Sports Spotlight: Chris Fetters | Observer Preps

Despite running track this season for the first time as a junior, Chris Fetters is an all-around athlete and his talents took him to the FHSAA state track meet where he finished 12th overall in the 800m. But with the season now over, he’s looking to enjoy some time with friends and maybe get in some sessions of Fortnite.

You just started running track this year as a junior. How did you get interested in the sport?

Back in January, I was getting ready for the baseball season, and I was having some pain in my elbow. Got it checked out and found out that if I were to keep throwing, I could tear my UCL and break off a part of my elbow — so I shut down that. I heard I was able to run, so I decided to just do track to stay in shape — that was my main goal. I actually loved it and found out I had a passion for it.

What is it about running you enjoy?

First off, honestly, being out there with my teammates and coaches — that made it fun. And I don’t know, the thing about the sport is it’s not always about winning and losing; it’s about where you can always better yourself each race.

Going from baseball to track, what were those first track practices like for you?

I realized I was sore a lot more; I started to get shin splints, my quads were always sore — I had to take ice baths and had to do extra stretching. My legs were pretty sore for the first two to three weeks. With baseball, my legs were not usually sore, and I was tired, but then the next day I’d feel great. But with track, after a meet or practice, your body felt it. You have to recover with good food, always drink water and proper stretching.

How did you land in the events that you run?

So I started off running the 400m — that’s how the coaches saw me — and they also put me in the 4x400m. My coaches could see I was a 800m guy, because toward the end of the season, they put me in one, and I ran it pretty well. Honestly, it was just coaches putting me into a race, which they saw, and I was able to perform.

In your first year, what was the highlight moment for you?

Probably anywhere being with my teammates and coaches — they always made it enjoyable honestly. There wasn’t any days where I was like, ‘Well this sucks, I don’t like this.’ It was honestly one of the best seasons of my life.

What was it like to qualify for states?

It was pretty surprising, because a lot of the kids out there are cross-country runners who have been running for over a year.