Senior Jason Dolan has spent the entirety of his high school career running for a variety of school track and cross country teams. The hard work throughout four years has finally paid off, with Dolan officially signed up to run at Bryant University.          Dolan toured a variety of schools and narrowed his list down to three schools he could run at, than made verbal commitment just a few weeks prior to the signing.

“I felt very achieved just   because I’m going to be able to run for another four years and it just felt like a big relief. It’s been a long process trying to figure out where I wanted to go,” Dolan said.

Whilst taking his first tours of schools, Dolan decided to look at the schools as a whole rather than evaluating them as running programs. Eventually, he needed to look at the programs themselves in order to narrow down his list of local colleges.

With Bryant on his final list, Dolan went on an overnight stay at the campus, interacting with the coaches and team members in order to get a feel for the program. Following this visit, Dolan felt confident he had found the school for him.

“I liked [Bryant’s team] and the coaches and what they were all about,” Dolan said.

When it came down to his final choices, Dolan noted that amount of merit and athletic scholarship money he received from Bryant was enough to help him make his decision.

Noting the moment he decided, Dolan spoke of a time when he told his parents he wanted to make the decision right then and there since Bryant’s scholarship offer expired on November 5th.

As it pertains to his post college plans, Dolan has not committed to a specific major at this point, but notes that he wants to work in the financial world.

“Bryant has a good graduate school so that’s definitely an option, but also I want to go right into work. They have a really good program for getting you a job and they have a really high median starting salary. I think I would do good,” Dolan said.

On a final note, Dolan was appreciative of his experiences at WA and prior with several coaches to get him to the point that he has reached now.

“I’ve had some  of the same coaches since 6th grade […] They’ve all been great helping me improve as a person and a runner,” Dolan said.

One of Dolan’s long time coaches, Scott Hafferkamp, had high remarks for the senior runner and his impact on WA cross country.

“There was literally no one who could beat him this year. While Jason is a talented runner, much of his success can be attributed to his work ethic. He was meticulous this past summer with his training, and he shows up everyday to practice ready to give 100% effort,” Hafferkamp said,

“He’s been a strong leader on our team, and he helps to keep his teammates loose with a nice mix of humor to accompany the intensity he displays with his training.”

Overall, Dolan is excited about the future as it comes to college and his future.

“I think it’s a really cool opportunity,” Dolan said.