Photo by Betty Lake Photography
Eric Poe is a leader.
St. Joseph-Ogden cross country head coach Jason Retz said Poe has stepped into a leadership role this season.
“He goes the extra mile,” Retz said.
Going the extra mile is why Retz and assistant coach Terri Rein nominated Poe for Student Athlete of the Month.
Poe said he was honored to be selected for the recognition.
After high school Poe plans on attending the US Naval Academy and obtain a STEM major. Then he plans to serve his country for five or more years as an officer in the Navy.
Poe said the best thing about being student-athlete at SJO is the being apart of a storied program.
“The pride and being a part of one of the best programs in the state both academically and athletically,” he said.
Academics are important to Poe who said his favorite class is civics. He said he enjoys the course material and the teacher, Marshall Schacht.
“And it’s right after lunch so I’m usually awake,” he said.
Being a high performing student-athlete isn’t without its challenges.
Poe, like many student-athletes, said time management is a challenge.
“The difficulty of managing all the things that you have to do while still having a social life and getting eight hours of sleep (is difficult),” he said.
Poe has started the cross country season strong taking eighth place in his flight at the Cow Chip Classic with a time of 17:29.30. He placed third at the Doc Acklin Invite with a time of 17:07.09.
Poe was the second fastest male Spartan at a meet held at Detweiller in Peoria with a time of 17:05.5 and he finished seventh in a meet against Oakwood and Salt Fork with a time of 14:11.23.
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