When an athlete enters their senior year of high school, they expect or at least hope for it to go smoothly. For Daviess County’s Brady Terry, it was anything but.
Despite the fear of Covid-19 derailing his final year as a Panther, Terry continued on and started his 2020 campaign strong but an injury mid-season hindered him during the final few weeks of the season. Even with that, Turner persevered and brought home a top-10 finish at the KHSAA State Cross Country Championships in Paris.
It’s Terry’s determination that makes him the Owensboro Times Boys’ Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
“It’s meant a lot, it definitely wasn’t what I thought it was going to be like,” he said of his senior season. “However, during the summer I didn’t think we would have a season so it was nice to have a little bit of something. Getting injured mid to late season also wasn’t how I dreamed it would be. But it’s what I was given and we have to make the most of it.
“I ran one postseason race in Terre Haute. This last race I didn’t put any stress into it, I went to have fun and enjoy one last race. It was a good way to finish some great high school years of cross country.”
Like his teammate and girls’ athlete of the year Emily Ann Roberts, Terry found himself on the course long before he starting walking the halls of DCHS.
He said he started running in elementary school with a coach who didn’t make it feel like work.
“I started running in 3rd grade at Whitesville Elementary in the running club and I have been running ever since then,” he said. “In the three years at middle school, I progressed well and I think that is because I had a coach who taught us well but made it fun. It helped me to really enjoy running and to make the most of it.”
Terry said it was what he learned when he was younger that set the foundation for his success in the last few years.
“High school has been fun for years using what I learned from middle school,” he said. “In high school, I have learned it’s way more than just showing up to practice that makes you a good runner. It’s the time you put in outside of practice preparing your body that makes you good. From stretching at home before and after practice. Making sure you are drinking enough water and electrolytes. All of the ice baths and Epsom salt baths. And making sure you are putting healthy foods into your body.”
When he thinks back on the highlight of his career, Terry said he was torn between a race in Ohio his junior and the many times he took the course at Yellow Creek when there wasn’t a championship on the line.
He said some of the best days were muddy and rainy as they were training hard but also having fun in the process.
Even those he’s had many races and practices to look back on, the thing he’ll remember the most is actually an assortment of things that made his experience as a Daviess County cross country runner what it was.
Coach Mark Fortney was one of the first things Terry mentioned.
“The family atmosphere that makes it more than running is definitely a big one,” he said. “Every race we went to we had so many parents that would go and support. Having a coach like Coach Fortney, you could tell that it meant a lot to him and he wanted to see us succeed. Us runners showed up every day to make ourselves better not only for ourselves but for the team. We wanted to see each and every person succeed.
“I will also remember cross country camp it was a big week for summer training. Sadly we weren’t able to have it this year which hurt. We grew as a team and we really got to know each other over this week. So many great memories were made here.”
Daviess County has been the premier cross country program in the region and in western Kentucky for more longer than all of its current athletes have been alive.
Terry said it’s the idea of what being a Panther is what he’ll carry with him when he graduates.
“I have learned a lot about running in the past four years but it’s taught me so many more life lessons,” he said. “It’s taught me how to be a hard worker. It’s taught me that sometimes we will win in life but to always stay humble, to not get overconfident or soon you may be losing. So much of what I have learned in this program can be used though the rest of my life. Sure winning and the medals are cool and all but to me those don’t mean much. If I feel that I went out there and I did what I could then I feel successful I feel satisfied with my work on that day. In life we don’t medals to tell us we are successful.”
