NewsNet Weekly Spotlight: Andrew Carman

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“Every cross country team needs seven really good guys – Andy Carman is right in the heart of our cross country team lineup,” said cross country head coach Ed Eyestone.

Carman is a junior in eligibility from Eugene, Ore. Running is second nature for the boy who has been running competitively since he was four years old.

Carman was not atypical in his hometown. Events called “all-comers,” where kids of all ages compete in track and field courses, attracted many Eugene natives, Carman said.

The sixth in a family of fourteen kids, Carman has come from a long line of overachievers who are all very individual, but close to each other, he said.

“I got lucky; since I was in the middle I got to know everyone and have a close brotherly relationship with everyone,” Carman said.

Individual sports are Carman”s forte. “I enjoy sports where you don”t have anyone to blame but yourself,” Carman said. In addition to running, he and his wife, Brittney, both rock climb and backpack.

Carman used to play Brittney in tennis. “She”s a very good tennis player – she kicks my butt and I get frustrated, so then she wants to play someone that”s better than me, and I”m too competitive,” Carman said.

“I was amazed by the amount of great Mormon athletes that have come from BYU, like Henry Marsh and Ed Eyestone – I just wanted to be a part of that,” Carman said.

Next week, Carman and the other varsity runners head to the NCAA Championships in Greenville, S.C. on Nov. 19.

Eyestone said he takes Andy”s solid running for granted every week. Carman is always right where the team needs him to be, Eyestone said.

During the NCAA Mountain Region Cross Country Championships on Nov. 10, Lewis Jones, one of BYU”s strongest runners, was sick.

Carman stepped it up to help the team and came in second behind BYU”s John Hedengren.

“It was a relief when I dropped back and Andy came up, he actually helped me through miles four to six,” Jones said.

Carman stepped in to support his teammate Jones. “I knew he (Jones) was hurting because he was fading. I said to him, ”No you don”t – stay in it,”” Carman said. Jones did a good job of gutting it out, Carman said.

Jones said Carman is the nice guy on the team who knows how to smooth things over. “He always has the team”s best interests in mind,” Jones said.

Besides caring for his teammates, Carman is a tough guy who also cares for the environment. He and his wife work for the Red Cross, Eyestone said.

Well-read and articulate, Carman keeps plugged in on current critical issues. “When he”s out of school, he”s going to really contribute to society,” Eyestone said.

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