Perseverance and Hard Work for the Win! How Senior Aiden Monaghan Worked Hard and Helped Carry Cross Country to Win District.

In the Track and Field world, one does not simply just run to get better at their events. It requires great physical exertion, and working out the whole body to run faster and better. It demands a high level of physical endurance.

We spoke with Coach Ben Nicholas about the recent Track and Field/Cross Country events for VT, and how one student had several setbacks, and then rose to the challenge and pulled the team through. He very proudly told this story. He mentions the exceptional advancement and excellence of one student, in particular, Aiden Monaghan, who rose to the occasion with great confidence and delivered. 

Ben Nicholas began, “You put in a lot of work into running Track, and you don’t see the results until the very end. There’s no game planning to it, you can’t just adjust the plays. it’s about getting faster and stronger and believing that what you’re doing is working, and believing in your team. We work really hard all year long from Jan – late April. It’s a really big deal to advance from the District-level competition meet. This is the largest number of students we’ve ever had advance to Area-level competition. Especially when you consider the size of our team (15 kids) vs other schools (that have at least 30-60 kids), we really held our own.

This story is about Aiden Monaghan. Aiden is a senior this year, he’s a captain in Cross Country and one of the leaders on our track team. Aiden has put in a lot of work this year. Even going back to the summer, he put in 500 miles this summer which is a lot, more than most students combined. 

He went to Ireland on a school trip, and when he came back, he wasn’t hitting the speeds he was previously, but he kept running and working for the speed he knew he was capable of.

We got all the way to District, and Aiden had a really, really strong day. Unfortunately, he didn’t qualify for the 800 or 1600, his 2 main events (1/2 mile and 1 mile). All year long he has been an alternate for us in the 4×400-meter relay. 

While at the District competition, Aiden has just finished running a mile. He was just racing and had just cranked out a mile. He came over to the sideline, and said “Coach you gotta put me in this” – he had just finished running a mile and he hadn’t done it all year.  With the most incredible confidence I’d ever seen in my life, Aiden came up to me and said “Coach – trust me. I’ve got this – put me in the 4×400”

I wasn’t sure since he’d just run a mile, but he said “I know I didn’t qualify in the 800 or the mile, but I’m GOING to qualify in this.”

So we put Aiden in the 4×400 meter relay – he is very strong and very fast, but he’s never done this in his life. As the race starts, Aiden ran an incredible leg – his 2nd fastest split for our team in that leg. He helped us qualify in the 4×400 meter relay!

He continued to persevere and work hard, throughout all of his career, but especially in this season. He stepped up and came through. Cade Willams, another team captain, was supposed to run in the next 4×400, and Aiden really wanted to run so Cade gave up his spot so that Aiden could run because he wanted it so badly. A lot of trust was built throughout this entire season. Just an incredible story, we are continually celebrating him – I felt like I needed to tell this story.

Aiden is a strong and fast runner, we’re grateful to have him. He just worked so hard, swept in so confidently, and delivered. He put the team on his back and carried us through. So much trust was earned and given this season. I’m really proud of everyone this year.” – Coach Ben Nicholas