Epstein off and running in captain role with Myrtle Beach cross country team

Ethan Epstein may come off as quiet and shy to an outsider.

But the Myrtle Beach cross country standout is boisterous and vocal when he’s with his team.

And while taking on a bigger leadership role this year as the captain of the Seahawks, the senior has earned the respect of his teammates while also excelling on the course.

“It feels good having leadership and being able to help pick up my team,” said Epstein, who was a co-captain last year. “I definitely try to influence them to do better running, make better choices and kind of prioritize cross country.”

Epstein practices what he preaches.

He’s always the first one to show up and the last to leave, and Myrtle Beach coach Ryan Caputo said Epstein’s devotion to the sport is his biggest forte. His character and influence among his teammates certainly helps, too.

“He’s the one that puts in the most work,” Caputo said. “He’s absolutely stepped up this year. Even though he’s a quiet guy outside of the team, he’s really taken over as our leader and the guys look up to him. He’s willing to teach the younger guys the right way to do things and his leadership has really helped us move forward and develop into a great team.”

And Epstein has been remarkable to start the year.

He finished first in the season-opening North Myrtle Beach Invitational on Sept. 5 with a personal-record time of 16:20 and followed up with a victory in the high school portion of the Coastal Carolina Invitational as the distance runner has gotten off to a hot start in the final year of his high school career.

“Both of those races were a great start to his season,” Caputo said. “He’s improved a lot since he first started running here and we’re seeing the result of all the hard work he’s put in.”

Epstein has helped pick up and encourage his teammates while leading the Seahawks on the course as well.

“Ethan has always been our leader as long as I can remember. He was just named captain this year, but he’s always been the fastest kid on our team, the most strong-willed and he never lets one of us stop,” Myrtle Beach freshman runner Cameron Friend said. “He’s very headstrong and his results have been great so far. I have no doubt – he’ll keep it up.”

Outside of practice, Epstein goes out for 10-mile runs at 6 a.m., takes 7- to 8-mile jogs in the evening and grinds out tough speed workouts in order to keep improving.

There’s no time off, either. Epstein competes year-round as a member of both the Myrtle Beach cross country and track and field teams. Epstein is exceptional at both and was named a member of The Sun News’ 2015 Toast of the Coast track and field team after being a part of the 2014 Toast of the Coast cross country team.

“Being a distance runner can sometimes be a lonely sport. Going back to his dedication, he has the ability to work harder than everyone else and his drive to get better is phenomenal,” Caputo said. “He’s never really satisfied where he’s at and he’s always taking that next step to become better and to help the team. I think that’s what separates him from the rest; day in and day out, he never falters. He’s always there.”

Epstein was critical of his performance at the Coastal Carolina Invitational on Sept. 11 and said the course was extremely hot that day. He finished in first place, but his time of 17:21 was about a minute slower than his win at the North Myrtle Beach Invitational.

“I slowed down about a minute but the course was a lot hotter for the time of day,” Epstein said. “Nonetheless, it just wasn’t a good race for me.”

Epstein sat out a race on Tuesday – in which Myrtle Beach fell to Conway – because he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to be at full strength for Saturday’s 2015 Low Country Invitational at John’s Island.

Epstein set the bar high for Saturday’s race – which included 56 teams – as he wanted to break his PR of 16:20. He just missed that mark with a time of 16:23 as he finished seventh; Myrtle Beach finished 20th as a team.

Moving forward, he wants to go even lower.

“Eventually I want to get under 16:00,” Epstein said.

On Sept. 15, Epstein finished seventh (18:03) in a five-team race at St. James High School – which Waccamaw won – and his teammate Tyler Flannelly (18:01) edged him by two seconds.

No worries. Epstein and the Seahawks are team first.

“It’s cool that they both finished together out there,” Friend said of Epstein and Flannely. “[Epstein] likes pushing everyone while they help push him. … We all do it as a team. It’s a very personal sport but you do it as a team.”

Said Epstein: “Just as long as everyone can finish out the season enjoying the sport and everyone improves in at least some way, I’ll be happy.”

Following this season, Epstein is hoping to continue his career beyond high school.

“As long as I just stay on the track of improvement I’m on, I’ll be able to hopefully get a scholarship to run somewhere,” he said. “If given the opportunity, I’d definitely love to run in college.”

Said Caputo: “He’s not really sure where he wants to go to college; he’s still open with that. But he’s working at and running at a level that will let him run in college if he continues to keep it up.”

Epstein plans to do just that.

“I want to make my senior year a memorable one,” he said.

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 6:20 PM with the headline "Epstein off and running in captain role with Myrtle Beach cross country team."