Making Strides

Motivation can be a powerful tool.

It can make or break you.

It’s the catalyst for competition.

And, for Riverview High senior R.J. Natherson, motivation proved to be the driving force for success.

Natherson didn’t follow the traditional cross-country route. He didn’t grow up in a family of former runners or run half-marathons in middle school.

In fact, he didn’t start running until his sophomore year.

Natherson, who weighed 180 pounds at the time, started running as a way to stay in shape. He joined the Rams’ JV cross-country team, for which his 5K times hovered around 25 minutes.

But Natherson continued to stick with it.

“I enjoy the nature of it,” Natherson says. “It’s different than street racing. The team camaraderie is great, and everyone is so supportive and cheering you on. Even when you’re on the verge of passing out, you can still hear that loud roar and it motivates you to take that extra second off.”

He ran on the JV squad the following year, dropping not only his weight, which had climbed to 205 pounds at the start of the season, but also his time.

“For a boy to (run 25 minutes) and continue to come back speaks a lot to his character,” coach Jason Means says. “He’s always positive and works hard. He’s a positive force on this team.”

Natherson dropped his time into the 21-minute range, but he simply wasn’t satisfied.

At that point, Natherson realized he needed to make a change. He put in the extra miles over the summer and spent time working out in the gym. His goal was simple — to make Riverview’s varsity squad his senior season.

Natherson dropped his time by roughly four minutes heading into this season and has since become one of the Rams’ top-five runners.

“I think it’s an amazing experience,” Natherson says. “I had never been a part of an elite group of athletes before.

“I had a motivation,” Natherson says. “I really wanted to be on varsity, and that drive is what got me through the tough workouts.”

With four varsity runners returning from last season, Riverview had high expectations heading into this season. And with the addition of Natherson, the Rams saw success early in the season.

Blake Riley, Warran Grajalez and Bryce Vokus all broke 16 minutes earlier this season to break the previous school record mark of 16:08. Riley currently holds the school record with a time of 15:46.

“We worked really hard over the summer,” Vokus says. “This group of guys has done really well (influencing) and pushing one another harder than we ever have before.”

After winning a handful of cross-country meets throughout the season, the Rams went on to win the Class 4A-District 8 meet Oct. 23. It was the Rams’ first district title since 1999.

The Rams followed up their district championship with their first regional title Nov. 2.

“We knew that Riverview has had it for quite awhile, but we didn’t know they were going to be this good,” assistant coach Paul Opitz says. “It’s really fun coaching the boys team right now.”

Most recently, the Rams competed in the Class 4A cross-country finals for the second-consecutive season. The Riverview boys team made its first state meet appearance last season in which it finished 16th.

This season, the Rams’ goal was to better last year’s performance by finishing in the top-10.

Riverview achieved its goal Nov. 9, finishing eighth in the state out of 24 teams.

Grajalez finished 27th overall in 16 minutes, 26.28 seconds; Vokus was 41st in 16:41.37; followed by Riley (51st, 16:50.57); Natherson (66th, 16:59.89) and Matt Berman (98th, 17:22.10).

“We’ve all worked really hard to get on varsity,” Tyler Riley says. “This team is strong, and the younger runners who are going to take over next season will be able to build upon our legacy.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].