Jared Keller, a red shirt sophomore from Orem, doesn’t run just as a passion but, more importantly, runs for his teammates.
Running cross-country for Keller is all about his fellow teammates. “I love the team aspect. You rely on the other runners, you know you’re racing for your teammates, and they are relying on you,” Keller said.
Keller grew up in Orem and began running in eighth grade. “I started to run track in junior high and have been running ever since,” Keller said. He kept running during high school at Mountain View in Orem. “That’s when I really started running cross country,” he said.
After running for Mountain View from sophomore year on, Keller ran one year at the United States Military Academy at West Point in West Point, New York. Following a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in McAllen, Texas, Keller transferred to UVU where he began his sophomore year on the cross-country team.
Although Keller’s passion is running, he is currently studying biology. “I want to go the medical route. Not sure what, but I want to practice medicine,” he said.
This being his first year running with UVU, Keller said, “This team is awesome; I just love the guys. We are really showing potential for what we can do.” Keller is happy with this season so far. “I feel really good. It’s been my first cross country season in a few years, and it was really good to see that I could run with a lot of the top athletes in the state,” he said.
Keller went into this season with a few strong goals and did an amazing job at meeting them. “I wanted to be competitive, run with the lead packs and stay up there. I just really wanted to help contribute to the team, and I feel like I’ve done that,” he said.
Will we be seeing Jared Keller for the next two years running with the cross-country team? “For sure, without a doubt,” he said. “Next year we only lose one of the great guys. The sky is the limit; we all have big dreams.”
Since this year’s season is nearing an end, Keller said, “It’s been a lot of hard work to get to where I’m at, but it’s been worth it.” Going into the Great West Conference Championships coming up on Saturday Nov. 1, at UVU, Keller is positive about how UVU will perform, “Team competition is going to be pretty tough. We want to win it, keep our pack tight, and take home the team title.”
