All summer long, Dana Fraley would ask her husband John, “Where’s Troy?”
On almost every occasion, no matter what day or what time it was, the answer would usually be the same — he’s out running.
“I would try to tell him he can take a day off and enjoy the summer,” Dana said of her youngest son. “But he’s got this plan in mind and he goes for it.”
Troy has a plan, all right, and he certainly is going for it.
After a rigorous summer of running every morning and evening, the Glacier High School junior enters Saturday’s 48th annual state cross country meet in Missoula with the fastest time in Class AA and a chance at winning the program’s first individual state title.
Troy has matured into a leader. He has finished either first or second in his six races. Only two Montana runners have beat him — Flathead’s Zach Perrin and Helena’s Matt Barker — but no one has run faster than his best time, 15:01. The winning AA time at state last year in Helena was 15:34.
“You see all these runners that were at the top all these years and now Troy’s right there with them,” John said. “It’s really neat to see. You just wonder, ‘How did this happen?’”
As most kids do growing up, Troy looked up to his older brother and sister, who both ran. Like old clothes, running was passed down to him. Then he joined the popular middle school Highlander Track program and found a new group to look up to: the Flathead High School runners who volunteered to help.
“I remember I had Elliot Welder as a Highlander Track coach. I always looked up to him and was like ‘he’s so fast,’ ” Troy said.
By his freshman year of high school, Troy was running with most lead packs. Even back then, Glacier head coach Mike McLean remembers seeing real potential in the 5-foot-6, 14-year-old.
“I said it at a track banquet two years ago, ‘He is one of the best athletes at our school,’” McLean said. “And he’s proven that.”
Troy became the first all-state cross country runner in the school after placing seventh as a freshman.
As a sophomore, he continued to improve, but bad luck arrived on the eve of the final race in the form of illness and injury. Troy ended the season in 21st place.
The slow finish didn’t sit well with Troy. He worked in the offseason and had a strong track season running long distance. But when summer came, he didn’t stop training; he actually trained harder and more often.
“He’s become a great leader with his work ethic. He’s a real fiery competitor,” McLean said. “He hates to lose.”
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Glacier’s Troy Fraley runs in the middle of the pack during the Glacier Invitational cross country meet at Kidsports Complex. |
It was only a matter of time before the Flathead Valley produced another standout distance runner. There is currently a crop of running talent that could bring home multiple state titles this weekend. Derrick Williams in Columbia Falls, a close friend of Troy’s, is competing for a top spot in Class A; Makena Morley in Bigfork has run the fastest times for a girl since Flathead’s Zoe Nelson began her dominating stretch a decade ago; Flathead’s Zach Perrin, another friend of Troy’s, has been dominant the previous two seasons and near the top of the field in Class AA.
And then there’s Troy, who has come into his own this fall. Now standing 5-11 and in the best shape of his life, the Glacier captain is the reaping the benefits of his summer’s work.
“I worked really hard and decided I wanted to do really well this year,” he said. “If you work hard and put in the time, you’re going to see good results. It pays off.”
At the massive Mountain West race, where almost 400 runners converge on the same course as the state meet, Troy clocked a 15:01 and finished second behind Mead’s Andrew Gardner, who was ranked fourth in the nation last year.
In his next race, the Capital City 7-on-7 in Helena, Troy held off last year’s second- and third-place runners at state to win in 15:08.
“You could tell when he got in shape like he is now and when he matured physically, he’s going to be tough to beat,” McLean said. “If you’re going to beat Troy, you’re going to have give a pretty big effort.”
Last week, in the final race of the regular season, Troy sat back boxed in between a pack of orange and blue jerseys and was on pace for his slowest time in almost two years. It was at the Glacier Invite at Kidsports Complex. Early in the race he swiveled his head and waved back at two teammates who wanted personal-best times, signaling them to catch up. For two miles he shepherded the pack into good position while Perrin and two other Flathead runners ran away with the lead.
With a mile to go, Troy couldn’t hold back any longer. Not someone as competitive as him. He kicked into stride, tearing around the course as though his race had just started. Within a half mile he had caught and passed every runner but Perrin. As he strode down the final stretch, the home crowd cheering him on, Troy showed a smile.
For once, he was fine with second place. This wasn’t the finish line he was worried about.
“I’m just keeping my eye on the prize. State’s next week. I didn’t want to be tired out for that,” he said afterward. “It’s going to be a tough race. There’s a lot of competition this year. But I think I’ve put the time in. I can do it.”
Troy eased into a cool-down run by himself after the race. When he was finished he walked slowly back toward the Glacier tent to put on his sweatpants. But first a young middle school runner approached him sheepishly.
“Nice job,” he said to Troy, who stopped and thanked him. The two talked for a couple of minutes and Troy gave the boy a few pointers. The boy knew what was ahead for Troy and wished him good luck.
“I hope you win it,” he told Troy.
Troy smiled and thanked him before running off to get a hug and congratulations from his mom and dad.