WENHAM, Mass.—Caught up in the hoopla of a record-setting fall that has included three championship game appearances, it could be easy to overlook the one person who might be having the best season of them all.
 
As a casual observer, Damon Kilgore (Londonderry, N.H.) makes running look easy, even to the point of effortless. His long, smooth strides have carried the sophomore to five individual wins out of six races this fall, including winning the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship two weeks ago.
 
To make things even more impressive, only one Division III athlete has beaten him all season. Union's (N.Y.) Justin Zorn edged Kilgore by less than a second for the top spot at Westfield's James Earley Invitational in October, his only 'blemish' of the season. Kilgore beat every other opponent by almost a minute for the rest of the season on his way to CCC Runner of the Year honors.
 
But don't let his natural ability fool you into thinking success has just been handed to him.
 
"I started my training on May 6. Coming off a really successful track season, I was highly motivated to try to do something special this year," Kilgore says through email. "An average week was probably around 80 (miles) and I peak at 100 just before coming to school."
 
Kilgore returned to school with the program scurrying for an identity after former head coach Patrick Rich left for another opportunity, thrusting assistant Samantha Goedeke into the top role just a few weeks before the season. The Scots top runners did not seem to skip a beat.
 
"The first few weeks were hard, but this team has amazed me with their perseverance in a difficult situation. Their success this season has been a true testament to how hard they have worked," Goedeke declares.
 
Even with all the preparation, no one could have truly foreseen the special journey Kilgore was about to embark. Not even himself.
 
"I remember the first 8K this year, when I went through the first mile I heard some yell 5:05 (pace) and I already had a 50 meter gap on the rest of the field. I was waiting for the pack to start reeling me in, but I had already committed. I looked back going into the fourth mile of that race and couldn't see anyone. For the rest of the season, it been about competing and not shying away from a fast pace early in races," Kilgore adds.
 
The internal reflection matches the accounts of those who have watched the harrier perform this season. During Gordon's Pop Crowell Invitational in September, Kilgore crossed the finish line before another athlete re-entered the Quad from the Gordon Woods.
A great regular season has led to Kilgore competing in the Division III New England race on Saturday morning. As a freshman, he finished in 76^th place with a pace of 5:27, which is about 20 ticks slower than his average this fall.
 
The competition at the regional race will be fierce with many national runners of the week at the Division III level have come out of New England, with Amherst and Williams athletes leading the way. Kilgore will expect to see plenty of talented runner out of the NESCAC, but there is no pressure other than for him to do his best.

"The most important thing I keep reminding myself as I mentally prepare is that every second and every foot is going to count in this race. When you're ahead by 30 or 40 seconds, you can afford to relax. With a race like this, that isn't the case."
 
Whatever happens on Saturday, Kilgore's attitude about competition is refreshingly honest and should lend itself to a few more special seasons down the road.
 
"It's exciting to see all of the training pay off. It reinforces the idea that success is built when nobody's watching."
 
Both the Gordon men and women will compete in Waterford, Conn. on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Emily Nelson (West Chester, Pa.) and Mariah Geiger (Londonderry, N.H.) expect to be the top two finishers on the women's side, while Alex Russell (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Wes Nelson (Charlton, Mass.) round out the top three finishers for the men this fall.