MORGANTOWN — University High School senior cross country and track state champion Drew Zundell is seeing orange after announcing his commitment to continue his academic and athletic careers for the Orange of Syracuse University on September 24th.
The UHS senior will compete on both fronts for SU after winning multiple state titles in both cross country and track throughout his time at University, with the conclusion of the fall season still to come, and the track season looming in the spring. His personal best for cross-country is an impressive 15:30.
“The staff at Syracuse has been amazing throughout the recruiting process,” Zundell said. “I started talking to them as soon as the recruiting period opened and it was never just about the business side of it with them. One thing I really respected about Coach Brien Bell was that he gave me a lot of recruiting advice about visiting places outside of his program and gave me things to look out for somewhere else in case I didn’t choose Syracuse. That was definitely something that stood out to me.”
Zundell said he came to understand that being a part of the program at Syracuse wasn’t for everyone, but that it wasn’t that he or the coaches wanted to shy away from.
“They are a very confident program in their talents but also who they are,” he said. “When I went on my visit it was obvious how they run the program and how hard they work, they don’t just compete to compete, you go there to win, and I felt that from the moment I stepped on campus.”
Zundell said he and his family were invited for his visit during the Syracuse football game against Colgate earlier in the season, and even though they didn’t go to the game itself, the campus atmosphere was something that caught his eye.
“There was so much orange everywhere,” he recalled. “The campus is beautiful and not too spread everywhere and it didn’t remind me too much of Morgantown.”
Now with the commitment out of the way, Zundell said he doesn’t feel any change of pressure either way, on or off of his shoulders, as winning has always been first on his mind.
“I was always focused on winning before committing and I still want to win after,” he said. “I want to continue to run hard and compete to the best of my ability and for me to do anything less than that would be disrespectful. Coming from a small state like West Virginia, I know not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have this opportunity and I feel blessed to be able to represent this state like a lot of great runners and athletes have before me. Running in West Virginia is something people can look at and say ‘Wow those guys are doing some great things.’, and I just want to be able to continue saying that.”
