A late starter, Radford’s Kozuma now thrives in running, motivating others

Not all struggle is fertile ground for success.

Stephen Kozuma just happens to be one of the rare few: a polite, young gentleman who runs with a fury. It may be furious anger occasionally, but most of the time, the Radford junior isn’t running from something. He runs toward the light. When he misses his old teammates, now graduated and at their various colleges, the spark illuminates Kozuma’s imagination.

“I’m passionate about giving pregame pep talks to help motivate my teammates,” he said. “I like to call it a pep talk. They call it my speeches. Last year, I started talking (before meets) and Cooper Johnson said, ‘You’re good at motivating us.’”

On Saturday, he added the OIA Western Division individual boys title to his growing collection of medals. He completed the hilly course at Pa