Norwin distance runner to run at St. Francis (Pa.), joining his sister on the track and field team

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 18, 2025 | 3:41 PM

Proximity to home and quality of education were driving factors for Thomas Gaydos in the college recruiting process.

The Norwin senior distance runner’s plan of action was precise, and it led him up the mountain to Loretto, where he committed to run track and cross country at St. Francis (Pa.) of the NCAA Division I Northeast Conference.

“I wanted to stay local and looked mainly at schools with good pre-med programs where I could run and contribute to the team,” Gaydos said. “I chose SFU because it had the best combination of scholarships, athletics and academics. I especially liked their biochemistry program and the opportunity to participate in biochemistry research while in school. I was impressed by their coach and professors, and I really liked the whole team.”

Gaydos also had offers to run at Robert Morris, St. Bonaventure, and Gannon.

“It was actually a very difficult decision for me because each of these schools had unique things that made them attractive,” he said.

A key bonus that also helped to tip the scale in the Red Flash’s favor: He will join his sister, Rosemary, who runs for the SFU women’s track team and was the Northeast Conference Freshman of the Year.

“We are very close, and I am super excited to run with her for three more years in college,” Thomas said.

Thomas Gaydos said he likely will run the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in college, events that suit him.

“So far in high school I have run my best at the longest distances,” he said. “My high school coach says I get better the longer the race goes on. I would love to try the steeplechase, just for fun. I’m open to new things.”

Gaydos said extra work and training in and out of season led him to the Division I college level. Norwin is known for producing Division I-level athletes in track and cross country.

“I have worked hard all through high school, and I have put in so much time in the summer to run and improve so that I could have opportunities to run in college,” he said. “This past cross country season, I really started to excel and realized that I would be able to contribute meaningfully to a D-I team.

“Being able to run D-I at such a high level of competition will be exciting and definitely something I am proud of as a result of my hard work.”

Last spring, Gaydos took 20th in the WPIAL 3A 3,200-meter race but was fifth at the WPIAL 3A cross country finals.

“I was pretty disappointed with how I ran at track WPIALs last year,” he said, “which made me work even harder over the summer.

“I am hoping for a much better result at track WPIALs this year. My goal is to make it to states this year.“

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Norwin