Ask CWA senior Max LaBerge what he likes about running and he won’t mention his state championship title in the 3200 meter or the challenge of competing against himself in pursuit of an elusive new personal best, although those are certainly part of running’s appeal.  Instead, Max talks about the calm that comes when all you can hear is the sound of your own heartbeat and air rushing in and out of your lungs.  “Sometimes you’re just there with your own thoughts,” he says.  

He also talks about how the isolation of the sport combines with the team atmosphere of competing with his classmates, some of whom he has known since he came to Charles Wright in kindergarten.  And he talks about the joy of participating in a sport where a strong work ethic really pays off.  “I like how your work has a direct and visible correlation to your performance,” he says.

After six years running at CWA, Max’s fast feet are now carrying him across the country to one of the nation’s best liberal arts college.  “I was looking for a small liberal arts school in a rural area with a very good academic program and an athletic program that would be a good fit for me,” he explains.  After consulting with Ryan Johnson, CWA’s head cross-country coach and an assistant track and field coach, he began writing letters to coaches at select schools.   “Johnson was a big help because he ran cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track all four years of college at Bowdoin so he knows a lot about how you apply as a runner and what to do when” says Max.  He also sought advice from Drew Wartenburg, his coach during his freshman year.

“I realized my sophomore year that running in college would be a possibility for me and that I was interested in doing so, but I didn’t realize until my junior year what a hook it would be for me getting into schools,” says Max.  Last winter he got an email response to one of his letters from the cross-country coach at Williams College.  Williams is nestled into the mountains (although anyone from the Pacific Northwest would be hard pressed to call them mountains) of Northwestern Massachusetts.  “In selecting each incoming class,” the school’s admissions staff states, “we look beyond the stereotypical ‘well-rounded student.’ Instead, we look for those who bring a mix of passions, eccentricities, and ambitions to create a well-rounded campus community. If there is a single characteristic that sets Williams students apart from other highly talented students, it is their tendency to excel in more than one way.”

Max had excelled in many ways at Charles Wright.  In addition to running cross-country and track events for four years, he is also very active in the school climbing club.   Academically he has particularly excelled in the sciences, especially physics and chemistry, and those are fields he’s considering pursuing in college.  As he looked at other liberal arts schools in the New England region, the strength of Williams’ science programs particularly impressed him.

At the coach’s invitation, Max traveled to Massachusetts last summer with his parents.  He met several members of the cross-country team and went running with them.  He found the athletes friendly and outgoing.  As a distance runner, he knew he’d be seeing a lot of the scenery around campus, much more than the average student, and he was certainly impressed.  “Williams is in a beautiful valley that’s surrounded by wilderness, and we ran up a hill with a beautiful view of the valley and campus,” he recalls.  The competitiveness of the program sealed his decision: “The coach seems like a nice guy and he definitely gets results from his athletes.  They were second in the nation among Division 3 schools this year.”

Confident that this was the right school for him both academically and athletically, Max applied to Williams for early decision and when he was admitted he committed to run cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track for the Ephs.

With his college decision behind him, Max is now focused on healing a mild foot injury, cross-training, and preparing to defend his state title in the 3200 meter.  That’s his main event but he’ll probably run the 1600 meter too.  Then, in August, he’s off to Massachusetts.

Max hopes that other Tarriers will follow in his footsteps and use their athletic talent to better their chances of getting into selective colleges.  “I had pretty good test scores but not 2400s, so I needed something to help me stand out and the coach’s hook helped significantly,” he says.  “If you want to go the athletic route, Division 3 athletics is a real option.  Just don’t be afraid to make contact with a lot of coaches.”