Cross Country, Track
Favorite athlete: I really enjoy watching Jeremy Wariner run. He is a great runner with a lot of success.
Favorite team: I’m a huge Phillies fan. I watch them play on TV whenever I have free time. Shane Victorino is my favorite Phillie.
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memory competing in track was a dual meet junior year in the 800. My twin brother and I crossed the finish line 1,2 with the same time. It was an awesome experience to be able to finish side by side.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: This past summer, 10 guys from the team went to Penn State Cross Country Camp for four days. We were the only team there. Since we all knew each other and are close, we had no problem being social and fun. Sadly, a group of throwers who were attending the track camp didn’t enjoy our presence. So one night my brother and his roommate left their door open while the team went for some dinner. When we got back to our dorms, the throwers took advantage of the open room and trashed it. They had pretzel crushed up in the bed, Pringles all over the place, homemade cookies from a mom gone, and licorice out of the bag. We all were laughing about it, except for my brother and his roommate, of course!
Music on iPod: I listen to pretty much anything. I’m not a fan of metal. I like to listen to whatever is on the radio.
Future plans: I plan to attend college and continue my running career. I want to major in physical therapy. PT sounds interesting, and I want to stay connected to sports.
Words to live by: ‘No one deserves anything, one must earn it.’ ‘Persistence always wins.’
One goal before turning 30: I want to go skydiving at least one time. It sounds amazing.
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m afraid of heights, which will make skydiving a real challenge.
By Alex Frazier
Once upon a time, Jack Felt was the fastest kid in his class.
As a freshman at Council Rock South, Felt could leave the rest of his classmates in the dust.
But by the time he was a junior, it was he who was being left behind.
“Last year we had the best sprint group we had at Council Rock,” said coach Dave Marrington. “They shattered every record we had and went to states and were third at nationals in the 4x100.”
With that kind of speed ahead of him, Felt had little choice but to change his event. He moved up to the 400 and showed promise there before trying the 800.
“He ended up being one of our best 800 runners last spring,” said Marrington. “I think that’s where his talent is in that 800 to mile range. He’s a decent sprinter but not good enough to make it to the state level as a 100/200 guy. But he’s willing to work hard enough to make it there as an 800/miler.”
Felt began running cross country in 10th grade as a way to get in shape for winter track. His twin brother Jake had started running in ninth grade and was a big reason why Jack went out.
“I was really lazy,” said Felt. “He said it was hard, but he brought me out. He said it was really fun. The team was awesome and the environment is great. It just made me want to do it even more.”
For kids like Felt, Marrington refers to cross country as the fall track season. Most of them are guys that aren’t playing a fall sport and want to get ready for track season. They often don’t even run many races, just train with the team. In fact, they usually have their own workout schedule.
“I really loved running and wanted to stay in shape for sprinting, so I just tried cross country,” said Felt.
“By the end of last cross country season, he was probably our 10th or 12th man and we started thinking, ‘Maybe you ought to start looking at the 800 and the mile,’” said Marrington.
Which he did.
“My coach knows best,” said Felt. “He knows everything. I just listen to him. He turned me into an 800 runner.”
Last spring he stopped sprinting and focused entirely on the 800 and 4x400 relay.
“He’s become a real good half-miler and he’s going to be a miler this spring,” said Marrington. “He’s doing a real good job for us.”
But Felt has also turned out to be a good cross country runner.
Becoming a distance runner requires lots of miles. In June and July, Felt was pounding out 40-50 miles a week. That number jumped to 70 in August.
“That’s a lot of mileage especially for a guy that was running 200 meters,” said Marrington. “He’s taken to it pretty well.”
“At first I was a little hesitant about it,” said Felt. “As I’ve gotten older it’s not as bad, but don’t get me wrong, it’s still tough doing the mileage. It was a huge difference for me because I was just running sprints at practice in ninth grade, but I got acclimated to it. It’s a great bonding experience. You learn a lot about your team.”
This year he was Rock’s fifth runner until an injury set him back.
Felt has also been a good leader. He is a co-captain along with his twin brother.
“I love being a leader,” said Felt. “I have a lot of responsibility. I love helping kids out at practice, leading the warm-ups, explaining to them stuff they didn’t know about running. It’s really fun. You have the freshmen looking up to me. I try to set a good example.”
“He’s one of the better captains we’ve had,” said Marrington. “The kids like him, but he also gets a lot out of the kids.”
Marrington said he’s like having an assistant coach.
“I can count on him,” he said. “I know he’ll get practice started if I’m not there right away. He makes sure the warm-up is going properly.”
Felt takes care of most of the communications between runners as well as with parents through Facebook.
“If I need to make any changes, I’ll call Jack and he’ll put the word out,” said Marrington. “I’m not Facebook savvy.”
Felt is an unselfish leader who takes as much interest in his teammates as in himself. He praised his fellow runners for turning in an undefeated season.
“I’m proud of the kids that step up, like Mac Emery, James Zingarini and Ross Wilson,” he said. “They’ve been doing really well this season and been consistent. And Zack Keller started working extremely hard and stepping up big time for us.”
A 3.3 GPA student, Felt is planning on running in college next year. He is currently looking at Lock Haven, Millersville and Shippensburg.
“I try to be the best student I can be,” he said. “I enjoy going to school. It’s something I look forward to.”
He plans on majoring in physical therapy.
“I want to stay connected to sports and that would be a good way to,” he said.
Felt is looking forward to the league meet this Friday at Lehigh. This year he has had to deal with an injury to his hip as well as some sickness, which set back his training.
“He gets the Stump the Doctor Award this year,” said Marrington. “The doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with him half the time. But he doesn’t miss practice. He keeps going whether on the elliptical trainer or in the pool.”
Felt believes he is back in time to make a run at states.
Last year he recorded his personal best time at districts on the Lehigh course with a time of 17.26.
He would like to better that time and in the process regain his fifth place spot on the team.
“I’m getting back to where I should be, which is positive,” he said. “My goal is to run as best as I can. Getting under 17 would be great for me.”
If he achieves his goal, it will go a long way to help the team achieve its third goal of the season—to qualify for states.
“We think we can do it,” said Felt.
“We’re hoping he has a real good end of his cross country season and that carries over into winter and spring track,” said Marrington.
