Herald-News Athlete of the Week: Plainfield South’s Camyn Viger

Plainfield South’s Camyn Viger won the voting for The Herald-News Athlete of the Week. Viger, a junior cross country runner, won the individual title at the Southwest Prairie Conference meet, helping the Cougars capture the team title. He finished with a total of 143 votes, beating out Justin Williams of Plainfield North (43), Jessica Kovalcik of Plainfield North (38) and Mia Galassini of Lincoln-Way East (29).

JHN: What was it like to win the conference meet?

Viger: That was nice. We take the conference meet pretty seriously. For the seniors, it’s the last conference meet of their career, so they definitely want to run hard in that one.

JHN: How did you get into distance running?

Viger: I ran a mile once in seventh grade, but I really got started my freshman year of high school. That was when COVID hit and I was leaning toward playing soccer. I had played soccer for about eight years up until then. Because of COVID, I was able to do both soccer and cross country, and I found out that I was much better at cross country than I was at soccer.

JHN: What do you like about cross country?

Viger: I really like the atmosphere. Everyone is working together to make the team better. We work out together all summer and we form a pretty tight bond. That’s when it all starts, the grind to get better. For me to become good, I know I have to be surrounded by the whole team. Coach [Jason] Crowe has built a strong program and we know what is expected of us.

JHN: How many miles to you run in a week?

Viger: Right now, we are tapering, so it’s only about 50. When we are doing our max, we probably do 70 or more. The hard workout days are 10 miles and the recovery days are less than 10.

JHN: Is it easier to do that in a group than to discipline youself to do it on your own?

Viger: Oh, yes, definitely. When we are all getting together and working out, we can hold each other accountable. We all have to keep up if we all want to get better.

JHN: Do you have a race-day routine?

Viger: I try to eat a little better on race day. It’s not that I eat bad normally, but I eat better on the day of a race. Then, I just go into the race with confidence.

JHN: What are your goals for the rest of the season?

Viger: We want to come home with one of the big trophies from state. We feel like we have a pretty good shot of doing that.