Junior Mikey Mackiewicz is a cross country and track star. 

He started cross country in middle school as a way to condition for soccer, baseball, and basketball. 

“Initially, I didn’t expect running to be my main sport,” Mackiewicz said. 

“But after running for a year I realized that I was kinda good at it and chose to stick with it.”

Aside from competing, Mackiewicz also enjoys the atmosphere of the track and cross country meets. 

“It’s a really fun atmosphere, everyone wants each other to succeed, and it motivates me to train harder to be the best,” Mackiewicz stated.

Although track and field and cross country are mostly individual sports, Mackiewicz enjoys the team and how close they have gotten as a group.

  “It’s a great group of guys and we all connect really well,” Mackiewicz said. 

“We want each other to succeed and we’re always having fun during our meets.”

 Mackiewicz’s favorite part of his cross country and track journey is all of the friendships he’s made along the way.

“I’ve created lasting friendships with guys I’ve met over the years that still go to PVHS, and friendships with friends that are now going to college,” Mackiewicz said.

 Mackiewicz was inspired to help his younger teammates after receiving mentorship himself from prior teammates.  

“Will Kirk has influenced me to always give 100% and I look up to him as a big role model for my running career,” Mackiewicz said. 

“He taught me that I’m not going to have a good race every time, so I need to learn from my bad races and use that to become the best runner I can be.” 

Mackiewicz has had a very successful junior year campaign after recovering from a broken toe earlier in the year. 

“When I broke my toe it was tough to run through the pain but I had to be resilient. This year I ran a 2 minute 800m which is a CIF qualifying time, and I’m finally wearing the coveted stripes,” Mackiewicz said.