Michael Ungvarsky is only the third male runner in school history to win an individual state championship
Cinnaminson High School boys cross country senior Michael Ungvarsky won the NJSIAA Group II State Championship race on Saturday, Nov. 12. This win makes Ungvarsky the third male runner in Cinnaminson High School history to win an individual state championship.
“It was my big goal over the course of my four years,” Ungvarsky said. “Getting a chance to do it in cross country was huge for me and something I was looking forward to all year.”
Ungvarsky finished with a time of 15:58, an improvement from last year’s meet by 30 seconds, which he says was a huge accomplishment for him as well.
“I want to improve each year, and to improve 30 seconds in a 5K is a bug chunk of time, and I was happy with that,” he said.
The race was extremely close with Ungvarsky beating Point Pleasant Boro’s Devin Hart by only a stride. Ungvarsky says Hart likes to start with the lead, but he knew he had more speed than him. He wanted to use that speed to his advantage while deciding when to make the move ahead.
“With 150 meters left just about, I took off and gave it everything I had until the finish line,” Ungvarsky said.
Ungvarsky called this win his biggest accomplishment so far, and both Ungvarsky and boys cross country head coach Dan Fourney contribute a great amount of Ungvarsky’s success to his ability to take direction and put his faith in his coach. Ungvarsky says in addition to making sure he keeps in good shape and treats his body right, he did everything his coach told him to do, and that kept him determined.
“He trusted in me 100 percent,” Fourney said. “He’s probably the most dedicated kid I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot of dedicated kids, so that means something.”
Ungvarsky is captain of the team, and Fourney added that he’s a lead-by-example type of player.
“He’s really like an assistant coach,” Fourney said. “Next year, when he’s not going to be there, the kids are going to be following the routine that he set. I think that says wonders about him and his leadership.”
Ungvarsky says he tries his best to help the younger runners learn as much as they can and keep their bodies healthy.
“I’m not going to necessarily yell at everybody when they do something wrong, but I give people details and try to do everything right and ask for the same thing from my teammates,” Ungvarsky said. “Everybody keeps their eyes on the prize and keeps focused on the goals ahead of us, and that’s kind of how I teach them to be.”
Ungvarsky has also won the Burlington County Championship, Burlington County Divisional Championships and Shore Coaches Invitational this year. He’ll participate in track and field this spring and hopes to help his team win the Sectional Championship. He would also personally like to win the 3200 meter run and possibly the Meet of Champions.
Ungvarsky signed with Duke University on Tuesday, Nov. 15. He visited with the University of Mississippi and the University of Kentucky before making this decision, but ultimately decided Duke was the best fit for him athletically and academically.
