Even as far back as his days of middle school track and soccer, Matt Ruhl has been into running. The Virginia senior, a student in the Commerce school, transferred from the University of Colorado midway through his first academic year. The speedster, who finished eighth at the ACC cross country meet last year, will have another year of eligibility after this season.
Ruhl said that the running programs at Colorado and at Virginia are similar, but when he transferred he had some adjustments to make otherwise.
"At Virginia we work harder academic-wise," he said. "It's tougher managing between school, and the work is more time consuming."
Virginia coach Jason Dunn, who has coached Ruhl in both track and cross country, is very supportive of the distance runner and emphasizes what Ruhl has done to help guide the younger runners along.
"Matt involves everybody in the group," Dunn said. "He does everything I ask, is consistent and leads by example. He's really enthusiastic about running and is a big asset to our team."
Dunn also stressed that over the past few years, the Cavaliers had one main leader and star in Bob Thiele. Since Thiele graduated last spring, there's now an experienced group of runners that heads the team.
Although he and other experienced runners have stepped up to share leadership roles and to guide the younger members of the team, Ruhl expressed how much of an influence coach Dunn has had since his arrival last season.
"He's a great coach and has done a great job with the program," Ruhl said. "His system just really works, as most everyone has stayed healthy."
In addition to running cross country and track, Ruhl enjoys hanging out with friends and skiing, an activity he picked up in his days at Colorado. He lives in a house with eight other members of the cross country team.
As for early inspirations for running, Ruhl points back to his high school years in New Jersey.
"I used to train with a local guy who worked out with high school kids [whose schools] didn't have strong programs," Ruhl said.
This Saturday, Ruhl is scheduled to reenter the field of racing in his first meet of the season when Virginia travels to Raleigh for the Wolfpack Invitational. Last Saturday, the Cavaliers finished second at the Lou Onesty Invitational even while resting their more experienced runners.
As the season gets underway, Ruhl hopes to build upon personal and team successes of the past. In addition to cross country, he achieved all-ACC honors in track in the spring.
Ruhl "was second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and then came back and scored in the 5,000," Dunn said. "First, he was all-conference in one event, and then it was nice to see him come back and score points for the team the next day."
As for this season, Ruhl said he aspires to achieve all-ACC honors again and to be an All-American. Whatever happens, you can bet he'll be handling individual pressures and continuing to help lead his fellow Cavaliers by example.
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