Putting the team first helps Myrtle Beach’s Epstein meet many personal goals

Ethan Epstein is his own worst critic.

The Myrtle Beach senior is rarely satisfied, but has kept his shoulder to the wheel in order to better himself.

Epstein – The Sun News 2015 Toast of the Coast Runner of the Year – has steadfastly improved since taking on a leadership role as captain of the Seahawks cross country team, while also pushing and motivating his teammates to be their best.

“I’ve been coaching him for the last three years. He has made great strides in not only his times and his athletic performance, but also his maturity,” Myrtle Beach coach Ryan Caputo said. “He has gone from being a relatively quiet kid to an outstanding athlete that is leading the team as well. He’s always doing all the little things in practice to help his teammates get better, along with himself. That’s the biggest thing I’ve seen is his maturity grow as he took on that leadership role with the team.”

Epstein, who is also a track and field athlete, said he would have liked to end his high school cross country career with more of a bang. He finished 10th at the Class AAA state championship in Columbia with a time of 16:35 to earn all-state honors.

“It was a little disappointing,” Epstein said. “I definitely thought I could have done better than I did.”

Yet Epstein was still within 33 seconds of the winner, Hilton Head’s Ben Gilman.

“He can be hard on himself. His [time] wasn’t bad; he was within a shot of the leaders,” said Caputo, The Sun News’ 2015 Toast of the Coast Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year. “That’s what he hoped heading into that last half mile and he was right there. Overall, I think he had a great season and a 10th place finish at [the state championship] is not too shabby to end his high school career. It was still a good day for him, despite his expectations.”

Epstein has high hopes for his final track and field season, too.

“I think I’ll have a chance to redeem myself in this upcoming track season,” he said. “I’m just ready to get it going. I’m real excited about what I’ll be able to do this year.”

Going back to his leadership abilities, Epstein never placed the focus on himself, adopting a team-first mentality. For the upcoming track season, Epstein wants to see a better representation of Myrtle Beach High School at the Class AAA state championship in Columbia – something he will do all in his power to happen.

“I don’t think we usually get more than two or three kids from Myrtle Beach that make it that far,” Epstein said. “So if we could just get more people in general able to make it there, that’s my main goal.”

Meanwhile, Caputo saw Epstein’s capability to lead very early on and took advantage.

“He’s not an individual out there doing his own work, he’s making sure the other guys are there with him to make the team better,” Caputo said. “He doesn’t ignore the younger kids, he pushes them to not give up and shows them the right way to do things to become better runners.”

One runner in particular is Myrtle Beach eighth grader Tyler Flannelly, who was under Epstein’s wing all year and regularly would be with the senior at the finish line for many of the team’s meets this season. Epstein sees a bright future ahead of the rising freshman, believing Flannelly will be the face of the program for years to come.

“He’s a really gifted athlete and will probably be better than me by the time he’s a senior,” Epstein said of Flannelly. “Already, he’s definitely one of the most outstanding runners that Myrtle Beach has had.”

And Epstein’s advice for Flannelly and the Seahawks’ younger runners?

“Just hard work and practicing every day pays off,” Epstein said. “You just have to keep at it.”

Epstein plans to run in college, although he isn’t sure where that might be just yet. But he has certainly left his mark at Myrtle Beach, and will take with him some important life skills wherever he may go.

“What I’ve learned from being captain over the years has given me a good perspective of how to be a leader and help guide some of my teammates to better success in their running,” he said. “That’s definitely the main thing I’ll take with me when I go to college.”

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Putting the team first helps Myrtle Beach’s Epstein meet many personal goals."