Skylar Williams Story

Just Another Runner’s Story

By Gale Fischer

January 2023

Greatness Does Not Exist Without Gratefulness

“It’s amazing how far you are willing to go when someone believes in you.”

—-Katie Kacvinsky

Individual greatness presents itself in many forms. There are those who demonstrate greatness in one component of their lives while greatness finds its way into multiple areas of the lives of others. Webster's Dictionary defines greatness as “the quality or state of being great as in size, skill, achievement or power”. In my mind, skill can help to shape greatness but greatness does not occur without achievement. There is no doubt that for anyone to achieve success or greatness there must be an internal component consisting of hard work, focus, patience, and determination, but rarely if at all does anyone attain greatness without influence from others. As individuals, each of us has the potential to inspire, support, and believe in others which can ultimately be a cog in the wheel of their success. To truly demonstrate greatness one must be aware of this support and show gratitude for the assistance received throughout the journey. Current Lake Superior State student-athlete Skylar Williams is an example of the existence of greatness when outward support is combined with hard work and gratefulness.

Skylar grew up without the same opportunities to participate in athletics as most of his peers. Many young children are involved in activities such as soccer, gymnastics, or swim lessons early on in life but while his peers were participating in a variety of athletic activities, Skylar really didn’t know anything about sports. Skylar’s first opportunity and introduction to sports did not come until seventh grade. His love for being outdoors would come early on, however, fueling his desire to run years later. “My family struggled financially through my childhood. My mom was a single parent.  My two siblings and I were in foster care back in 2012 for sixteen months. We were placed in a home in Bronson, a small town south of Battle Creek, and I spent much of my time outside.”  Being outside would later become a source of joy and independence for Skylar.

Skylar and his siblings came back to Battle Creek to live with their mom after their year-and-a-half stay in foster care but life was not easy for Skylar. “Eventually we came back home but there continued to be financial issues. I would spend much of my time with family and friends. We lived in homeless shelters and hotels. Being outside became my outlet. I loved walking and riding my bike to get from place to place.”

Although life would remain difficult for Skylar, positive influences would make their way into his world beginning in middle school, helping to shape his future. “I became good friends with a classmate, Noah Elferdink, and his sister Emma in middle school.” Skylar would spend much of his time with Noah and Emma and their aunt and uncle Catina and Jason. “They eventually took me in when I was in high school. I considered myself lucky to have found someone to take care of me. I found a place where I could grow.”

Friendships were also formed in middle school that would launch Skylar’s running career. “I heard about track in seventh grade from a friend and was told that anyone could go out. In my first year, I tried all the events. I loved being active outside.”  Skylar enjoyed being an athlete and used his seventh-grade track season to test the waters as a runner. He would return in eighth grade and begin to excel. “I joined the track team again in eighth grade and focused on the eight hundred meter open. I won every eight-hundred-meter race that year except for one. Being successful like that gave me a feeling that I had something special and that I could be good at it. It helped to enhance my commitment to my team. I enjoyed running but it was even more fun when winning. Being involved in sports provided an escape from all the tough things in my life.”

Skylar was now an athlete but was still a bit naive. Outside of track, he knew little about athletics. “I didn’t participate in cross country in middle school. I really hadn’t heard about it. A friend and track teammate of mine, Jacob Tappenden, was a cross-country runner. He started talking to me about running cross country so I decided to try it my freshman year.”

Skylar had experienced success as an eight-hundred-meter runner in middle school. He didn’t know yet his potential as a cross-country runner but his new sport soon became something he loved. Eventually, it would open many doors for him. “Jacob and I lived next door to each other just down the road from Pennfield High School. We would run together to school each day for summer practices.” Summer practices helped to occupy much of Skylar’s time. It kept his mind off some of the unpleasant circumstances in his life while replacing those negative experiences with positive ones. His daily summer practice routine provided joy and stability but summer camp became the frosting on the cake. “We had cross-country camp the summer before my freshman season. The memories made and the fun times had at camp really gave me my first love for long-distance running. A senior at that time, Nolan Bornaman, was a huge influence on me. His personality and drive for running was something special. Nolan’s influence at that first cross-country camp and for my entire freshman season was refreshing. His mentorship was just what I needed.” 

