Have spikes … will travel might be the best way to describe the exploits of Jeff Van Kooten and Alexis O’Shea thus far in the 2014 season.
Two of the more active – and successful – runners this season in the WPIAL, the Class AAA standouts already have laced up their racing shoes a total of eight times for invitationals, and it’s not even October.
On Saturday, it was off to the races again for the duo at the Sharpsville Blue Devil Invitational, and once again they walked away with the gold.
“I think the past two races have shown me that my conditioning is right where I want it to be this early in the season,” Central Catholic’s Van Kooten said. “Coach (Tim) McVeagh told the team before both of these races that we should use these races to learn something new.
“I think both of the races, especially this past weekend, had taught me just how hard I can push myself, while at the same time it taught me how to react to other runners’ moves. Now I can move forward and push t...
