Hunter Krasa has always been a self starter, particularly when it comes to his favorite sport.

The Mountain Ridge senior said he had an interest in distance running from a young age, probably around fifth or sixth grade. His parents were both runners and Hunter ran a half-marathon with his dad in the spring of his eighth grade year.

“I wouldn’t really say I ever discovered that I had a talent at it, just that I was motivated and worked hard ever since I started and found I got results,” Krasa stated in an email interview.

For first-year Mountain Lions head coach Mitchell Moses, Krasa’s dedication and focus stood out when he returned his alma mater in 2018 as an assistant coach.

The coach said his younger runners see Krasa’s discipline in how he trains and his consistentcy.

“He’s not like the other ones where you have to tell them a lot of what to do. He’s very studious and watches running andreadsaboutrunning,”Moses said. “As a coach it’s pretty easy. We have an open dialogue and I listen to his input. We work together really well on formulating a plan that works for him.”

He qualified for state as a freshman, but Krasa and the Mountain Ridge boys team as a whole truly took off in 2017.

Three Mountain Lions placed in the top 50 of Division I, led by Krasa at 30th.

“I learned a ton my first two years of running at Ridge, both training wise and how to enjoy the sport. My coaches for both track and cross country were incredible and taught me not only how to run but why we did what we did, which helped me a ton. The team was also the closest it’s ever been my first couple years on the track team and we all certainly helped each other grow,” Krasa said.

By his junior year in 2018, Krasa was ready to be a top contender. He said he first noticed it during the 2018 Desert Twilight meet in Casa Grande.

Top runners from California, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas annually join Arizona’s best. Krasa competed in his first sweepstakes race for top runners and ended up finishing 14th.

“I’d say one of the major high points of my junior year was racing the sweepstakes race at Twilight the first time. Being engulfed in the chaos of the race and seeing the fireworks go off was a surreal experience for me,” Krasa stated.

So even though his state placing jumped from 30th to eighth from his sophomore to junior year, Krasa was a bit underwhelmed by the race he ran at Cave Creek Golf Course last November.

He said he was most happy with the Mountain Lions placing eighth as a team.

“I think he’s really hungry. He’s a little bummed about what happened at state, so I think he’s fired up about it,” Moses said.

After moving up to head coach, Moses made some tweaks to the team’s training — adding more distance than the Mountain Lions and their top runner were used to.

“For him I thought if he could add the mileage and still have the workouts at the right time of the season, it would benefit him. I think he’s really bought into that,” Moses said.

Krasa said his training changed going into this season. He was out of town a lot over the summer and ended up training a lot on his own and had the opportunity to train with some friends from across the state as well.

“I’d say my training was much more organized though than the previous year, which was nice,” Krasa said.

This work is beginning to pay dividends in races. Krasa placed second at the season-opening Peaks Invitational behind a New Mexico runner he was unfamiliar with.

The Peaks hilly BuffaloPark course is about the closest the Mountain Lions can get to the undulating Cave Creek state course.