Andrew Springer
Sr., Westerly H.S.
Westerly, R.I.
Highlights: A former soccer player running cross country for the first time, Springer (photo by King To) won the Rhode Island Class B Championships in 15:56 … His time of 15:02 in winning the Brown Invitational was the second fastest time ever at Goddard Park … Also placed first (15:55) at the Ocean State Invitational on a slightly different course at Goddard Park … Won a pair of state titles (1,500 and 4x800 relay) at the Rhode Island State Track & Field Championships in 2008
Coach (Ryan Palmer) says: “This is the first year he has actually trained all year. In essence he kind of reminds me of Pre. He’s carefree. He wants to go out and break records. He gets in big races and you can’t even tell he’s in a big race. He’s very free spirited. He’s almost like a grown man on how he approaches races. The big stage is where he really thrives. He loves running the big races. But you would never know it. If you would talk to him before a race, you would never know that he is running in a big race.”
Springer says: “At first I was doing it so I could get some better training for outdoor track. I really wanted to have a good senior year on the track. I didn’t have any expectations or anything coming in, but now that I’ve run cross country for almost a full season, I like it a lot more, at least more than I thought I would coming into it. I like the whole team aspect of it. Every race I’ve been improving. I wasn’t expecting to break records, but I definitely wanted to have a successful year, which I think I have done so far.”
Summer mileage (max): 40
Weekly mileage: 70
Training shoes: Asics Kayano
Race day superstitions: Springer always eats oatmeal for breakfast on race days
Hobbies: Soccer
Favorite athlete: Bernard Lagat