When you do a hobby for long enough, it becomes a habit. Then soon after that, it becomes a prominent part of your life. This is evident in the life of senior psychology major Melt Von Melondorff, who has made running almost a way of life. Melondorff recently was given an individual title after his performance at the PacWest Conference in Waipahu Hawaii. When asked how long he’s been running, it took him a second to remember a time in his life where he wasn’t running.
“I feel like running is a purpose in my life. It gives me purpose to wake up to glorify God, in this talent he gave me, and I have the opportunity to go out and do stuff that a lot of people can’t do, and I think that’s what drives me to be better,” Melondorff said.
Entering Biola as an international student from South Africa, Melondorff faced many challenges. He noted how coming into a new culture from the one he was familiar with was a big adjustment at first.
“It was quite hard to come in from a different culture, especially running wise as an international student, because you’re so used to stuff you do back at home, then you come to a different country and they do stuff differently,” Melondorff said. “What was great was the coach, Sean Henning. So grateful for him and just giving me the time to adapt from being away from home for the first time and being so far away. “
Despite the challenges he faced, Melondorff was able to exceed any expectations that he previously held, and ultimately grow as a person.
“I think I’ve grown a lot from joining the team,” Melondorff said. “I feel like I was a little bit of a cocky and immature kid coming in and then through the years, the coach helped me a lot to grow more in my faith and grow in trying to be a man of God.”
On Saturday, Oct. 25th, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams won the title of PacWest Conference Champions. In addition to this, Melondorff won the individual championship with a time of 24:33:6. In the past he has achieved All PacWest honors, but this is his first time being awarded an individual title.
“The individual title was not expected. People talked about me winning it, but for me, it was more important giving my best on the day and winning the team title,” Melondorff said. “The team title was expected. We were ranked first in the preseason, so we were going in as the favorite. But I’m glad we delivered on the day and brought the title.”
Teammates working alongside Melondorff have expressed that he is the person many of them look up to, showing attributes of being a natural leader. So not only does he contribute to the team by being an exemplary athlete, but also as a role model.
“He’s the most hard working person I know. And just seeing his level of sacrifice and dedication, to not only athletics, but also academics, and it’s just so inspiring. Seeing his sacrifice for running, makes me want to be a better runner,” teammate Miranda Zakhar said. “He leads by example, watching him you can tell that everyone looks at him and goes, ‘What should we be doing?’
Melondorff’s plan is to continue running after graduation once he goes into graduate school, but for now he’s looking forward to seeing what his final year at Biola will bring, and what his team can accomplish this season.
Reflecting back on his accomplishments and time at Biola, Melondorff advises to not get defeated by the trials presented to you, but instead learn how you can grow from them.
“If it doesn’t work out in the beginning, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to work out, and it just does take time,” Melondorff said. “Just be patient. Still believe in yourself. Be consistent. Because God has a plan for everyone, and God’s plan is better than ours.”
