Athlete of the Week: John Kennealy

It’s the 200-meter mark. Senior John Kennealy is in the lead, but the other runners inch towards him. With 100 meters left, Kennealy makes a final push. He sprints towards the finish line and the gap increases steadily. Within a matter of seconds, Kenealy dashes past the finish, and yet again, it’s another victory.Kennealy, now captain of winter and spring track, as well as a varsity cross country athlete, started his running career at the age of five, when he began training for cross country. His early start allowed him to become a conditioned, star runner in middle school. However, when he arrived to Exeter, he realized that there was still a plenty of room for improvement.“I was really impressed by the program when I first came here. Both the cross country and track programs are so amazing. And even though I had run for so long, it was still a big adjustment,” Kennealy said. “Middle school cross country really is not hard. When you’re in middle school, you think it’s hard, but it really isn’t compared to high school. When you come here, it really is a step up in intensity. The workouts are harder, the runs are longer, and everything is just overall more difficult.”As a prep, Kennealy ran on the boys’ cross country team and competed impressively, showing off an endurance similar to the older members of the team. Unfortunately, due to an unexpected injury, he could not be part of the boy’s track team during his winter and spring terms.While the injury could have been a significant impediment in Kennealy’s running career, he did not cease to challenge himself both mentally and physically, and eventually he managed to recover completely. Reflecting on his injury, Kennealy attributed his recovery to the continuous training.“I think that both track and cross country have a lot to do with natural ability; some people will never be fast and some people will. But the two most important things after natural ability are training and mental competitiveness,” Kennealy said. “The training also has a mental element to it. It’s a hard thing to go out in the middle of the summer and do a thirteen mile run, that takes a lot of mental ability.”Upper and fellow track athlete Marcus Polk noted Kennealy’s work ethic and dedication to the sport.“He is a fun-loving, competitive, hardworking and very intelligent guy,” Polk said. “As a captain, when I spend time with him, he makes track fun. He forces you to work hard and keep pushing yourself.”Polk also noted that Kennealy is able to lead the team in a caring manner. “He does a good job of not only leading upper class men but younger kids with form and speed,” he said.Kennealy also had the benefit of a fantastic coaching staff. “The coaching is just incredible at this school, since many of our coaches are world class athletes,” Kennealy said of his experience with Big Red’s coaches. “Some schools, you can’t necessarily trust everything that the coaches are telling you, but here, you can be confident that the coaches know what they are talking about.”Kennealy’s respect is not one-way either. Throughout his track and cross country career, his coaches have expressed admiration for him, and for his abilities. “I’ve been coaching John for all four years,” track and field coach Brandon Newbould said. “I think he might have done tennis or something one year, but all four years he’s been around for at least part of the year.”Newbould also spoke about Kennealy’s transformation throughout his Exeter career. “The biggest change I’ve seen in John has been a physical one. I think he’s the same goofball he is now as he was when he was a prep. And that’s a good thing,” he said.Another attribute that Kennealy’s teammates and coaches appreciate is his lighthearted attitude on the track.“He brings a really good convivial outlook to the team. About halfway through his career, there was a huge physical change, so I definitely took him more seriously as an athlete after that. He has a lot of fun with the sport, I think he’s a guy who enjoys competition,” Newbould said.Kennealy’s teammates also expressed their gratitude for his positivity, as well as the countless examples he has set for other teammates to follow.“John has been a great leader for me,” upper William Li said of Kennealy. “He has been a really great teammate to have during my Exeter running career. He’s always the guy out in front, he’s always out on the track giving it his all during races.”Fellow senior and teammate Thomas Clark echoed Li’s sentiments.“John and I, in addition to being teammates, have been in the dorm together for four years. I remember meeting him on the first day of prep fall. I actually didn’t do cross country during my prep year, but I heard about all of the successes that John was having on the team,” Clark said. “He was actually the one who convinced me to join cross country and track in the first place, so without John, I really would never have discovered any athletic passion. So I can really credit John as the one who conveyed his passion for running to me.”Clark added that he has appreciated Kennealy’s presence on the team the most throughout his running career, because he has been a pivotal member of the team.“He’s really just a phenomenal athlete, in the purest form of the word. He’s been just a really valuable runner on the team. He’s put down some of the fastest 400 times I’ve ever seen from a distance runner. He’s running at Bowdoin College next year, so I wish him luck, and can’t wait to see all of his successes there,” Clark said.