German Runner Aids Pallotti Prep Team

Two years ago Friedrich Krohn and his family left their home in Germany for a vacation on the west coast, where they visited San Francisco, Yosemite Park and Lake Tahoe.

Krohn, who is 15, is now back again in the United States and this time he came on his own.

The German is a sophomore exchange student at , a private school in downtown Laurel, and is a member of the Panthers’ cross country team this fall. He has been among the top four runners so far this year with a season-best of just under 22:00 in his first time on a team.

“I never knew that it was a sport,” he said of cross country in the United States. “I did it more to stay in shape. It is always a fight against your body. After a certain time you get tired. You have to find a balance between running hard and not getting a lot of pain.”

His main sport in Germany is field hockey, which is popular among males in some parts of Europe. But since field hockey is a girls sport in this country Krohn opted to give cross country a try for the first time.

The teenager is from Karlsruhe, founded in 1715 in southwest Germany. The town has about 300,000 people and has a pro basketball team with four Americans on its current roster, according to www.usbasket.com.

“It is very calm and there are not many tourists because it is so unexciting. After many years you are bored there,” said Krohn, who lives with his parents and younger brother in Karlsruhe. His father is a businessman and his mother is a lawyer who assists those trying to find employment.

So why did Krohn want to come to the United States? “I wanted to experience new things. I often say that I want to experience other things," he said.

Krohn is living in North Laurel with host family Tamara and Brian Tenney and their two-year-old son. Brian is the brother of David Tenney, who teaches religion and is a cross country coach at Pallotti Prep. The third brother in the family, Michael, also teaches religion at the school.

David Tenney, a co-coach with Tom Owens in cross country, has been impressed wtih Krohn, who has been the No. 4 runner most of the season for the Panthers.

"He has been very helpful. He is scoring for us in every meet. That is tremendous to have him come out of nowhere," Tenney said. "He has never run cross country before. His times have been slowly going down during the season."

"He is a really strong runner," Tenney adds. "He does not shy away from tough workouts. I really appreciate having him on the team. It motivates the other kids around him, too. He has just clicked very well with the team. He is a good, hard worker. He is eager to keep improving."

Tenney is also the head of the religion department and has Krohn in one of his classes.

"He is one of my best students. His comprehension level is better than what I am used to with international students. His English is very good," Tenney said.

Krohn arrived in the middle of August through the AYUSA Global Youth Exchange, a non-profit organization.

"We hosted a German student [Daniel Harsay] last year from the same organization and he went to Pallotti. Daniel had a good experience at Pallotti," said Tamara Tenney, who added that Harsay played junior varsity soccer at Pallotti Prep.

Krohn will stay with the Tenney family until January and then finish the school year in Germany.

"His main sport at home [in Germany] is field hockey. He went to Chess Club at Pallotti. He is a big chess player," said Tamara Tenney, who has lived in North Laurel for about two years.

But now he is making a difference in his first year on a cross country team a long way from home. And this winter he may give wrestling a try at Pallotti Prep before heading back to Germany.