Jon Berzonsky is keeping up with tradition.
The Indiana High senior built on the rich tradition of the school’s cross country program, winning the Indiana County Championship meet Thursday at the IUP South Campus course.
Berzonsky also helped lead Indiana to the team title for an eighth straight year, crossing the finish line in 17 minutes, 35 seconds and coming in five seconds ahead of teammate Seth Weaver.
Here’s a look at this week’s Athlete of the Week.
Parents: Tom and Karen Berzonsky
Siblings: Will, 17, and Matt, 21
Pets: Beau, an English lab
Plans after high school: Attend a four-year university
Hobbies outside cross country: Fly-fishing, mountain biking, disc golf, street hockey, backpacking, rock climbing, lifting, swimming.
Favorite school subject: History
Food you refuse to eat: Fish
Favorite video game: “Red Dead Redemption 2”
TikTok, Twitter or Instagram? TikTok
Favorite sport: My favorite sport is track and field. I love the opportunity to choose a different event from the 400 meters up to the 3,200.
When and why did you start running? I started running when I was in sixth grade. My dad helped push me in middle school to start running more and more. At that point after eighth grade I just wanted to win everything and set every record. That mindset hasn’t changed.
Pre-race rituals or superstitions? The only pre-race ritual I have is just getting away from people and staying quiet.
Biggest inspiration: My biggest inspiration is my older brother Matt. He inspired me in middle school to train in cross country after his team won WPIALs and were runner-up at the state championships. He showed me it was possible to achieve these goals if you just put in a lot of effort and consistency every day.
If you had a walk-up song like in baseball, what would yours be and why? “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. It gets me hyped.
Favorite part of competing: My favorite part is the pressure and the anticipation it brings. I love feeling under pressure and uncomfortable in a race, especially when the gun is about to go off.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned as an athlete at Indiana? Always finish what you start. If you don’t finish a set of reps, or anything for that matter, quitting becomes a habit in everything you do.
What is something your coaches taught you that you always try to remember? Stay positive. In this sport there are a lot of ups and downs — sometimes more downs than ups. You have to keep consistent and trust the process, because you get out what you put in.
Personal goals moving forward: Top 25 at states and sub-16 at the RunningLane meet in Alabama.
Favorite place to compete: My favorite place to compete is the NXR northeast course in New York.
How does it feel to be the Indiana County champion, and how important was it to take the team title? It feels great; the team title is so important moving forward in the season. At this point it had definitely become tradition winning this meet and will set the tone for the rest of the season.
How much does it help having a runner like Seth Weaver on your team? It’s awesome! Seth is a great runner, more importantly he’s also a great person. He strives for perfection in just about everything he does whether it’s academics or in this case athletics.
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