Ever since middle school, senior John Tatter has excelled in competitive cross country [XC] running.  Freshman year, Tatter shocked his coaches and teammates through his sheer talent and work ethic coming in at number four for Reynolds running a 16:22 5K.

   Recently, Tatter has impressed the world of cross country running a 15:00 5K at the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary two months ago and right now, Tatter holds the number one time in North Carolina and the number 25 time in the United States.

   Tatter had looked at several schools to further both his academic and athletic careers, officially touring Wake Forest University, Georgetown University, University of Michigan and University of Mississippi before committing to Michigan on October 24.

   “John is a very coachable athlete and he is very logical in his training” said men’s XC and track coach David Wainwright. “Since I’ve coached him he has grown in many ways and his times have gotten much better.”

   Tatter has already improved from his junior year time by 24 seconds and is expecting to drop even more time at the State Championship and Foot Locker South Regional meets both coming up in November.

   “I want to win regionals and states,” said Tatter. “I also want to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals.”

   Mount Tabor’s Cameron Ponder has been a huge source for Tatter’s inspiration all four years of high school as he has been just ahead of Tatter in passed years, until now.

   “It was great to see John finally beat him at Adidas [XC Challenge]” said Wainwright. “John broke him like a pencil in the final stretch.”

   Last outdoor track season, Tatter ran a 4:23 mile and expects to run close to a 4:10 mile this upcoming track season. Tatter also ran an incredible 9:09 two-mile last spring at the Arcadia Invitational in California and wants to break the nine minute barrier this track season.

   “What sets John apart from his competition is his ability to reflect on his training and the make changes necessary to succeed,” said Wainwright “John is also very humble when it comes to winning, which is very important for all athletes.”

   With the State Championship cross country meet next week, Tatter, as well as the team, will look to put their best foot forward in competing for the title.