Senior leads Raiders into championship part of season
By: Justin Feil
Kyle Bremer is looking forward to a return to the Blair cross country course for the Prep A state championships.
It will be the last trip to the annual site of the state meet for the Hun senior, who took advantage of a chance to tune up in Saturday’s dual-meet loss to the host Bucs. Bremer felt like he was seeing the course for the first time Saturday.
"I haven’t run it since freshman year," said the Montgomery resident, who was Hun’s second finisher, 10 seconds behind teammate Jeremy Mantell. "I forgot where all the strategic points were. Now we know where to attack and where to focus on. If you don’t run that course smart, you’re done."
Bremer should have felt as comfortable as any Raiders runner on the course Saturday. He is a four-year member of the Hun boys’ team, but after a promising freshman campaign, he was beset with injuries.
"Freshman year," Bremer said, "I had some great memories because of being healthy."
As a sophomore, a stress fracture ended his chances of running in the state meet. Last year as a junior, it was a knee injury that cost him a trip to Blair. Those injuries might have cost him more if he’d taken the advice of some.
"Stuff like that does get inside your head," Bremer said. "I’ve never wanted to give up. I’ve had doctors tell me, it’s probably not good for you when you’re growing (to keep running). But this is what I live for. It’s frustrating, but it makes you want it next season even more."
Bremer has started this season off well. He has been in Hun’s top three the entire season. He was first at the George Invitational the week before the Blair dual meet, and covered the 5-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 57 seconds.
"It was a real big step for him to get under the 19-minute mark," said Hun head coach Geoff Evans, whose team hosts Peddie on Saturday at Greenway Meadows. "He ran the first mile smooth, the second mile he had a lot in the tank and the third mile he came in strong. He raced a real smart, well-tempoed race. He realized toward the end he could make 19 easy."
Bremer expected to be running better times than that after a freshman year in which he developed into a steady contributor while finding a passion for the sport. Bremer was the difference in a sixth-runner tiebreaker in a dual meet with Gill St. Bernards. He credits the eye-opening experience to then-senior Morgan Seybert, who went on to become the first Hun runner to win a Mercer County Championship.
"I originally came in treating it as just a sport I’d run for a credit and concentrate on my spring sports like baseball," Bremer said. "He got me into it. He made me see my potential.
"I’d like to have two seasons without injury to see what I could do. It’s kind of like starting fresh every year. That’s why I’m anxious for college."
Before Bremer exits the program, he’s trying to be the sort of leader that he saw in Seybert. Bremer is captain and happy with the start he is off to as a senior.
"I really didn’t know what to expect," Bremer said. "The last two seasons when I got injured, I felt fine in the beginning. Every race, at this point, I realize it’s a privilege. Without four years of training, I can’t really put out some fast times. As a team leader, I’m trying to motivate everyone else.
"Not a lot of teams have the team unity we have," he added. "Everyone is really close. We all have fun. There’s no one on the team that doesn’t get along. We get along great."
Some of that credit can go to Bremer and fellow senior Will Christiansen. They have helped bring along the younger runners, like Will Burke, a freshman who was the Hun third finisher Saturday.
"Kyle’s always been in a leadership position," Evans said. "He has modeled his place on the team off Morgan. When Morgan was a senior, he took Kyle under his wing and taught him a lot about racing and training. Will Burke had a good race (Saturday). Kyle is trying to resuscitate that leadership with Will’s freshman year."
Added Bremer: "He reminds me a lot of me. It’s kind of the way Morgan Seybert mentored me and got me into it. He’s maybe a little faster than I was as a freshman. He’s going to be good."
Bremer’s leadership will help not just for this year, but for coming seasons, just as Seybert’s influence on Bremer has been undeniable. It has helped the Raiders realize some of their potential as they gear up for the end-of-season meets.
"He shows good training philosophy," Evans said. "He knows the importance of off-season training and backing off on easy days. He does a good job on race days to make sure everyone gets tot he line warmed up and ready. He’s a good leader as a motivator of the other guys. And he’s a good leader by giving the kids an example to bring the other kids along."
Bremer has continued to be that example even after enduring two years of injuries. He has returned in each of the last two seasons to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League meet.
"It’s another important thing the kids see, the pain isn’t a debilitating thing for his training," Evans said. "He’s not pushing through when he shouldn’t be, but he’s not letting it get in the way of his training."
Bremer is encouraged by the progress he has seen just over halfway through the season. The Raiders have faced tough competition, and Saturday they saw a very good Blair team on a difficult course.
"It’s definitely a challenging course," Bremer said. "It’s up in the mountains. There’s a fair amount of wind and it’s extremely hilly. There are a lot of challenging parts to it. The hills we’ve been working on really showed. We were a lot better Saturday."
Bremer is hoping the progress continues. He’d like to see the team finish even stronger when they return for the state championship. Most of all, he’d like to be a part of the Raiders top five when they compete for the title.

