GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — "One thing that definitely did help was family. Without the support from my family I probably wouldn't be here," said Benne Anderson.
Running is a family affair for the Anderson's.
Benne and Selma are on the track and cross country teams at Ottawa hills, following in the foot steps of their dad, Donovan, who ran at Kansas.
"I kinda just saw my dad do it a lot so I kinda just wanted to be like him," said Selma.
Benne is now a senior at City high, running for the Bengals and is looking to repeat as a state champ in the 3200 and says his dad helps keep him accountable during training.
"He makes sure I do my workouts and I do them right. And it's nice to have other people in your family who get what you're talking about when you say something. They can relate and understand where you're coming from," said Benne.
With just a few months left of high school, Benne has already earned one state title and an All-American title at the Nike national meet, but he wants more.
"I want to go sub four (minutes) in the mile. I'd really like to break 8:30 in the two mile. I highly doubt that will happen because it's the national record but that's where my sights are set right now," said Benne.
Selma narrowly missed qualifying as a D1 all-state runner last spring and hopes that her training this year will earn her that title.
"I've definitely been better with my training. I've always been very consistent but I've been kinda focused on the miles and making all my workouts good quality and my easy run really easy," said Selma.
Distance coach Dan Ebright has coached his fair share of runners in his 27 year career but the Anderson siblings allow him to really push their limits to see their full potential.
"It's really patience and taking your time. Building a good solid base over the off season. We bump their milage up each year so year they've got a base to build off of and continue to grow as an athlete," said Ebright.
Benne currently holds the boys school record in four different events, and they hope to see Selma match his accomplishments.
"Right now it's Anderson on one side of the board and if Selma continues it'll probably Anderson on the other side of the board," said Ebright.
