School: Pennridge
Cross Country, Indoor Track, Track
Favorite athlete: Kevin Durant
Favorite team: Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: “Qualifying for states in cross country my junior year.”
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: “When I jogged up to the starting line at a big invitational and tripped over my shoelaces and fell flat on my face!”
Must on iPod: U2, Dave Matthews Band, Rush, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.
Future plans: Graduate with a degree in finance and get a decent job
Words to live by: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
One goal before turning 30: Run a marathon
One thing people don’t know about me: “I can’t whistle or snap my fingers.”
When Ryan Knouse first started running track in seventh grade, his races were decidedly shorter than the ones in which he has established himself as one of the best in Pennridge High School history.
In fact, they couldn't have been much shorter.
"When I started out running track in seventh grade, I was doing sprints," Knouse said. "I did fairly decent in them, but then the next year my coach tried to put me in the 800 at the very first meet, and I think I ended up winning. So I ended up running the 800 for all of our meets that year, which for middle school is pretty much a distance race.
"Over the summer I thought I’d try cross country in high school, because I wasn’t a football or soccer player, so I thought I’d try it out. And I ended up being decent at it as a freshman, I really enjoyed it. And then I did track and stuck with it, kept working at it."
Running long distances, especially in cross country, have their own set of unique challenges ... not the least of which is maintaining focus and pace while also trying to run a smart race.
"At first it’s really difficult, you just want to give up every race because you’re so tired," Knouse said. "But after a while – it doesn’t get easy, but it gets easier. At this point, it's all mental for me during a race. It can be hard to stay focused and keep working hard. You have the ability to do it, it’s just hard to keep pushing yourself to be the best you can be.
"I'm always trying to keep myself on pace, seeing where everyone else is in the race, when I should make my move, if I should try to go faster if I’m trying to get a certain time. At times your mind wanders -- it’s hard to stay focused when you’re so tired and you’ve been running for so long. I just try to stay focused, keep my mind on the race and what I need to be doing."
Clearly, he's successfully mastered both the mental and physical aspects of the sport. Knouse has entrenched himself as one of the district's elite distance runners in cross country as well as both indoor and outdoor track. He's also one of the best to ever lace up his running shoes for the Rams.
"Currently, Ryan is the fifth-fastest 3,200 runner in the history of Pennridge," said Rams' track coach Bob Hosier. "He's been a four-year member of cross country, winter track and spring track, and he lettered all four years in each sport. He's been to the district meet, the state meet in cross county, the state met twice in winter track. And he's been a captain for all three teams his senior year."
Stepping into a leadership role came as naturally to Knouse as did adapting to the longer races in high school. All his experience on the track and the cross country courses instilled the leadership he would need to be a driving force on this year's Pennridge teams.
"Coming into the season I thought I’d feel a lot more extra pressure," Knouse said. "In the years before, there had always been guys older than me. I always knew there’d be someone in front of me to help the team. But now that I’m the captain, what I do now is probably more important for the team as a whole, but I’m used to running and I’m confident in my ability, so I haven’t felt too much extra pressure this year, not like I thought there would be."
As a result, Knouse has had a standout senior season for the Rams. In the current track and field season, Pennridge sits atop the Continental Conference with a 4-2-1 dual meet record. Knouse's leadership has certainly played a part in that.
"He’s a leader through his work ethic," Hosier said. "Ryan’s a very hard worker, he pulls people along with him. He's not a very vocal leader, but it’s what he does, his actions, that make him a leader."
Knouse is looking to finish strong, both as an individual and as a team, and would like to make an appearance at Shippensburg University at the end of May in the PIAA State Track and Field Championships.
It's a goal he feels is definitely within his reach.
"The perfect way (to end my senior year) -- I'd love to see how high we can place at leagues, and I would love to qualify for states at districts," he said. "I'm not quite sure I’m there, but hopefully I can try, push and hope I can make it. My best time last year at districts was only 7 seconds off the state time. Hopefully I can bring that time down and get it."
Though Knouse admits he's only just begun to realize that he's just about finished with high school, there's no chance that he'll suffer from "senioritis" down the stretch. There's just too much left to accomplish. In addition to his goals on the track, Knouse is an Eagle Scout and is ranked number one in his class at Pennridge High School.
In the fall, Knouse will take his talents to Lehigh University, where he has received an academic scholarship. While he will enroll as an undeclared business major, he said he will likely major in finance.
And he'll most definitely be running in college. And just as he did when he entered high school, Knouse will be faced with longer track events in college, among them the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs.
Rather than being intimidated, Knouse is looking forward to yet another challenge.
"The longer events suit me better because I’m all stamina and endurance, not all that much about speed," he said. "Freshman year may be a little rough adjusting to the longer distances and the rigors of college life, but after that I think I’ll be all right. The longer distances will suit me well.
"I’m just motivated to do the best I can. Whether it's on the track or in class, I just can’t imagine doing anything else, other than just working hard on everything."
