February 16 —- Copy link — Facebook — LinkedIn — Share to
Now a Division I runner at SU, Zundell continues to write his name in the record books, recently joining rare company when it comes to Mountain State natives.
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Zander became the third West Virginian runner to run a sub-four-minute mile in a race over the weekend in Boston, Massachusetts.
The State College sophomore crossed the finish line with a time of 3:59.04, etching his name not only in the history books of West Virginia University, but also of Syracuse University.
“I think it’s an honor to leave something permanent in state history,” Zander said. “Records are going to be broken and it’s really just a matter of time before you’re gone. But running four makes me part of a roster that, no matter who else comes or who comes next, I’ll always be on the roster. I’ll always be the third guy to do that. It makes the moment even more special when Chris Fox is there too “Coach Fox helped turn Syracuse into what it is today and helped get our state into the running game, so for him to be there and see it happen, for me to do that for the program that he built, it really felt like a full-on moment for me.”
As mentioned before, one of the other two names Zundell has joined as a former SU coach is Chris Fox, who saw Zundell break records in Boston.
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Drew said sub-4 minutes became a real possibility after running 4:03 at Cornell earlier this season. He also said he definitely thinks he saw some signs leading up to the game by coincidence this week.
“I jokingly texted my dad about all the ‘3’s I saw in the game,” he said. “The third game of the season, I’ll be the third West Virginian to do it, and a few other unremarkable things, three points in it. So it’s definitely something I’m thinking about playing.”
With the remainder of the track season and two more seasons in orange coming up, Zander said his experience at Syracuse has changed him for the better, both as an athlete and as a person.
“In terms of running, and in every aspect of my life, I was taught how to be a pro at Syracuse,” he said. “I have to be professional in everything I do, including training, sleep, nutrition, but also being on time, turning in work, figuring out your business, that kind of thing. There are a lot of other things that are equally important, but I could talk about it for days.”