September 29, 2019
WRENTHAM — Taban Manyok had a feeling Saturday would be his day. Manyok rode his confidence all the way to a first-place finish in the Division 2 boys open at the annual Frank Kelley Cross Country Invitational at Wrentham Development Center.
Manyok, a senior, finished the 3.1-mile course in 16:40.
“I felt strong,” Manyok, who runs year-round with indoor and outdoor track, said. “It was a beautiful day. I knew I was going to be a top runner. I wanted to finish in the top pack. I slowed down a little bit but nobody took the lead. I took the lead from the very beginning and I finished it. I finished the first mile at 4:58, which was super fast. The weather was hot but I trained in hot weather all summer. I was expecting it.”
Manyok built a sizable lead after the first mile and never looked back. He crossed the finish line 22 seconds earlier than he did in 2018, when he finished eighth overall at 17:02.
“It felt awesome,” Manyok said. “It felt like a huge accomplishment. I’ve been working so hard over the summer. I finished strong and felt amazing. It felt great to know that I won it. I didn’t do so well last year. I was disappointed with where I finished. It felt nice to win it this year.”
Manyok said his swift start paid dividends in the end.
“I knew I was going to do well, so the key was just to stay at the top and finish strong at the end,” Manyok said. “I was hoping to stay in the top pack. Nobody else wanted to lead so I took it and went from there. I carried that into the second mile. I held a 12-second lead the entire race so I felt good. I wasn’t going to get caught.”
A Lynn native, Manyok has garnered interest from college programs. On the list thus far are Franklin Pierce, Hamilton College, Fitchburg State and Wheaton College. He has an overnight schedule next week at Fitchburg State.
“It feels great to be wanted by college teams and college coaches,” Manyok, who’s leaning toward majoring in computer science, said. “When they send you emails telling you that you’ll be great for their team next year, it feels really good. It feels good to get personal tours of campuses from coaches. I’m excited. I’m super lucky and fortunate.”
By Harold Rivera