Eric Contreras Class: Senior Hometown: Centerville, OH High School: Centerville Height: 5-6 Birthdate: 01/11/1985

2006
Eric Contreras was voted captain of the team earlier in the year and helped lead the Flyers through the spring and fall seasons. In track, Contreras was part of the school record setting Indoor 4x800 relay. He also set two personal bests in both the Mile (4:30) and the 5,000m (15:30). After a hard summer of steady training, he stepped up into a prominent role on the team as the consistent second man in every race throughout the fall. He set personal bests at the Flyer 5K (16:01) and the NCAA Regional 10K (34:07), but Contreras ran his strongest race at the Atlantic 10 Championships, finishing 21st overall. The A-10 awarded him the Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year Award for the second-year in a row, crowning a strong career as Flyer. Contreras ran in every single race throughout his four years as a Flyer, finishing in the top five in all but two.

2005
Continuing to build on his solid and steady performances of the past two seasons, Contreras competed in all seven varsity races and placed in the top five six times. He lowered his personal best by 10 seconds at the Greater Louisville Invitational, where he finished in a time of 26:05. The time placed him 12th on the Harrier Heroes list and ranks as the 46th fastest all-time performance for a Flyer. His success extends beyond the course, as Contreras was named the Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year. For team leadership and academic achievement, he was named as the 2005 "High Flyer" and was voted team captain for the 2006 season.

2004
Building on his strong freshman year performances, Contreras continued to provide stability by holding the Flyer pack together. He finished among the top five Flyers in seven of the eight varsity races, and was one of only three Flyers to complete all eight races. He improved his personal best time to 26:15 at the Mel Brodt Invitational, which moves him up to 13th on the "Harrier Heroes" list. Contreras was persistently at the heart of the Flyer pack by finishing as 3rd man twice, 4th man three times, and 5th man twice. Contreras will be looked to as a leader next year.

2003
Contreras has a solid year of racing performances. He placed among the top five Flyers in all eight varsity meets. Eric had fifth-man finishes at the Flyer 5K, Chicago Lakefront Invitational, and the National Catholic Championships. He was fourth-man at the Mel Brodt Invitational, Cross Country Only National Championships, and the NCAA Regional 10K. His consistency paid dividends at both the All-Ohio and Atlantic-10 Championships were he competed with third-man finishes. Contreras' personal best time of 26:26, set at Bowling Green ranks him as 16th on the "Harrier Heroes" list. With continued strong efforts, Contreras could be the centerpiece of the near-future's success of Flyer Cross Country.

HIGH SCHOOL
Was named GWOC Runner of the Year as a senior...Also earned team's Most Valuable Runner his junior and senior year...Was a member of the All-American Junior Olympic Cross Country team in 2002...Was named Centerville's Scholar Athlete of the Year as a senior and was a National Merit Finalist.

PERSONAL
Son of Mario and Cindy Contreras...Born on January 11, 1985... Majoring in Economics, Marketing, and Spanish