Mason Walters, senior, was named to the All-Metro Second Team for cross country by the St. Louis Track Club in February.

Walters credited his performance at the State meet in Jefferson City in November as a deciding factor in being named to the All-Metro Second Team.

“It was a pretty cool experience to go [to State] with my whole team,” Walters said. “The coaches weren’t sure where exactly I would finish, but I ended up passing what they expected.”

Walters finished 12th out of 165 athletes at the State Meet and ran the 5K course in 16:32.24.

Although he has competed at State for cross country three times, last fall was his first time finishing in the top 25, the cutoff for All State status.

Walters is now looking forward to what he can do in his final season of high school running this spring.

“My goal this year is to break the school record in the 800 [meter run] and to get a scholarship to run in college,” Walters said.

Walters said he could get a scholarship to run at a Division I school, but he knows it will take hard work.

Stone Burke, sophomore, has been Walters’ teammate for two years. Burke said Walters has helped him develop more self confidence.

“Mason taught me to put faith in the training and to always believe in yourself,” Burke said. “Mason is always one to set lofty goals at the beginning of the season, but then through hardwork and dedication turn them into reality.”

Burke also said he will miss the conversations he has while running with Walters.

“He knows how to lighten the mood and is super funny, but our conversations also get pretty deep,” Burke said. “Overall, I’ll miss his ability to make me see the real purpose and reason I run.”

Michael Ebert, cross country coach, said he is impressed by Walters’ versatility as a sprinter and long distance runner.

“Mason qualified individually for State as a sophomore in the 400 [meter dash],” Ebert said. “He has a skill set that is different from a lot of runners.This year, he felt a lot more confident running cross country. He has that speed that most cross country runners don’t have.”

Ebert added that Walters’ speed always helps him near the end of races.

“We knew if he was in the 20-25 [top runners] range toward the end, he would be All-State,” Ebert said. “He has a great kick and ended up passing a lot of people in the last 100 meters.”

Ebert also said he has seen few people in his time coaching who can run so well over such a variety of distances.

“I have seen only seen a couple of runners over the years with that range in St. Louis,” Ebert said. “I do think he’s just now tapping into his distance potential.”