Ben Bosworth is achieving great strides as he runs across state lines to continue the legacy he began in Dorchester’s Wellesley Park neighborhood. On April 2, the rising sophomore on the Connecticut College Track and Field team placed second in the 1500 meter run for the Camels. The 20 year-old athlete contributed to a fifth place standing at the Amherst College Spring Fling meet.

Before beginning at Connecticut College in 2013, Bosworth attended high school at Milton Academy. He joined the school’s running program in his freshman year after ending his participation in football due to an injury. He reflects that his early passion for running came from being able to “improve, week to week [and] day to day.” His dedication was rewarded in his junior year when he was named the Cross Country and Track team MVP. Bosworth continued to advance in 2013 when was named the team captain. In the same year, Milton set school records in both the 1500 meter and 3000 meter races.

The Bosworth family and the Dorchester community have acted as a strong support system for his running. He says that the largest impact of the support from his coach, family, and friends is that it provides “the self-belief and the confidence [for] working so hard and performing well.”

Bosworth’s support system included the students who inspired him to keep improving in the sport. Bosworth remembers Henry Russell and Andrew Beaudoin’s impact on his track aspirations.

“I could just see how bright the fire was burning for them and how hard they were working for their goals.That’s really what showed me what running was about,” he said.

In high school, when Bosworth wasn’t persevering on the track he was serving the Dorchester and Milton communities.

“I did a lot of community service growing up. I worked at ABCD daycare in the summer. […] I would interact with the children, help them with learning and that was a very cool experience[…] I tutored to students from Dorchester in whatever they were learning and I also did community service at the Taylor school once or twice a week.”

Bosworth is also maintaining his own high standards in the classroom. In both of his years at Connecticut College the economics major has earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. The honor is awarded to student athletes who earn a 3.30 GPA or higher and finish amongst the top 25 percent of their respective regional championships. Bosworth achieved well above the requirement, earning a 3.6 GPA in his freshman year. Bosworth shares that a large part of maintaining the balance between athletics and his collegiate studies is in appropriate time management.

“I think it’s really just staying focused on your goals and having goals in the classroom just as you have goals for track,” said Bosworth.

Bosworth’s techniques are paying dividends on the track as well. Recently he advanced to 15th place on the national Track and Field performance list due to his completing a 3000 meter run in just over 8 minutes in the Last Chance Invitational t Tufts University in March.

“I’ve… fueled myself off of improvement from year to year. I think that’s an important thing that people should know about running whether you’re winning in the Olympics or just going out for your first jog.”

He believes that with perseverance anyone can excel in the sport the way he has.

“The fact is that it’s hard, always, but you can constantly improve and constantly break through […]You never know how far you can take it.[…] That’s something I always think about as a runner but I hope that other people think about it too.”