Riverside Prep’s Thomas Long runs his way to Oregon Institute of Technology – VVdailypress.com

Jason Reed| For the Daily Press

Riverside Prep cross country and track and field star Thomas Long can officially sayhe is a college athlete.

Long signed his National Letter of Intentwith the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon on Thursday, sealing the deal for the four-minute, thirty-five-second mile runner to take his abilities to the collegiatelevel.

It absolutely excites me to go to that next level. I am giddy, Long said.

Long, like every other high school athlete in California, had to overcome new hurdles in the recruiting process. The coronavirus pandemic prematurely shut down Longs junior track and field season and completely eliminated his senior year cross country season.

That means that Long, who has gotten better year-over-year, had to use his sophomore year track and field personal records during the recruiting process.

No colleges offered before the pandemic began, Long explained. All of my personal records were from my sophomore year. They werent bad, but that is the difference between a person who has been practicing for two years opposed to a person practicing for three years.

Longs resume still spoke for itself as he was offered scholarships from several other out-of-state schools. He chose Oregon Tech because it was the closest to home.

Family is very important to me, and I wanted to be somewhere close enough where I could drive down if anything were to happen, Long said.

Long is not just an excellent athlete, either.He is also a fantastic student. On top of the athletic scholarship he received, he also received one foracademics. Long plans on entering the medical field and has his eyes set on being a respiratory therapist.

While that is Longs long-term career goal, he has long-term athletic goals, too. Long wantsto continue to push his body tosee how far he can take himself. In the short-term, he wants to continue maximizing the three pillars of fitness good recovery, good diet and good sleep to aid him in his quest.

Long isappreciative of everyone who has helped him along the way on his journey. From coach Andrew Soto, to Julia Gutierrez, to the entire cross country coaching staff, athletic director andtrainers at Riverside Prep, among others.

Most of all, he thanked his mom.

If it was not for my mom putting in her work and motivating me I would not even be where I am today, Long said. If I could thank anyone first, it would be my mom.

Jason Reed is a freelance journalist for the Daily Press. Follow him on Twitter @EatYourReedies.

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Riverside Prep's Thomas Long runs his way to Oregon Institute of Technology - VVdailypress.com