The day after Chris Young's father died, the Chancellor senior cross country standout drove the red 1986 Porsche his parents helped him buy to Loriella Park, pulled into a spot near the tennis courts and dug into the trunk for his running shorts and shoes.

Young hadn't told his teammates, teachers or coaches that his father, William Young, had a heart attack and died Sept. 24 while jogging Loriella's rolling hills. It's the park where Chancellor's cross country team trains and where Chris last week won his first Battlefield District cross country individual title.

He just kept doing what he'd been doing for years: He ran.

"I didn't think he would want me to quit," Chris said. "He would never think like that."

"Running is something he does all the time," said Young's mother, Laura. "It was something he did with his dad and he just wanted to keep on doing it."

Will Young worked for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, but his passion was his family and specifically his son.

When Chris took up hockey, Will became the quintessential hockey dad, ferrying his son to practices, scoring games and operating the penalty box when no one else could.

When Chris showed an interest in cross country in middle school, Will read up on running and shared the strategy and motivational techniques he learned with his son.

"He always showed an interest in something I liked and it was something we could do together," Chris said.

With Chris set to go to college next year, Will began to make plans to stay on and help Chancellor's cross country team.

"Anything you asked him he would do," Bane said. "When we had the Region I meet here two years ago, it was pouring down rain and he strapped a leaf-blower to his back and he was down on the trails blowing water out of puddles. He was that kind of guy."

Will also took up running.

Though Chris was emerging as a talented runner, his father would show up at practices from work for jogs with his son.

"He couldn't keep up with me, but he was all right," Chris said with a smile.