Dzurenda to run XC, track at St. Francis

By Jose Negron

jnegron@yourmvi.com

When 9-year-old Ava Dzurenda began her running career, she admits she didn’t initially get much enjoyment out of it. 

Dzurenda said she didn’t find much success in cross country or track and field, which resulted in a lack of passion for the pair of sports. 

Then, when her father, Brian, began to help guide her as her middle school coach, Dzurenda developed a love and appreciation for running. 

“That was the first time I actually started to train and found success in the sport,” said Dzurenda, the daughter of Brian and Meredith Dzurenda of White Oak. “Ever since then, running consistently, I have loved running. I love that it is an individual sport that yet has a team aspect. You get out of it what you put into it and it is a great stress relief.”

As Dzurenda finishes out her high school career at Serra Catholic, she’s almost ready to take the next step and compete in college. 

But she doesn’t have the tough task of simply picking one sport over the other. 

Instead, Dzurenda will continue her academic, cross country and track and field careers at St. Francis University. 

Dzurenda signed her national letter of intent surrounded by friends and family on Tuesday. 

“It means a lot to me to be able to run cross country and track at the collegiate level,” Dzurenda said. “I knew as soon as I entered high school that running in college was a big goal of mine. I have faced many setbacks through my high school running career where I doubted being able to run in college, but I have managed to overcome them. Signing to run at Saint Francis has really showed that all of my hard work has paid off.” 

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