By Adam Levine
Sports Editor
Patrick Walsh
Patrick Walsh, 21, was the top runner for the men’s cross-country team this season.
Walsh, a business and information technology major, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2024.
Walsh said, “I know that I'll probably end up having to get stuck in some type of call center or something just to get started.
“But I'd love to get into tech sales, which I know is semi-niche,” he added.
Walsh said he has always loved computers and technology, but doesn’t want to be “the guy behind the desk.”
Now a senior and a four-year member of the men’s cross-country team, Walsh said he began running in high school, at Lynnfield High.
He said he ran track and field in the Spring as a way to stay in shape for his main sports - soccer and basketball.
“But then my junior year of track, I had a pretty good season,” Walsh said. “I was not really good at anything else and I had a lot of friends who did track and cross-country. So I just decided to drop basketball and soccer, and go all in on XC and winter track.”
He said he did not run cross-country until his senior year of high school after finding success in the one-mile and two-mile events during outdoor track and field the previous spring season.
“I probably should have just been doing that the whole time,” Walsh said.
He said he now runs 5K and half-marathon races outside of season and is hoping to eventually run the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon.
Walsh said he chose Framingham State because of the coaches - former Head Coach Scott VanderMolen and current Head Coach Mark Johnson.
He also said he did not want to run at the D-I level and wanted running to be “like a hobby and keep competing.”
Walsh said his favorite memory on the cross-country team was during his first meet, which was during his sophomore year due to COVID-19 cancellations.
“I have a fake tooth,” he said. “I lost my front tooth my senior year of high school, so I had never raced with my fake tooth.”
Walsh said, “In the first 150 meters I'm really trying to get oxygen flow in my body - my tooth comes flying out.
“I tried to grab the fake tooth but I couldn't grab it. I start freaking out.
“I was like, ‘Holy crap if I try to stop right now I'm gonna get trampled,’” he added.
Walsh said he ran on “pure adrenaline” to get back to the starting line to find his tooth before the women’s race began. He found his tooth in time.
“I smashed my own record. That’s the best race I've ever ran,” he added.