MANLIUS, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — If you blink, you might miss him. Nolan McGinn just placed first at the McQuaid Invitational in Rochester and beat the runner in second place by almost 20 seconds. And that feeling of success is what made him fall in love with the sport.

“That sense of getting better and that sense of self-improvement, it was so motivating to me,” the F-M senior cross-country runner said. “After a while, I began seeing results. And the results motivate you further. And I guess I kind of stumbled my way to where I am now.”

Nolan owes his motivated personality to the sport.

“I think it started through running. I think I really found that sense of intrinsic motivation through running,” McGinn said. “That work ethic that had to be developed to keep on going with the sport.”

While his performance at the McQuaid Invitational was impressive, he is always striving for more.

“What McQuaid kind of was, it was a mid-season benchmark to see where I’m at and see what I need to do to improve. So I think like there’s still stuff in that race to get better at. There’s still stuff that I need to work on,” McGinn said. “There’s still a lot bigger fish to fry across the country. I’m never really comfortable where I’m at at any time. There’s always work to be done.

This is something his coach sees every day.

“Nolan, in my opinion, exemplifies what a student-athlete is at their best. He’s an excellent student. He’s an excellent person, and he strives for excellence in the sport in which he participates in,” Bill Aris, F-M’s cross-country coach, said.

Congratulations, Nolan! You are the Byrne Dairy and Deli NewsChannel 9 Student-Athlete of the Week.