Ben Perry enters the cross country season with high expectations for himself and the Derby High School team.
With a strong group of returning runners, Perry believes the Panthers have the potential to surprise opponents and compete for postseason success.
“This season I am most excited about our team,” Perry said. “We have a great returning squad and I believe that we have the potential to do really well and surprise many others.”
Perry has put in significant work during the offseason to prepare for the season. He built his training volume to as many as 65 miles per week while incorporating threshold and longer workouts twice a week.
He plans to maintain that mileage while adding faster workouts as the season progresses.
One of Perry’s primary individual focuses will be improving his top-end leg speed. He hopes that added speed will allow him to close races stronger and faster.
“I want to improve on my top end leg speed, so that I will be able to finish stronger and faster towards the end of races,” Perry said.
Perry enters the season with several ambitious goals. He wants to break his school 5K record of 15:34, win both the league and regional championships, finish in the top three at state and qualify for the Brooks XC National Championship.
As a team, Derby also has high expectations.
“We are aiming to win the league and qualify for state, and place as high as possible in every meet,” Perry said.
Perry has already established himself as one of Derby’s top runners. Last cross country season, he posted a personal-best 15:41 5K and finished second at league and fourth at regionals. During track season, he ran personal bests of 9:43 in the 3,200 meters.
His track season, however, was cut short by an injury after he competed in just three meets. After recovering, Perry is ready to return to competition and make the most of his opportunity.
“Thankfully I have been able to recover well from it and I’m ready to have a great comeback season,” Perry said.
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