Aiden Maue had a tough end to his cross country season in 2022. At states, the Souderton junior was in the top 20 before collapsing from heat stroke in the final 200 meters. He willed his way to the finish line in 229th place.
After playing basketball that winter, Maue wasn’t happy with the track season he had in the spring. He decided to change his approach.
“I focused on the small details,” Maue said. “Making sure I’m stretching, getting consistent sleep and enough water. Before states last year I tried to do too much – changing up my diet and forcing too many electrolytes into my body because I did have a heat stroke at states. That’s what caused me to finish in whatever spot I got last year at states. (This year) I stayed more consistently focused on the smaller details because those all add up.
“Going into the summer I tried to forget about everything that happened and treat it like a whole new season.”
The changes resulted in an impressive senior cross country season this fall. Maue won the Suburban One League Colonial Division championship, finished fourth in districts and fourth in states while leading Souderton to its first team league title in program history.
Maue is The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media 2023 Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
Maue won the SOL Colonial championship with a time of 15:32.3, an improvement on his third-place finish in 16:06.4 as a junior. His time wasn’t just the best in the Colonial Division, but the entire SOL, topping runners from the Patriot, Liberty and Freedom divisions.
At districts, his 15:16.0 performance is a personal best. The fourth place finish was a big step forward from his 28th-place finish in 16:07.2 as an 11th grader. He credited a competitive field and the fast course at Lehigh University’s Goodman Campus for his strong showing.
Maue was excited to return to states after the way the 2022 race ended. He finished fourth in 16:04.00.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said, noting the race as one of his favorites of the year. “I just went out there knowing I had a chip on my shoulder compared to how I did last year. I just tried to give it my all again.”
After winning the first team league championship in program history, Souderton finished third in District 1 and fourth in the state.
“When I’m in the gym and I look at the school banners,” Maue said, “there’s like nothing for cross country at all. They actually just put it up (Dec. 20), the new banner for our league championship. We’ve had some good teams in the past, but no teams that had ever done anything. It felt great to be on that first ever team.”
Maue is hoping to continue running in college. He’s running winter track this year instead of playing basketball to try to improve his speed and get the faster times that coaches are looking for.
First team
William Edgar, Cheltenham
Cole Casadei, La Salle
Nolan Yeagle, La Salle
Brock Yoder, Methacton
Achilles Shui, North Penn
James Kuduk, Souderton
Aiden Maue, Souderton
Second team
Tyler Tomlinson, Central Bucks East
Cole Scattergood, Hatboro-Horsham
Will Palopoli, La Salle
Justin Landis, North Penn
Aidan Kearns, Souderton
Stephen Keller, Souderton
Gus Platt, Upper Dublin
Honorable Mention
Chase Ely, Abington
John Byler, Jenkintown
Stephen Heckler, Lansdale Catholic
George Hohenleitner, La Salle
Sam Kelchner, La Salle
Jason Xi, Upper Dublin
Grayson Ruffner, Wissahickon
