Dan Kehoe has been a consistent leader for the Grand Rapids Community College men’s cross country team. Not only is he the only returning runner from last year’s squad, but he is one of the main reasons the Raiders have seen success this season.
“Being the only sophomore on the team, I knew I had to be the leader this year,” Kehoe said. “I was a captain of my high school team and leadership has been a virtue in my life. Since day one, I’ve tried to create a culture here where we do the little things and make sure practice goes smoothly.”
Running has come natural to Kehoe, as it is a hobby he has started since sixth grade.
“Running is actually a hobby and a sport for me,” Kehoe said. “It is a huge part of my life and if you ask anyone who knows me, they would say the same thing. I definitely enjoy it.”
Kehoe ended up at GRCC for a few important reasons. He wanted to follow the footsteps of his brother and also had multiple scholarships to attend GRCC.
“I ended up at GRCC because it was the best option for me considering I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career and my older brother, Jack, ran cross country here as well,” Kehoe said. “I also got a running and academic scholarship so it was the perfect fit for me.”
Heading into college, Kehoe was unsure of what major he wanted to pursue. As he progressed through his freshman year, he decided that he wanted to get into the Pre-Business major at GRCC but wanted to follow the path of some of his family members
“I am currently in the pre-business major and I am planning on pursuing a career in air traffic control in the next few years,” Kehoe said. “My family members have done this career and it seems like a great fit for me.”
Throughout his time at GRCC, Kehoe has had an overall good experience at GRCC with a few hiccups on the way and learned how to manage his time with academics, athletics and his job.
“My overall experience here has been good and bad,” Kehoe said. “The winters are worse because we are in the offseason and my classes aren’t my favorite part. I’ve found ways to balance cross country, classes and my job all at once, but overall my experience here has been good.”
As a freshman, Kehoe had a strong impact for the cross country team as he made an appearance at Regionals (27:58) and Nationals (29:00). Kehoe had an 8k PR of 27:32 at the Kirkland Invite where he placed eighth. He also impressed academically as he made first team National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Academic while also being one of four GRCC athletes on the Presidents List (4.0 GPA).
Head coach Robert Hyde has been impressed with Kehoe’s leadership, especially in the 2023 season.
“He is my only returner and has done a great job of leading a team by example,” Hyde said. “The tone of our entire team is because of him. Actually before regionals, he stood in front of the guys and let them all know how much this next meet means to him since it could be his last collegiate race.”
Kehoe has continued to lead the team by example although he is the only returning runner. The team has had less meets compared to last year, but the overall trend has stayed the same as the team continues to get better as the season progresses. In the last two meets, GRCC has placed fifth and sixth place while looking to have their best performance at the Regional meet. Kehoe set a PR in the last meet with a time of 27:24 which placed him at eighth place overall.
Hyde believes that Kehoe’s success this season is due to his work ethic.
“Dan has been successful this season because of all the hard work he’s done in the offseason, his understanding of what his body needs during the season, and his savvy racing style,” Hyde said. “He definitely has matured as a runner.”
Kehoe has a few goals heading into his potential last race of his career, including a personal and a team goal.
“I would love to be all-region in the regional race (top 15 finish),” Kehoe said. “A team goal would be to improve on our usual fourth place finish in our region. We finished second last year so I think we can get around that finish again. I would love the opportunity of running at nationals along with being an All-American.”
The Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Regional meet takes place on Friday, Oct. 27 at 12:30 p.m. at Douglas Walker Park, Byron Center.
Kehoe discussed that this is potentially his last year of running cross country.
“This is most likely going to be my last competitive cross country season,” Kehoe said. “It’s been my ninth cross country season overall and if my plans go through, it will be my last. It has been a pleasure to run cross country, especially here at GRCC.”
