VYPE: Mason, what grade are you in and how long have you competed in cross country?
MD: I am in 11th grade. This is my first year competing with the Bixby XC program.
VYPE: What makes Bixby a great place to be a student athlete?
MD: Bixby is such a great place to be a student athlete because every coach is so supportive and dedicated to helping the athletes achieve their goals.
VYPE: Tell us your goals for this season as we get closer to wrapping up another year in cross country?
MD: My goal this season is to run under 17 minutes in the 5K. At my last meet, my time was 17:10, so I am close to reaching my goal.
VYPE: Do you have a favorite type of course to run or a favorite location?
MD: With this being my first year in XC, I haven’t had the opportunity to run on many courses yet. However, of the courses I have ran on so far, the one we ran in Stillwater at the OSU Jamboree is by far my favorite.
VYPE: What do you think about when competing?
MD: When I compete, I mostly think about my team, how far we have come, and how much we have trained for these types of moments.
VYPE: Which teammate is the most vocal and who keeps everyone laughing?
MD: The person who makes everyone laugh is most definitely the team manager, Micah Berry. He always brings good spirits to practices and meets and keeps everyone energetic.
VYPE: Who inspires you?
MD: Someone who inspires me is my grandma. She is a 3-time breast cancer survivor. After she beat cancer the first time, she started doing a lot of running and local 5K races. She also participated in two different 3-day walks, one in California and one in Florida, covering 60 miles in those three days. She is one of the main reasons I am running right now.
VYPE: Do you have a favorite subject in school? What about a favorite teacher?
MD: My favorite subject in school is probably history, and my favorite teacher is my history teacher, Coach Debose. His classroom is a very chill environment, which helps me stay focused and get lots of work done.
VYPE: What would you like to do after you graduate?
MD: I have plans to attend college and maybe become an architect. I would love to run in college, if given the opportunity.
