After running a mile in just six minutes and 50 seconds in fifth grade, freshman Liam Anderson discovered his talent for running.

Anderson is currently ranked third on the men’s varsity cross country team. He placed fourth out of 194 runners in the freshman/sophomore division at the De La Salle Invitational and 99th of 231 seeded runners at the Stanford Invitational.

His passion for racing cross country sparks from the independence he feels while he runs.

“You are really racing yourself so you have to push yourself. [Racing] is really more about pushing yourself, whereas with a lot of other team sports, you are comparing yourself to other people,” Anderson said.

Anderson trains every day after school with his team. His workouts are varied, so while some days he runs mile repeats, other days he will run for 50 minutes.

According to cross country head coach Laura Schmitt, Anderson’s success stems from his poise and self-confidence.

“He carries himself with dignity, and it is obvious that whatever he does, he will be good at it,” Schmitt said.

According to Schmitt, Anderson is easy to coach because he immediately applies the advice given to him.

“He knows when to press, when to relax, when to step up to a situation, and when to back off. He has great race instincts,” Schmitt said.

Anderson considers senior Andy Ehrenberg his role model because of Ehrenberg’s abilities and attitude.

“At practices [Ehrenberg] really pushes the team to do better. He works really hard and because of that he does really well,” Anderson said.

Likewise, Ehrenberg values having Anderson on the team, and believes that his abilities are a vital addition to the success of the team.

“Normally we don’t put pressure on freshman to succeed and we don’t rely on their success for the team’s success,” Ehrenberg said. “But with Liam we have some piece of mind that he will contribute. He handles his position with huge maturity.”

This year, Anderson hopes to make the top 180 at state and plans to run track and field in the spring. In the future, Anderson would like to win NCS by his junior year and his division at state before he graduates.

“He will get everything out of the sport that he should because he works that hard,” Schmitt said.