Athlete of the Week: Will Coogan
Upper Will Coogan flies around the track, picking up speed in the last few seconds of his race. He throws himself over the finish line and beats out his competition with a season-breaking mile time of four minutes and 16 seconds. Coogan’s December mile time was quick enough to qualify him for the Boston New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, an event where some of the nation’s top track athletes competed.
“Growing up in a household where everyone runs, that life was all around me,” Coogan said. Coogan’s older sisters both run at competitive levels in college and his parents are former Olympians. “This culture of hard work has been passed down from my parents to my siblings and me. I am glad to have my family to look up to as I continue running,” Coogan said.
“Growing up in a household where everyone runs, that life was all around me,” Coogan said.
In addition to support from his family and his coach Brandon Newbould, Coogan ultimately contributes his success to the support of his teammates. “It’s great to be surrounded by guys like Varun, Connor and Jinwoo,” he said. “They all strive to be their best and this good spirit is what makes the daily 10-plus mile runs bearable.”
“William Coogan makes me want to push myself in practice. Even if I don’t feel like running, I see the way that he puts everything he has into each stride, and I immediately want to do the same,” lower Carlos Jones said. In a similar fashion, lower Gavin Pitt commended Coogan’s practice ethic. “Coogan’s genes help with his speed but if you watch a practice, there will be no one around him and he will still be pushing his body to its limit,” he said.
“One time I fell down in practice and Will stopped to pick me back up. It was a great gesture even though he was the one who pushed me,” lower Andrew Luke said.
Prep Bradley St. Laurent and lower Connor Chen both commented on how they had heard of the infamously fast William Coogan before attending Exeter, and both were intimidated by his speed. However, upon arriving at his first cross country practice, St. Laurent said, “I expected Will to be someone who thought of himself better than everyone else when in reality he’s one of the boys.”
Even outside the track, Coogan serves as a mentor for his teammates. “Besides Will’s stellar physique you would never be able to tell that he is a phenomenal runner. He’s very dedicated to his studies and will often give teammates math help,” Chen said. “Coogan not only provides running technique and strategy help but my boy Will offers great life tips.”
However, Coogan’s running career at Exeter did not turn serious until after his prep year. “As a prep I played soccer and baseball, and only ran in the winter. I’ve stopped playing soccer after prep year, and I now run cross country in the fall. Although I’m a lot better at running, I can’t give up baseball, which is why I still play in the spring seasons,” Coogan said.
Coogan is looking forward to continuing his high school running career by participating in more competitive national events this season. Coogan believes he’ll continue to produce remarkable results if he sticks to his goals of both “pushing himself and his teammates.”