Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month: Ridgedale's Brogan Weston emerges as an elite runner

rob mccurdy, marion star

Mon, Dec 18, 2023, 4:02 AM·6 min read

MORRAL — As a freshman, Ridgedale's Brogan Weston was a good distance runner. As a sophomore, he emerged as elite.

It was quite the transformation.

"There is physical maturing, but there’s also a lot of work that goes in besides the races that the people don’t see for all of us who strive to make it to state and compete there," Weston said. "There was a lot of offseason work and mental preparation and a lot of strategy to go into tapering and building miles. It was a good coach and support system around me that helped me achieve that."

More: State Cross Country: Kimball returns for third time, joined by Pleasant boys team

Regional cross country roundup: Mount Gilead makes it six in a row

How did Weston do it?

According to Ridgedale cross country coach Amy Mazza, the ability to knock more than a minute of time from one year to the next was self-driven.

"He set goals right off the bat," she said. "He’s always been someone who once he has a goal, he pretty much creates the steps he needs in order to achieve that goal. Once he achieves that, two seconds later, he’s already thinking of the next thing he wants to do. He’s my most intrinsically motivated runner and student that I have."

Weston has to be that way. At Mount Gilead or Pleasant, there are more than a couple high-level athletes to push and prod each other through practices or meets. Even at other schools in the area, there are at least full teams with seven varsity runners.

With Ridgedale, Weston only has two other runners wearing the light blue and red togs with him.

"If you talk to anyone I’ve been around, they all know that was one of my biggest challenges throughout the season," he admitted. "It takes a lot of internal motivation and drive and a healthy comparison to the elite runners around you to push you and make yourself a better athlete when you don’t necessarily have elite talent within your school."

So his growth is through self-motivation.

"We might set a pace and you go for this at this tempo and then at this mile point you’re going to do this, but ultimately all my runners are off on their own to try to hit those elements themselves," Mazza said. "He’s got his watch and timer. He’s doing it all. Everything is done with purpose for Brogan."

Ridgedale's Brogan Weston runs in the Division III boys cross country state championships at Fortress Obetz. He was 46th in 16:49 in his first trip to the state meet.

Weston finds results

He won a meet at McComb in 17:05 early in the season and followed it up with a 16:46 at the huge Galion Cross Country Festival for ninth place. He lowered his time again at Fredericktown's Denny Stevens meet with a 16:39.

And it was around this time that thoughts of running at the state meet went from hope to something more tangible.

"At that point I saw I had a serious chance to be an elite runner and compete with those at the top. Throughout the season I kept pushing my PR back ever so slightly five or 10 seconds at a time," he said.

Mazza never doubted his course.

"I was always trying to get him to see the big picture but take it one week at a time," the coach said. "Sometimes he wants to project that goal. It’s a process, so you have to take districts first. Not everything is going to go as plan, and Brogan is just a planner. We’ve got to roll with the punches and look at all those meets separately before we leap to that."

Weston popped a 16:35 at the late season Harding Invitational then followed it up by winning the Northwest Central Conference championship in 17:19. At the district, he took 64 seconds off his time from a year earlier to run fifth in 16:47. The next week at the Division III regional at Pickerington North, he ran personal record 16:34 for 17th and a state berth.

Competing at Fortress Obetz for the first time at the state meet, he made a heartening debut, clocking a 16:49 for 46th.

"I got there and saw a jumbotron with cameras on the runners and this huge course and hundreds of tents filled with the best athletes that I’ve always looked up to and strived to be as fast as," Weston said. "To see all that in one place was quite an experience. I got to run there and compete with all those people who I set my sights upon. It was amazing."

Fahey Bank Award winner as a result

Because of his breakthrough season, Weston earned the Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month Award for Marion County boys for November.

"It means a lot to see all the work that I’ve put into it pay off," he said of winning the award. "All the support I have from my parents, coaches, family, friends, teammates, all of them poured a lot into that season. To see that result in something like that is really cool to get that plaque up on the wall."

Weston is a famous name in Ridgedale athletic lore. His uncle John earned a Fahey Bank Award for boys basketball, as did his father Brock's cousin J.R., who earned it three times for basketball.

"I always saw those plaques on the wall when I would walk by, and I always thought it was interesting and cool that they were up there," Weston said. "It was never necessarily one of my top priorities with the state meet being my main priority, but it’s always a nice accomplishment and a recognition that I’m proud of."

Mazza can't wait to see what's next for her budding star.

"It will be exciting to see what he does next year now that he’s made it to state," she said. "He has that extra confidence and that experience and knows what to expect. He’s super self-reflective and can think back and say this worked and that didn’t, and I want to try this here.

"It was key to get him there this year and to be totally prepared for next year because he is that planner. Now we can work from state backwards."

rmccurdy@gannett.com

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