Jacob Bishop

Martins Ferry

Jacob Bishop is entering his senior season for the Martins Ferry cross country team and after lettering in his first three seasons, he should be ready to excel in his final go-round.

Bishop has qualified for the state tournament in each of his last two seasons and he was named first team All-Ohio in his junior campaign.

“Jacob is a vital part of our team,” head coach Chrissy Lewis said of her senior standout. “He is a hard worker, he is motivated and he tries to inspire the other kids to give their best efforts every day.”

Bishop was not running competitively until his seventh-grade year when he came out for the team because his friends joined the team but he has been around the sport of running for his entire life. His uncle was the head coach of the cross country team before Lewis took over, and Jacob is continuing the family tradition.

“Bishop has a lot of speed, and his heart just pushes him to do better,” Lewis said.

“He wants it really bad and he is driven to put in the work to get better. All of his teammates have a tremendous amount of respect for his running and his work ethic.

“I hope he has a good finish at the OVAC meet this year and I would like to see him crack the top 10 at the state meet as well.”

Bishop has visited with several small Division I schools and college could push him to do longer distances, which Lewis believes could make him even better.

“I think he can have a lot of success in college,” his coach said. “I definitely think the longer distance could help him excell at the collegiate level.”