Unbeaten Affolder Eyes Class B Crown
Following their father’s military assignment to Fort Drum this summer, Illinois transplants Noah and Sam Affolder are having an immediate impact on New York’s prep running scene. Noah, only a sophomore, has posted several speed ratings north of 190 and, after six contests remains undefeated. Sam, two years younger than his brother and yet to enter high school, is floating comfortably in the mid-170s, and is primed to challenge several class records come spring. Nestled away in Section-III’s outback, these underclassmen are quietly establishing themselves as New York Cross Country’s most exciting wunderkinds.
And if there is one thing you should know about them, it is this: they are fiercely competitive. Few would know better than Pat Cook, Noah’s former coach at Mascoutah High School in Illinois: “He always had a bit of edge to him – a very competitive kid.” Cook recalls Noah’s freshman run at the Illinois Cross Country State Championships last year, where he finished ninth in the mid-sized school division in 15:05. “Everyone around him was like ‘Wow, that’s really good for a freshman’ and whatnot, but Noah did not consider it a particularly good day.”
Noah en route to a 9th place finish in the Illinois XC State Championships, as a freshman.
Noah finished his freshman campaign with an all-state cross-country showing and track personal records of 4:25 in the mile and 9:29 in the two-mile. Sam set the Illinois seventh-grade mile class record at 4:36. Then it was onward to Watertown; the latest destination for a family that has found itself in locales ranging from Colorado to Illinois to the Hudson Valley.
“I don’t know why we’re such a competitive family,” says Brandyn, the Affolders’ mother, with a laugh. “We hold ourselves to a high standard and desire to instill strong character and faith into each of our children.”
“There’s competitiveness between us every day,” says Sam. “In a pickup game of basketball or anything. Even the small things.”
The Affolders belong to a running family. Their grandfather ran collegiately, eventually qualifying for the Olympic Trials, while their mother won the U.S Junior Olympics 5,000-meter title as a high school sophomore, and the father was a successful long sprinter as well. Older brother Murphy recently concluded his high school career as a three-time all-state athlete in Illinois. “[Murphy] taught us a lot about running,” says Noah. “He definitely had an impact on us.”
Sam Affolder, an 8th grader at Carthage HS, is running so well, that he would be the state's 6th fastest by class, if he was in his brothers grade.
But long distance running is not the sole outlet for the Affolder’s competitive spirit. You can also find them on the hockey rink – mere hours after they cross the finish line. “We leave the hockey gear in the trunk,” says Brandyn about the logistics of juggling cross-country and hockey. “Once they finish and cool-down [after a Saturday invitational], we drive an hour or two for the hockey game. And sometimes they play another [hockey] game on Sunday.”
The multisport athlete is typically the bane of a distance coach’s existence (See Principle of Specificity), but Bryan Zevotek, the Affolders’ coach at Carthage High School, is no longer complaining. “It’s a tough call,” says Zevotek. “They’re in a club – who am I to take that away from them? I call their type Swiss Army Knife athletes: they can do anything.”
“Hockey gives me more of a workout than running,” assures Noah. “It helps with my sprinting abilities; something I have been trying to work on for a long time now.”
Zevotek concurs, with a slight caveat. “Skating gives them that little bit of lateral push that makes them a little more elastic, stronger in the hip. I guess that’s how I try to justify the fact I can’t tell them ‘No’.”
Just four years ago, Coach Zevotek’s cross-country program at Carthage laid defunct, a victim of tight budgetary purse strings and fluctuating enrollment figures characteristic of a military town. “We had to have a fundraising drive to keep [the program] alive,” remembers Zevotek. Now with a healthy turnout of 64 athletes and the infusion of the Affolders, Zevotek’s program is sitting pretty. “When the Affolders came in they gave us a pretty good boost, that’s for sure. My number one runner last year is my number four this year. It’s just a good problem to have.”
The Affolders join their team as they await the finals scores at the Section 3 championships.
Rumors of the Affolder’s impending transfer to the Watertown area swirled late spring. It was just a matter of which local school district would receive the windfall. “They reached out early in the summer so we were able to coordinate some summer runs,” said Zevotek of their first interaction. “They had downloaded our home cross country course map and ran it several times before the first practice.” While he is grateful for the sudden influx of young talent, Zevotek is all too familiar with the often “transient” nature of the Carthage student body.
“With the military you really never know,” says Zevotek, who understands that reassignments can both giveth and taketh away from his program. “Sometimes the move is predictable. Other times, not so much. I have kids who tell me they are leaving every month for three years.” Zevotek is optimistic that the Affolders will remain under his tutelage for the remainder of their prep careers, but the Fort Drum assignment is slated to last just two years, meaning Noah would spend his senior year elsewhere. “I’m hopeful they’ll be here for three more years, which will allow us to really build the program up.”
Despite their journeying ways, from Alaska to the Rockies to the Midwest and now to the North Country, to call the Affolder brothers “military brats” would be a misnomer. While acknowledging their natural abilities, the brothers take nothing for granted, attributing their success to a persistent work ethic, and a deep faith that goes beyond themselves. “That’s why I point both fingers in the air [when I finish a race],” says Noah. “It’s to show everybody why I run.”
Noah takes pride in his perfect racing record this season, but, somewhat paradoxically, he also finds frustration in it. He was tested at both the Marathon and EJ Hermann invitationals, but has yet to toe the line with powerhouse programs like Fayetteville-Manlius and Liverpool. Affolder ran on the same course as Fayetteville-Manlius at the Vernon-Verona-Sherill Invitational in mid-September, besting all runners except state-leading senior Bryce Millar. But for the competitor, comparing times is just not the same. “[Being on the same course as FM but not racing them] is frustrating,” says Noah. “I want to race people better than me so I can push myself.”
At this past weekend’s Section-III Championships, Noah and Sam gave Carthage a critical one-two-punch, narrowly clinching a Class B state berth for the team. Noah won handily, traversing the muddied 5-kilometer course in 16:06.3, finishing 41-seconds ahead of Sam. It was the fourth fastest time of the day, behind Millar and fellow Stotan Peter Ryan, and Warrior Ben Petrella.
With the championship season about to begin, an opportunity for Noah to play underdog will eventually present itself. On November 8th, Noah will run for the NYSPHSAA Class B title at SUNY Canton, where he will see stiff competition from downstate speedster Luke Gavigan of Tappan Zee and Maine-Endwell’s Dan Shaffer. Schaffer challenged Noah at the Marathon Invitational before Noah put on a late surge at 4,000-meters that secured an 11-second victory.
After States, Noah intends to run at Federations and Nike Team Nationals, where he hopes to be pulled along to a breakout performance – and break an occasionally bad habit. “Front-running is just something that I do,” says Noah. “I like going out fast; it’s uncomfortable for me not to. I don’t like to feel like I’m losing.” Zevotek is working with his state contender to curb the early zeal in order to ensure a competitive finish. “There were times he was going out [for the first mile of a 5-kilomter race] in under four-forty-eight,” says Zevotek. “We are looking to temper that first mile where the course is flat and fast. I challenged him at Rome. I said I don’t want you at five minutes, I want you at five-ten.”
Of course, it is never easy to find fault in an unbeaten track record. “His fitness level is very high,” says Zevotek. “We are just waiting for someone to push him.”
Noah Affolder's MileSplit Profile
Interview with Affolder's After Pre-State
Feature Story on Luke Gavigan, one of the biggest challengers for the Class B Title