Danny Carney spent a lot of time this past season out in front of the field. Photo by Jeff McCoy.
Dakota Ridge's Danny Carney joins a growing list of top Colorado cross country/track and field talent taking their gifts out of state this coming fall. Only Carney won't be going as far as most. Carney's commitment takes him to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. For those hoping this might mean an occasional appearance in Colorado, it does, but not as frequent as it would have in the past. BYU is no longer a member of the Mountain West Conference, so appearances will likely be limited to any Mountain Region cross country meets that end up in Colorado.
Carney briefly considered other schools, and even had plans to visit one or two of those schools, but, "I finally decided after a lot of thinking and talking with my family and coaches that BYU was a good place for me, and if I loved it so much why should I go looking elsewhere? I have wanted to go there since I was a lot younger, so this opportunity was too good to pass."
Like many (perhaps most?) BYU students, Carney has plans to go on a two-year LDS church mission following his freshman year, so don't get too anxious to see him as one of the regulars in Cougar blue and white.
At the moment, Carney is torn between law and dentistry. At some level, that boils down to choosing between splitting teeth and splitting hairs. We wish him the best in that decision.
There have been numerous highlights in Carney's high school career. When asked to narrow it down to a single most signficant highlight, even Carney himself had trouble with that assignment, "I would have to say it is tied between Nike SW both my junior and senior years. Junior year it was just shocking to me that I ended up qualifying, and it was so incredible to be able to go to NXN. Then this last year it was really great to come back and have a good race and PR [15:12.71] after being worried if I could do it after State."
Many in the Colorado cross country community have wondered about Carney's decision to forego a second trip to NXN, so I asked him about that.
"I had decided early on that if I had the opportunity to go to both NXN and Footlocker that I would choose on just going to one. And so, since I had already gone to NXN, I decided after the race that I would try to qualify for Foot Locker. Unfortunately I got sick that next week and didn't run the race very well, and so I missed out on both. But I am all right with that. It ended up being nice to end the season and focus on resting so I could prepare for track."
And thinking about your final high school season is bound to produce a few wistful moments. Looking toward the final season ahead, Carney indicates, "I definitely would like to PR in all of my events and get a lot closer to a state championship in either the two mile or the mile... but I love doing 4x800s with my team so I will definitely be doing at least a couple of those." To date, Carney has enjoyed greater success in cross country than track and field, but the part about "get a lot closer to a state championship in..." sounds a lot to me like the way an ambitious, but still modest, young man might frame his aspirations. Look for Carney to be a certified contender for the state title in at least the 3200.
Carney has been fully cleared by his cardiologist for competition. "They think it was a certain response which occurred when different pressures on my body just lined up perfectly during the race to the point that my body shut down in order to protect itself. I am very very grateful to not have to continue to worry about my heart and to have a couple races under my belt that went smoothly!" All of us who watched the end of the 5A boys state race join him in that sense of gratefulness.
When Danny Carney leaves for BYU this fall, though, he won't be leaving the state without a Carney influence in high school cross country. There is another. "My little brother, Bradley, is a sophomore at Dakota this year and is discovering that he enjoys running as well! He made our varsity this fall and it was really fun to be on the same team as him. I am very excited to come back next year and see how he does!" And so, the beat goes on a little longer.
Please take an opportunity to wish Danny Carney well when you see him at a meet this spring.