Skylar still enjoyed track but cross country was becoming his passion. He used his freshman year to gain experience. His cross-country teammates and coaches became a second family to Skylar. His head cross country coach Rik McKire was also one of his track coaches. Track coaches Jessica and John Green also volunteered their time with the cross-country team. Volunteer cross-country coaches Gale Fischer and Lisa Rea rounded out his group of coaches. These adults believed in him and gave him a support system that helped him to thrive. His freshman teammates experienced great success as a middle school cross-country team. He lacked experience joining them as a freshman but progressed to earn a spot on the varsity team. “My biggest memory from my freshman year was my season PR at Turkeyville with a finishing time of 18:45. This was great progress with the time for my first meet being 22:28.”

Skylar had a blast running with his teammates each afternoon at practice and at competitions but his passion for cross country was growing in other ways as well. “ I became obsessed with keeping track of the times of opposing runners. I would log on to athletic.net during school lunch hour and at work to look at times of opponents for upcoming races.”

When cross-country season ended his freshman year, Skylar decided that he needed something to fill the void until track season began so he joined the swim team. After the swim season, he enjoyed his freshman track season and continued to look ahead to his second year of cross country. Just like a year earlier, Skylar savored every moment of summer practices and cross-country camp. He was still living with his mom and they had moved to an apartment more than ten miles from the high school. Skylar refused to let the distance from his apartment to school be responsible for missing practices. He would ride his bike to and from practice during the summer months. 

Skylar made a big jump his sophomore year, becoming one of the top runners on his Pennfield team. “My favorite memory for my sophomore year was the duel meet with cross-town rival Harper Creek. We had traditionally competed in a duel meet each season with Harper Creek before the two schools played their Friday night football game. Our race started and finished before the game in the football stadium with a stadium filled with spectators. We were at home that year and lost to Harper Creek by five points. This was as close to Harper Creek as we had ever been. Harper Creek had the first three runners and then our team was in a pack of five. I finished first for Pennfield, my first time as our number one runner, with a finishing time of 18:44, a PR at that time.”

The duel meet with Harper Creek was Skylar’s coming out party as a cross-country runner giving him a dose of confidence. “A few weeks later we ran the Bulldog Invite in Otsego and I posted another PR of 18:15, finishing first again for our team. At this point, I was dead set on going sub-18 before the end of the season. I didn’t get there but I gained confidence and became more serious about my training and goals.”

Skylar continued running through the winter to prepare for his sophomore track season in the spring. He again focused on the 800-meter distance for track. He looked forward to summer cross-country practices again but changes were on the horizon.

His junior cross-country season became a bit of a letdown for Skylar. Head coach Rik McKire retired. A new head coach was hired and Coach Rea returned to volunteer but Skylar struggled with the transition to a new coach. There would not be a summer cross-country camp and the summer conditioning sessions were not the same for Skylar. Another huge transition was going on in his life as well. By this time Skylar had moved in with Noah and Emma and their aunt and uncle. He became emancipated his junior year and also began working more hours. With everything going on Skylar took a step back in his junior year. “The new leadership for cross country kind of put a dent in my commitment and it seemed like I coasted through the season. I was excited for track season but it was canceled because of COVID.”

A change of leadership occurred again for Skylar’s senior cross country season but Skylar realized that it was now or never. “My senior year a new coach was hired again. Going into my senior cross country season we weren’t sure if we would have a season because of COVID. I realized that this would be my last chance. I knew that with a new coach and the unknown of COVID that I would need to train on my own during summer break. I would work until one AM each night and then go to Planet Fitness and run on the treadmill. I worked hard and fortunately, our season was spared. The hard work paid off and I was able to get  into the seventeens with a 17:44 at Turkeyville.” 

His time of 17:44 was good enough for Skylar to continue his running in college. He had established himself as a good student with his grades. He knew he wanted to go on to college and earn a degree and was now ready to continue his running at the next level. Just as his coaches had believed in him, so did his teachers and counselors at Pennfield High School. They continually encouraged him and supported him in his quest to go on to college. “I had been talking to the coaches at Northwood College about running. I  was told that I could go there and walk on. I wanted to go into business and they had a business school. I knew that I would go to college but I also wanted to continue to run competitively. To do this I would have to go to a smaller school.”

