Matt Wilson
Matt Wilson is a senior at who runs cross country, and his teammates will tell you that he is very devoted and passionate about his running.
All his teammates consider him as one of their coaches because he is so supportive and pushes them when no one else will.
“I definitely look up to Matt Wilson and I think everybody does or should, literally,” said freshman Elijah Lopez.
Lopez said Wilson is a great runner who doesn’t need to work on much, “If you were to ask him what he needs to improve on, he would probably disagree. Matt is always trying to improve his running times.
“My teammates are my biggest supporters,” Wilson said.
Because his teammates support him he feels like it’s his biggest responsibility to give support to them “being encouraging and supportive is the most important thing a teammate can be.” Wilson said.
But lately there has been a major foot fault in Matt’s life.
Matt has not been able to find a track spike that will fit him because his feet are so big. He wears a size 17 in men’s.
“ They’ve even called Nike to personally make the shoes and even they said they would not do it,” said Matt’s coach, Lesley Wilson.
His parents have called several different companies who say they won’t make a size 17 because only a few people in the country wear that size. So Wilson is stuck cramming his feet into a size 15.
Maybe his tennis shoes just make him that much better of a runner. With his long strides and steady pace, he makes running look painless.
“Matt has run in both state cross country and state track meets. He is experienced in both relays and individual events. He is being recruited by some colleges to run.” states coach Lesley Wilson.
As this is Matt’s last year as a runner for paola high school, he is excited about his future.
“I will miss the team aspect of it all,” Wilson says, but he won’t miss the workouts.
Matt started running his sophomore year and had an injury at that same time.
“Well, I did what they told me to, I ate a lot of bananas and protein,” said Wilson.