Cross country athlete commits to Central Wyoming College

Jordan Andrew is ready to hit the ground running when he gets to college. 

The Green River High School senior recently committed to compete in cross country and track at Central Wyoming College, and celebrated with a signing ceremony with family, friends and coaches. 

Andrew said he is very excited to attend Central Wyoming in Riverton, where he will compete with the Rustlers. 

"I chose this college mainly because it's close to home and it's also very affordable," Andrew explained. "It also offers both of my sports, and it just corresponds very well."

Andrew has been competing in track since his freshman year, and cross country since his sophomore year. He remembers joining track and hearing Head Coach Dan Hansen tell everyone to pick a group - deciding which track and field events to compete in, such as sprinting, jumping and running. 

"Distance was about the only one I chose, mainly because in my brain at that moment, I was like, 'I can run a seven oh nine mile. That should be fast enough,'" Andrew recalled. "Little did Jordan know, it'll help him get to where he is now." 

As he improved in track, Andrew also joined cross country, deciding he would prefer it to playing football. Through all the ups and downs, sometimes literally, he persevered. 

"One of my highlights was from last season when I fell on my face at Regionals," Andrew said with a laugh. "I did still run a pretty fast run. It was a great time, and I enjoyed it."

Andrew's growth over the course of his high school career has been apparent to others, including his coaches. 

"He's made big improvements," Head Cross Country Coach Craig Leavitt said. "I think when we got him four years ago he didn't have a lot of confidence, and over the years it's just really built up and he's had a lot of success."

Coach Leavitt is also excited for Andrew's chance to compete at the college level. 

"I  think it'll be a little bit of a shock, but I think the best part is that he's built a lot of the foundation skills that he'll need to be successful in college," Leavitt said. "He's a really good kid that's pretty self-motivated, so I think he'll do really well."

Andrew also recognizes his need to stay motivated once he gets to the next level of competition. 

"I think going into the college level, it's going to be a lot harder," he admitted. "So I gotta train a lot more. I gotta eat correctly, and do everything correctly."

Despite the challenges in the future, Andrew has learned the importance of being motivated and staying disciplined through his experiences in track and cross country. 

"I think the hardest lesson that I've learned is that if you don't have a goal and you want to achieve it very shortly, you're never going to achieve it," he said. "If you strive towards it and you work hard for it, you're going to get it in the long run."