Run, Beattie, Run
November 24, 2009
Although Chris Derrick graduated in 2008, the Neuqua Valley Men’s Cross Country team has had no shortage of outstanding times and talent. But the most reoccurring name throughout Neuqua’s halls is definitely Aaron Beattie.
With numerous Individual Champion titles at meets and the acknowledgement as well as respect from his coaches and teammates, Beattie is, quite frankly, a beast.
Surprisingly, Beattie did not begin his athletic career directly as a runner. He actually started out playing soccer in middle school. “I joined the school soccer team, but I didn’t get any play time…I wasn’t one of those significant-impact guys,” said Beattie. He found his calling in seventh grade when his PE teacher noticed his knack for running. “He made us run [the mile] three more times and my times kept going down.”
It wasn’t until he moved to Naperville that he discovered cross country. But because cross country and soccer season overlapped, Beattie had a choice to make: stick with what he had done or try something he had never heard of. “I chose cross country and if I didn’t like it, I would just do soccer and then track in the spring, but I did pretty well in cross country too, so I’ve been running since then.”
Now instead of being stuck on the bench, Beattie is out representing his team with every stride he takes. A Varsity runner since his sophomore year, there is nothing but praise for this athlete. With first place finishes at the Hornet-Red Devil Invite, the Peoria Woodruff Invitational, the Upstate 8 Conference, and regionals, then second place at sectionals, a fourth place at state, and placing eighth recently at NXN Midwest, one would probably expect a kid with a big head about his ego. The only thing big about Beattie’s head is the afro on it. “He is very talented…and deserves recognition for his efforts. However, he will be the first to tell you that he would rather see our team be recognized for excellence than him,” said head coach Paul Vandersteen.
Of course, this recognition immediately connects him to 2007 graduate Chris Derrick and Beattie coolly states that he is no Chris Derrick. “Chris was the perfect example of putting in the work to get results…he just set the standard for the dedication to the sport that is probably not going to be matched for a really long time at Neuqua. He set the gold standard for athletes.” Beattie does not currently know where running will take him in the future, but it is definitely evident that his name will be associated with running for many more years to come.
Hong-Ah Do, Front Page and NeuquaMedia Editor
