For the Campus Colt cross country team, whenever junior Brody Bloom has a good day, so does the rest of the team. 

“Brody is crucial to our success,” head coach Cooper Clark said. “His impact is felt outside of meets as well. He is a leader on our team, and many of our younger runners look up to him due to his experience and past successes.”

The junior has been running cross country for the past five years and describes himself as a forefoot runner who gets out fast and stays within striking distance of the lead runners. 

Bloom and Clark have been around each other since middle school, leading to them being on the same page often. 

“I’ve coached Brody since his middle school basketball days,” Clark said. “Even then, I knew he was going to be a great runner someday, not because of his speed necessarily, but because of his coachability and his toughness.” 

With some offseason struggles and a life-changing event, the junior has had to really build back his training slowly but surely so he can be ready for the track season and next year’s cross country season. With all of his running history with coach Clark, despite coming into the season a little shaky Clark isn’t worried. 

“As he’s gotten older, Brody hasn’t lost an ounce of that fire,” Clark said. “He always assumes he’s the fastest guy in the room. With that confidence and his work ethic, I know he will continue to be successful in high school and beyond. He believes it. He makes us believe it.”