of many college coaches.  He is undecided as to where he will continue his running career.  Fox plans to visit several colleges and will make his decision during the spring.  Good luck Levi.