Halfway through his senior track season, an injury would cost him his chance at running for Northwood but he pursued other options. “Five meets into my senior track season I injured my foot. I didn’t know the timeline for healing. My senior season of track was over. I let my foot heal and tried to work out with my upper body.”

Lake Superior State chose to take a chance on Skylar as a member of their cross-country and track teams. “I won a scholarship through NCSA (Next College Student Athlete) which is a program that helps high school athletes become college athletes by helping send out recruitment letters. Through this I became aware that Lake Superior State University was looking for long-distance runners. This was my shot to continue as a student-athlete. NCSA helped me contact the Lake Superior State coaches. Lake Superior State also had a finance and economics program, so I signed on to go to school and run for the Lakers. It was kind of a whirlwind start but it worked out.”

Skylar’s plans for obtaining a degree and continuing his running in college were coming to fruition but the start of his next chapter was less than he had hoped for. “My freshman cross country season was mentally painful. I didn’t feel like I belonged because I had not run with the team all summer. I was behind from the start. My foot was still not completely healed. I decided I needed to keep training and my foot would eventually heal. The cross country season was a re-building process and the indoor track became the focus after the cross country season.” As a college freshman, this would be Skylar’s first experience running indoor track. “I ran a 9:43 3K at an indoor meet. It gave me confidence and I felt like a runner again. The 3K became my staple event for both indoor and outdoor track.”

His foot was healed, he was running well, and now Skylar had his mojo back. “After indoor track in the winter and then outdoor track in the spring I was primed for cross-country again. My sophomore cross-country season was much more successful. I was more prepared coming into the season.”

As was the routine with high school cross country, Skylar would transition to new leadership going into his collegiate sophomore season, but this transition turned out to be a positive one. “Again we had new coaches. They had all of us doing high mileage. I felt like more a part of the team.”

Skylar’s sophomore campaign for Lake Superior State cross country was more in line with the success he had grown accustomed to but he has proved his worth in the classroom as well. One of his strengths it seems over the last four years has been to lay out a plan for his future and see it through. Skylar dual enrolled through KCC during his junior and senior year of high school giving him a head start for college. This plan may have also jump-started his career in the business world. “I will be doing a paid internship this summer. If I do well with the internship and get my degree a year early I can get a job at the same place where I am completing my internship. I would like to go to law school at some point.” If this plan unfolds like Skylar would like he will get some experience working in the business sector after graduating from college in just three years. He would like to keep that extra year of athletic eligibility in his back pocket and use it a few years down the road if he goes to law school.

Skylar has been offered help from others outside of his family for much of his life. He admits that early on he didn’t feel right accepting his help. He didn’t want to be associated as a charity case. He quickly changed his attitude, however. “I am grateful for all of the help that I have received. I have come to realize that if I wanted to be successful I needed to work hard. I want to succeed in school as well and have focused on working, competing as an athlete, and being a student.”

Skylar wants to succeed as a college student and beyond in the business world but he doesn’t want to do this just for himself. “Many adults in the Pennfield community, teachers and coaches had done so much for me. I wanted to go on to college and make them proud. I have received great advice and support from those in Pennfield Schools. I feel blessed with all of the help that I have received as a student and as an athlete. Above all else my experience as a person and as a runner has been shaped by those around me.”

Skylar’s support system has branched out beyond Pennfield and Battle Creek. Danielle Filipek, one of Skylar’s current coaches at Lake Superior State, has offered support and shown a true belief in his potential beyond running. “Skylar has kept a joy and an ability to get others to smile, despite himself knowing hardship growing up. He has an ability to make people laugh and bring comedic relief to tough workouts, early morning practices and bring joy to those around him.”

Anthony Filipek, another one of Skylar’s coaches, offers similar sentiments. “Skylar tends to connect well with many of his teammates and bring them together on and off the competition field. He has the unique ability to have fun while staying focused on the task at hand. He will undoubtedly use his characteristics to be successful as he navigates the ups, downs, and challenges in life.”

Skylar illustrates a great example of what can be accomplished when individual desire and patience are coupled with a great support system. When others believe in the potential, value, and worth of others, it’s amazing what can happen. Skylar encourages everyone to strive for the best. “My advice for others is you should always want better for yourself. You should always think that you deserve better. This mindset leads to success. Take help offered to you but also put in the work.”

Everyone has a story.  Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.