By Ken Hansard

McAuley High School junior student / athlete Sam Perrin spoke to VYPE SPORTS in a recent interview.

VYPE SPORTS: What are your personal goals for the year?

In terms of cut and dried goals, I want to improve both my time and my placement every race. I’m specifically aiming for a conference medal.  Last year our top four runners all got in the top ten, and this year I’m planning on joining them on that podium. Another personal goal is leading my team to state. Because we’re a really small team, all of our personal goals become team goals, and as the team captain, their goals are my goals. 

VYPE SPORTS: What is your favorite athletic memory?

My favorite memory is when I broke one minute in the 300 hurdles. We were at a really long meet in the spring of 2024, and my friend, Trae Veer, had just broken five minutes in the mile. He had been working towards it all year, and I remember him being super happy. I mentioned to him that I wanted to break one minute in the hurdles soon, and he said: “Why not do it today?” Time passes and I start my race. As I’m rounding the turn, somewhere around the third or fourth set of hurdles, I hear him shouting and cheering for me to PR and break one minute, so I did. That day is really special to me because it was a big milestone, and I always know that he and my teammates are cheering me on. 

VYPE SPORTS: What teammate has left the biggest impression on you and why?

Without a doubt Kendall Ramsey. She was a senior last year and for the longest time the only high school girl in our school that took cross country seriously. I was on the first scoring cross country girls’ team in our school’s history, a team that she led. I was on the 4×800 team that she led and that broke the long-standing school record.  Kendall has left a huge impression on, dare I say it, every female runner in our school, and I’m incredibly honored to have run with her. 

VYPE SPORTS: What is your favorite part of being on this team?

My teammates. Every single one of them is incredibly important to me. We’re all incredibly different people, but we’re all doing the same thing. We train to compete in a sport that is incredibly physically and mentally challenging, but we’re all in this together. That’s not something you see or experience every day, so it’s really amazing. 

VYPE SPORTS: What Clubs or Campus groups are you involved with and why?

Besides sports, I don’t do too much with my school. I’m a part of the National Art Honor Society, and I participate in Youth Group, which is something associated with both my church and my school. I love art, I love God, and I love sports, so that’s what I participate in. 

VYPE SPORTS: What has your sport taught you that you use in your daily life?

When you run, especially for a long time over a long distance, it’s really easy to get into your own head. When that happens, it becomes really easy to just… stop. That’s all you want to do when your head starts doing that. I experienced that kind of apathy nearly every day for years – to varying degrees, even before running cross country.  In truth, I still do, but cross country has helped me work through it. I ended up spending a lot of time during practice everyday just trying to convince myself not to stop and that it’s ok to feel like stopping, but you can’t let it hang on you like a heavy cloak. The only reason I felt motivated to change my mindset is because I wanted to get better for my team. Running helps me to practice not only the physical aspect of running but the mental aspect as well, and that’s really helped me to challenge my apathetic mindset in my daily life. 

VYPE SPORTS: What is the best advice that anyone has given you?

My coach has two main sayings: “Inch by inch – it’ll be a cinch” and “Win *insert today’s date here.*”  He reminds us of these whenever we get ahead of ourselves, thinking about how far we still have to go in order to meet our goals and also when we get caught up about winning things that we haven’t even started yet. It works really well on both ends of the spectrum, both to combat overconfidence and a lack of confidence. It reminds me to take everything one step, one hour, one day, at a time.  Taking that mindset really helps us to avoid being overwhelmed by a whole season full of big meets and important milestones. 

VYPE SPORTS: Who inspires you and why?

This is going to sound a little weird, but my younger brother. Thomas is the youngest of me and my three brothers. My mom is an incredibly intelligent and strong lady, and my dad was in the Marine Corp for almost 30 years, so my siblings and I have big shoes to fill. My eldest brother is one of the craftiest, smartest people I know, and my other older brother was an absolute beast of a sprinter in high school. So Thomas and I have big shoes to fill. Thomas is a straight A student, a crazy good athlete for a freshman in high school, and on top of all of that, he is incredibly kind. He’s super supportive of me, even  with all of my shortcomings and problems. He never expects me to do or to be something I can’t be or do. He’s a huge inspiration to me, despite (and also because of) his age. 

VYPE SPORTS: Here is your chance to give a shoutout or say thank you to anyone you wish.

Shout out to my cross country team: Genevieve Billings, Olivia Parrigon, Riley Sears, Sam Conrad, Edie Nolan, and Ellie Bohachick. I love you girls so much, and I know we can be great this year and for the years to come. Shout out to the boys’ team.  You’re an ok bunch. Shout out to my brothers: John, Todd, and Thomas.  I love you, even if I don’t show it very well. 

A big thank you to my coach, Andy Youngworth, for always sticking with me and believing in me and the plan, even when I’m being difficult. Thank you to Coach Darbi Stancell for training up the middle schoolers and for making us food.  Your garlic bread is to die for. Thank you to all the staff at my school; you do so much for the cross country and track programs, and you don’t get recognized enough for it. Thank you to my parents, Shannon and Jack Perrin. I know having a teenage daughter is difficult, and I’m incredibly grateful for your belief in me.  A special thank you to my middle school basketball coach, Cindy Grater. You were the first person that encouraged me to run in high school. I wouldn’t have made it this far without that first push. Thank you.