WAYNESBURG, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Quintin Weaver was just another runner, plodding along through an unremarkable career marred by COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and his own lackluster performance.
The Rimersburg native wondered if it was all worth it.
There was a fork in his running road; He could choose one path, hanging up his running cleats for good, or another, committing completely to his sport.
Weaver chose the latter.
(Pictured above, Union grad and Waynesburg University graduate student Quintin Weaver has set four indoor track records at the school this winter/submitted photo)
That’s when the Union High School graduate finally took off at Thiel College last season, etching his name into the record books in three indoor track events and setting one mark during the outdoor season.
Now a graduate student at Waynesburg University, Weaver is at it again, launching an assault on a new set of marks. Weaver set four school records this indoor season at Waynesburg and has his eyes on more during the outdoor campaign.
“I would have never guessed I would have eight at two different places,” Weaver said. “I would have never guessed I’d even have one. Even two years ago, I probably would have said probably not. I’ve definitely improved and grown. I’ve definitely surprised myself.”
The change came when Weaver peered around him, at all the athletes who were faster and a better, and decided he wanted to be that good, too.
He felt he was capable of it; he just had to put in the work.
So, he did.
“I saw all the runners around me who were good and I was not as good,” Weaver said. “I started taking my training very seriously after junior year. Just mentally and physically, it started clicking. That’s when things turned around. Now I’m pretty much training all year round.”
What resulted was an explosion of success, first at Thiel and now at Waynesburg.
Last indoor season, Weaver blazed his way to records in the 800-meter run (1 minutes, 59.36 seconds), the 1,000-meter run (2:37.81), and as part of the Tomcats’ distance medley relay.
Now at Waynesburg, he has the indoor records in the 3,000-meter run (9:02.23), the 800-meter run (1:53.56), the 1,000-meter run (2:35.14), and as part of the distance medley relay.
“It’s funny, my coach here at Waynesburg was like, ‘Why were you running so slow those first couple of years?’ Weaver said. “I told him, ‘I guess that’s what hard work does sometimes, Coach.’”
When Weaver ran his last outdoor race at Thiel, he figured his career was over.
He still had eligibility remaining because of those lost COVID years, but he was unsure of if he’d use them.
It wasn’t until he enrolled in the two-year graduate program at Waynesburg to get his master’s degree in athletic training that he got the itch to run again.
“I wasn’t quite sure if I’d be running because I didn’t know where I would be physically or mentally,” Weaver said. “Over the summer I got the process rolling for graduate school and got accepted. I got into contact with the coach at Waynesburg and we started talking and it just happened from there.”
Once Weaver committed, he was determined to run well.
And the records quickly fell.
“It’s definitely a cool feeling,” Weaver said. “Once I got into the mindset of running here, I got mentally geared toward some of the goals and I knew they’d definitely be in reach.”
Weaver will run the 800 in the last chance meet this weekend hoping to qualify for the NCAA Division III national championships.
“They take the top 20. Right now I’m sitting about 48 in the nation (in the 800),” Weaver said. “That sounds like a lot, but in a race like the 800, a second is the difference of 30 spots. The goal is to get into the 1:52s and just basically see how much under 1:53 I can go.”
Whatever happens, Weaver considers it like playing with house money.
If he qualifies, great. If not, it doesn’t diminish what he has accomplished in his one indoor season at Waynesburg.
“Every runner likes to have competition,” Weaver said. “Coming into the season, I never thought I’d be talking about trying to qualify for (the national championships). I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to go out there and take one more shot at the deal and see what happens.”
Weaver said he will also compete during outdoor season.
Then he’s done.
He still has one more year of eligibility left and could run again next season at Waynesburg. But Weaver has decided against it.
Not even a slight chance.
“Well, I said that after last year,” Weaver said, chuckling. “But I mean it this time. It’s 100%. This will be my last year competing for sure. I’m hanging them up after this year. This year I’m still in traditional classes. Next year, I’ll be out at clinical sites. It’s just going to be too hard.”
Weaver is OK with that.
“I’ve had my time. I’m at peace with it,” he said. “I’ve pretty much accomplished everything I can.”
