Lower Moreland seniors Jack Becker & Siri Hellenbrand were recognized for committing to continue their cross country and track careers at the collegiate level. (Photos provided by Lower Moreland High School)
Coach Greg Green says: “This is my fourth year coaching both Siri and Jack, and I've had the pleasure of watching them both blossom into tremendous leaders and runners. Their leadership and work ethic qualities have helped both their teams become much stronger programs. Jack and Siri have continued to improve over the years, and I suspect that they will take their talents to their new schools and continue what they have begun at LM, which is to help elevate their teams to bigger and better successes. Both will be extremely missed next year at Lower Moreland HS!”
Jack Becker – East Stroudsburg University (Cross Country/Track)
Major: Education
Final list of colleges: East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg
Reasons for choosing East Stroudsburg: “The college selection was very hard at the end. I knew I wanted to go into education and wanted to run for a DII school that wasn’t far away. When I first visited Bloomsburg, I thought that’s where I wanted to go, but then I had an overnight visit to East Stroudsburg. On that visit, I realized how much fun I had and how much fun I will have when I go there in the fall. I really enjoyed the campus, and the team atmosphere was great. It just felt like the right choice for me.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in cross country and track at the collegiate level? “When I first started running, I thought there was no way that I’d be able to run for a college team. I just kept training and training year round and kept getting better each year. It was about the end of sophomore year that I realized I could definitely run in college. At the end of cross country my junior year was when I knew that I really wanted to run in college. The recruiting process first started in between junior and senior year. It started with coach Mengel of East Stroudsburg emailing me and then us going onto a zoom meeting and talking. We kept in touch all throughout the summer, the cross country season, and then part of indoors.”
About Jack:
Favorite food: Burgers or Ribs
Favorite movies: Step Brothers or Rocky IV
Favorite music: Country music and favorite artist is Luke Combs.
Siri Hellenbrand – Lehigh University (Cross Country/Track)
Major: Civil/Environmental Engineering
Final list of colleges: Lehigh University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of New Haven
Reasons for choosing Lehigh: “The engineering program at Lehigh is fantastic. The campus is absolutely beautiful from the hogwarts-like castles to the fancy modern buildings and lab spaces. The athletics program is competitive and exciting. I get to run with some of the best runners at the college level! Wow! I’m just happy to be there and experience that. The food is delicious. Fruit tart was 10/10. The women I met on the team were fun and welcoming, so I am very excited to work and run alongside them. Hawks have always been lucky for me.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in cross country and track at the collegiate level? “My brother, Thomas, is a D1 athlete in cross country and track at Jacksonville University. I witnessed the atrocities of the college application and recruiting process firsthand. Through him I learned of the “Broken Leg Rule” which says “If you break your leg, would you still want to go to this school?” This question helped my recruiting process and alleviated a lot of stress for me because I could focus on what I wanted out of a school, not what the school’s running program wanted out of me. Coach Green knew I was running in college before I did. Ever since freshman year he has been encouraging me to run in college, and I never believed him until I started getting emails and letters from coaches. Things became startlingly real when I got the business card of Lehigh University’s one and only Coach Debbie Utesch. Despite being one of the first invitations to apply, I responded to her last out of intimidation (sorry Coach Deb). I am glad that I did eventually respond because I am very excited and thankful to be running with this amazing group of people”
About Siri:
Favorite food: That one cheese from that one platter when I was at that party that time!
Favorite movie & TV show: Everything Everywhere All at Once (Movie), Arcane (TV show)
Favorite artists: PinkPantheress and Mac Demarco
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