Ben Hits the Ground Running In the Classroom
Ben Young
• School: Tates Creek High
• Grade: 12
• Sports: Track, cross country
• Academics: Ben has a 5.083 weighted GPA, is ranked 10th in his class and scored 34 on his ACT. He also is a member of the National Honor Society.
• Parents: Susan & Terry
It took a while for senior Ben Young to focus exclusively on cross country, and the Tates Creek High team is glad he did.
As late as his sophomore year, Ben played soccer and ran cross country in the same season.
Despite that, he placed fifth in the City, seventh in the Region and 30th in the State.
A year later, after he dropped soccer, he won the City and Region titles and placed fourth in the State.
This season, he repeated as the City and Region champion and had an off day in the State, placing 27th.
With no soccer conflicts in track season, Ben, 18, has starred for Tates Creek.
As a sophomore, he won the 2 mile in the Region and placed ninth in the State. In the 1 mile, he was second in the Region and fifth in the State.
Last year, he won the 1 mile in the Region and was third in the State, and ran second in the Region and 10th in the State in the 2 mile.
He’s proud that he finished in the top 10 in both events, running the races just two hours apart.
“That and finishing fourth last year in the State in cross country are my top moments as a runner,” he said. “I shocked a lot of people in the cross- country race.”
Running the 1 mile and 2 mile on the same day proved his toughness, his parents said.
They should know. Both are former runners. They met on the track at a local health club and Terry has run eight marathons, including the Boston Marathon.
Susan ran recreationally until an injury stopped her running.
“He’s focused and can run through pain better than I could,” Terry said.
“He works hard and puts all his effort in running. He would never let his team down.”
As accomplished as Ben is as a runner, he’s even better in the classroom.
A member of the National Honor Society, he has a 5.083 weighted GPA and is 10th in the senior class at Tates Creek.
He scored 34 on his ACT and has taken 3 A.P. classes.
A math whiz with an exceptional memory, he is considering a career as an actuary, a job that requires calculus – Ben’s favorite subject.
As a Governor’s Scholar with a promise of free tuition at state colleges, Ben plans to attend UK or EKU and is determined to run in college.
Given his work ethic – he runs 40-50 miles a week – don’t bet against him.
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