PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College men's cross country team had three All-Americans on last year's national championship team.  Pablo Ramirez (Elk Grove, Ill., Conant), Francisco Soto (Lake Zurich, Ill., Lake Zurich) and Ryan Wojdyla (Palatine, Ill., Palatine) were the Hawks' top three runners at the national meet last season, but all three have moved on.
 
Harper is looking for someone to step up and lead the team this year and one of last season's top runners, Troy Cunningham (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Conant), is a prime candidate to assume that role.  In last week's Harper Invite, Cunningham finished in third place and helped the Hawks take first place in their first meet of the season.  His performance has earned him the honor of being Harper College's second Athlete of the Week.
 
Cunningham's career arc is eerily similar to his high school career at Conant, where he was a cross country and track star. Cunningham raced on the varsity in all four years for the Cougars.  As a sophomore, Cunningham was the #9 runner for a Conant squad that placed ninth in the state.  More importantly, he learned from the more experienced runners.  Then as a junior and senior, Cunningham captained both the cross country and track teams.
 
“It was a good experience going with all of the big guys we had on our team as a sophomore because it showed me that I had to step it up as a junior and as a senior,” Cunningham said.  “Being a captain during those last two years helped me because I felt like I had to be out in front and be a leader.”
 
Fast forward to Harper, Cunningham was one of the team's best runners as a freshman, but Ramirez was the undisputed top dog after winning nearly every meet last season and placing fourth at nationals.  Cunningham was Harper's second runner in the Region IV meet but was the team's fifth runner at the national meet.  He placed 27^th overall.
 
“Last year I was the younger guy and looked up to the older guys and wanted to be where they were at,” Cunningham said.  “This year I have to be in command a little more.  Zachary Gates (Palatine, Ill., Palatine) and I kind of lead.”
 
Aside from Gates and Colin Weber (Wheeling, Ill., Wheeling), the team is all new.  Head coach James Macnider has said this team has even better depth than last year's squad, and Cunningham agrees.
 
“These guys have great potential,” Cunnigham said of his new teammates.  “I see it in them.  They are all really good runners.  We can be really good this year.  We will definitely have a shot at the national championship as long as we are listening to Coach Macnider.”
 
It's all been part of the journey for Cunningham, who didn't know what he wanted to do right after high school but knew that he wanted to see where running could take him.  Enrolling at Harper was one of the best decisions he has made.
 
“I got a couple of offers from running but none that caught my attention like Coach Macnider's,” Cunningham said.  “Just knowing that I was going to have a good coach and knowing that I would save some money (was great).  There were a lot of reasons why I chose to go here.  I was thinking that I could do well here and hopefully bring my running to somewhere else.  I wanted to do well here to see where I could go after.”
 
Cunningham isn't sure what he wants to do yet next year but still has a track season in his future at Harper.  A versatile runner, Cunningham is comfortable doing anything from a 400m race on up.  If schools come up with offers, Cunningham will be ready to race.
 
“I love to compete,” Cunningham said.  “I don't perform in practice like I do in the meets.  Being able to compete with collegiate athletes is really cool.  It's fun to be good and we are really good here.”