NOVEMBER 26, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A17
Roop sets school record for McNary cross country
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Connor Roop prided himself on train-
ing hard during the summer, and in the
Celtics second to last meet of the season,
the junior cross country runner saw the
fruits of his labor.
Roop set a school record in the 5,000
meters on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at the
Umpqua Invitational in Roseburg, run-
ning a 16:12.1, beating the previous record
set by Spencer Sol in 2003 by more than
20 seconds.
“I was proud of myself when I crossed
because I knew I broke it in that moment,”
Roop said. “I saw the timer in the last 100
meters so I pushed harder down the final
stretch.”
Roop has been one of the top runners
in the area since he joined the Celtics
team as a freshman in 2019.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic forc-
ing him out of competition for over a year,
Roop maintained his physical condition
and established himself as McNary's top
distance runner as a sophomore during
the spring cross country season.
“I trained quite a bit outside of practice
and I feel like that made me faster,” Roop
said.
Roop credited the treadmill in his
garage with helping him get back into
running shape.
“I ran on the treadmill quite a bit. I was
still a little out of shape but I felt like I
worked really hard to get back in shape,”
Due to a family member's COVID
diagnosis, Roop was forced to miss the
first two weeks of the season. But when he
returned to the team, it was as if he never
left.
With already two years of varsity
Cross
Roop is now the McNary High school record holder in the 5,000 meters.
experience under his belt, Roop prided
himself on being a team leader and com-
peting at a high level.
“When I came in I was already in-shape
so I was able to lead the team. I felt like I
needed to be a leader because we had a
lot of freshmen and I was an upperclass-
man and showed them how to work hard,”
Roop said.
SPORTS
Cat of the Week
Name: BIRDY
Age: 2
HISTORY: Birdy is a domestic short hair
torbie/calico mix. She was returned to the
shelter due to not doing well in a loud
home.
PREFERRED HOME: This cat does
best in a quiet environment with no
younger kids. She is affectionate but
will occasionally give love bites.
WE HAVE MOVED >>> Our new location is 4157 Cherry Avenue, Keizer <<< 503-362-5611
“Kids really looked up to him. He is tal-
ented, but he led by example and put the
time in,” McNary head coach Jim Buffoni
added.
Buffoni says that Roop's record-break-
ing run was one of the highlights of the
season for the McNary cross country
team.
“It was a pretty cool moment. I was
really happy for him,” Buffoni said.
Roop's goal during track season is
to break the school record in the 3,000
meters, chasing the record that Sol set in
2005 (9:00.56). Roop's current best time is
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
9:43.4, but believes that he can run under
nine minutes before the end of his high
school career.
“It's about training and running every
day to reach my goals. Even during the
offseason,” Roop said.
Roop hopes to compete in college
after graduating in 2023. Buffoni, who
has coached for more than two decades,
believes that Roop has what it takes to
compete at the next level.
“He has improved quite a bit. He has
the drive and ability to compete in col-
lege,” Buffoni said.