Kevin JUMPER, Holy Cross

Holy Cross senior Kevin Jumper won the District 2 Class 1A cross country title, then finished second at the PIAA championship Saturday.

Age: 18. 

Family: Mother, Colleen; father, Joe; brother, Owen.

Other sport you play? Track, I run the mile and the 2-mile. 

Any sports teams you follow? The Phillies and the Eagles.

How about an athlete that you admire? Eliud Kipchoge. He was the first guy to break the 2-hour marathon barrier.

Talk about the team getting a top-five finish at states. The team, that was our goal, top five, top seven. So to go down there and run real well, the whole team ran pretty well, so it was a fun ride home. We put up the best result for Holy Cross boys so I couldn’t be happier.

Two big races in six days, what did you do to prepare differently for that? Districts, I was a little nervous, especially the cold. And then obviously states, it was like 70, 75 degrees. So I was just taking it easy the days in between and drinking a lot of water, eating well, sleeping well, stuff like that. 

Speaking of eating well. is there one thing in your diet now that you avoided during the season? Training is still going on so pretty much I’m eating the same, it’s a lot of carbs, proteins like chicken. Once the season’s over, probably mac and cheese. 

What’s the one meal in your house that you cannot live without? My mom’s baked chicken. 

Talk about the win in the district race, individually and as a team to get to states. I knew that I was the favorite going into it, but I also looked at the results from the day before and the results from earlier that morning and there’s like a bunch of upsets so I knew that I couldn’t take it for granted. The race didn’t really go as I planned. I started cramping with a half mile ago but to get the win, and then for the team to win also, it just meant everything because we worked so hard  the whole season for that. 

Who’s your funniest teammate. Doug Walsh. 

What are your plans after high school? I want to go to college to go into finance. I’m leaning toward Rider University in New Jersey. 

Is there one skill you’d like to have away from sports? I think it would be cool if I could learn another language. 

Do you have any prerace rituals or superstitions you go through? Before the starting line, I kneel down and say a prayer.

Three people you’d like to have dinner with. Kobe Bryant, my uncle Kevin and Barack Obama.