this quality makes him such a successful captain. “Skyler’s a great leader, he really likes to rally the ‘fellas’ and get them psyched about running,” Newby said. “He’s truly an inspiration when it comes to running hard. I can’t imagine anyone more fitting of the team captain position.” Cummins not only inspires his other teammates, but also leads by example.
“I’ve told many of the younger kids who ask, ‘how can I get faster?’, to just run with Skyler every day,” Billing said. In addition to his leadership abilities, Cummins lightens the team mood with his humorous personality. “Skyler [Cummins] has an very unique personality,” Newby said. “He takes running very seriously, but he has a great sense of humor as well. He knows when to quit the childish shenanigans and slap on his game face.” From the beginning of his junior year, Cummins stood out as an emerging runner. By the end of the season, he qualified for the Central Coast Section (CCS) championship meet. Although, when it came to the day of the race, Cummins was not able to compete. “The morning of the CCS meet I woke up puking,” Cummins said. “So I obviously could not run that day.” Cummins could not run in his final race of the season due to an unknown virus, thought to be food poisoning or the flu. Although after a disappointing end to the cross-country season, that same year, Cummins completed a successful track season. Yet it was not the most remarkable of seasons for Cummins. As a senior, Cummins participated in his last high school cross-country season this past fall. After the loss of coach, Billing, due to a move to Connecticut, Cummins new coaches, Joe Ginnani and John Welsh, had large shoes to fill going into
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the cross-country season. “I think Joe [Ginanni] and John [Welsh] did an incredible job,” Cummins said. “Having Jeff [Billing] leave at the end of last year was definitely pretty bad and I was wondering how it would all fit together this year. But they did a perfect job, they could not have done a better job, I mean nobody could have.” Throughout the season, the team worked towards a goal,
TEammaTE JoSh
on hiS woRk EThiC: “Skyler has a tremendous work ethic; he is at all the Saturday long-runs, all the workouts, he does all his homework, and he turns in all his college apps. It sounds cliché, but that kid gives 110% effort.
on hiS PERSonaliTy: “Skyler is a Casanova too, the only thing smoother than he is with the ladies are his freshly shaven legs.”