Sam Kirk is a high-achieving senior at DGS. He was on the soccer team his freshman and sophomore year, but made the transition to cross country when he found a better connection there. Kirk plans to attend one of the four-year colleges he has already been accepted to and study to become a special education teacher.

Q: Last time you had an indulgent meal?
A: “I ordered lasagna on Saturday…Well, I didn’t run really well on Saturday, so I was kind of sad, so I was on the bus and I called Tortorice’s and was like ‘Hey, can I have a lasagna?’ And then after the meet I picked it up and it made me feel better.”

Q: Last time you felt proud?
A: “Probably when I broke five in the mile, that was fun. It was at Morton, we were running, and it was basically just a bunch of South guys and like three Morton guys. Basically all the South guys were just going for sub-five and we had like a giant pack ahead, I think I was like third that race, but it was so nice because afterwards all the top guys and everyone else was cheering and going crazy. It was kind of nice to see my work pay off.”

Q: Last time you made a mistake?
A: “I thought I saw Eldwin [Neritani] in the hallway and I saw he was walking down the stairs, from behind it looked like Eldwin, so I do what most people do and jump on their back, you know, normal things that friends do. He turns around…it was not Eldwin. So we looked each other in the eyes and just walked away.”

Q: Last time you felt unprepared?
A: “I went on a few college visits last spring break and I felt completely lost….I was sitting there thinking, ‘I don’t know if I have all the information I need. What should I ask? What do I need to know when I’m going to college?’ Luckily my brothers have gone to college before me and my parents asked all the hard questions, so that’s a plus.”

Q: Last time you envied someone else?
A: “Probably when I was injured, I was kind of envious of the people that were not injured. Because it’s not very fun to be on the sidelines and see all your teammates running well and running good times and getting better, and you’re just kind of there.”