Two years ago Jason Weller was cut from the Boyertown High boys soccer team.
But that hasn't really been a bad thing because Weller, now a senior, has found his niche in distance running. He finished 11th in the 3A boys state championship that year. Things have gotten better since.
PIAA States, 2005
"Last year he was feeling out where he was," said Boyertown coach Ron Hofmanner."
Figuring things out resulted in a fourth place finish at last fall's state meet. And if Saturday's Centaur Invitational at DeSales University is any indication, this will be a huge fall for Weller.
After finishing fourth last year, he just missed a sub-16 over the hilly 3.1-mile course by running 16:04.5. In the process he held a 30-second lead over defending race and 2A state champ Isaac Dunkelberger of Tamaqua.
"My goal was to win this year," Weller said on Saturday. "I wanted to make it a pure guts race, a Pre-style race."
Although he only has two years experience running, Weller was able to execute the kind of race the late Olympian Steve Prefontaine would run by taking it out and just starting to roll away the whole time.
Ironically, he has the sandy blonde hair that was part of the Pre look.
"I glanced behind, saw I had a big lead and just kept pushing," Weller said. "Around the two mile I started to pick up the pace. It gave me a lot of confidence knowing I can really push."
The Centaur was just one of many goals Weller would like to achieve this fall.
Hofmanner has several other invitationals lined up including Conrad Weiser, Perk Valley and Steel City, the latter of which Weller won last year. According to Hofmanner, Weller hopes to go undefeated until districts.
Boyertown is in powerhouse District I, but Weller isn't the least bit phased by the competition and hopes for a sub-15 on the PR-friendly Lehigh University course.
After hopefully improving upon last year's state finish, Weller hopes to cap the season with a trip to Foot Locker Nationals.
Along the way he will continue his college search that so far includes Villanova, LaSalle, Iona and St. Joe's, although he's not wedded to staying in the state.
He plans to major in business management and said that he may return home to work with his dad, Scott, at the family's carpentry and cabinet business.