Torrington senior Aaron Borger put pen to paper Wednesday to sign his national letter of intent to run track at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.
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TORRINGTON – Torrington senior Aaron Borger put pen to paper Wednesday to sign his national letter of intent to run track at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.
“I’m just happy,” Borger said after signing. “I never really dreamed of going to college for track, but it has come upon me, so I am just happy about it.”
Borger has seen a lot of success on the track for the Blazers, reaching the state meet all four years. This season, he is set to compete in four events at the state meet, excelling in the middle distances. He prequalified in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.96 at the Wyoming Track Classic. Borger also punched his ticket for state in the 400, turning in a time of 54.28 seconds at the regional meet.
“I’ve always tried my hardest over the years, but this year I wanted to try extra hard (for the scholarship),” Borger said.
Borger is also a member of two relay teams that will be running at the state meet. He was joined by Matthew Garcia, Pake Haun and Cameron Juma for the 3200-meter relay and is on the 1600-meter sprint medley, along with Garcia, Bo Moorehouse and Bryan Lemmon.
The future Nighthawk competed in seven events over the last three state meets. His best individual finish came in 2017, when he finished 13th in both the 400 (55.11 seconds) and the 800 (2:11.50). His other individual effort at a state meet came in 2015, when he finished 15th in the 3200, turning in a time of 11:47.39. The senior has competed in four relays over the past three years at the state meet.
“Honestly, my body style, me being tall, really helps a lot,” Borger said of what sets him apart as a runner. “I’m also kind of immune to pain I’d like to say. I don’t feel it as much, so that helps.
Borger anticipates taking his track endeavors up a notch heading to the next level. NNU is a Division II school, and according to the website, the men’s team had 32 athletes this past season. Borger hopes to rely on the team to help him improve as well.
“There will be more competition, even at practice,” Borger said. “That will help too, being able to have guys push me more.”
With the ink dried on his letter of intent, Borger is not quite looking to the college competition yet. He still has four races to run with a Trailblazer uniform on at the state meet in Casper this weekend. The 3200-meter relay was ran Thursday after press time. Borger will also run Friday at 9:30 a.m. (800), 4:15 p.m. (400 prelims) and 5 p.m. (1600-meter medley) and Saturday at 1 p.m. (400 finals if top-eight in prelims) and 3:50 p.m.
“I’m looking at state and I’m just trying to do good,” Borger said. “I want to do good for our relays and our team.”
