As the sun completes its slow descent in the sky over Campbellsville City Lake, award-winning runner Samuel Larson and a group of friends have managed to find time to go fishing.
Larson takes a kayak out into the depths of the lake, while his friends, mainly teammates, remain on shore. The group was unable to land any fish, but they did spend valuable bonding time together.
A junior from Lewisburg, Kentucky, Larson has made an impact on Campbellsville University’s campus by balancing multiple roles.
He’s a leader on CU’s cross-country and track and field teams. He serves as a resident assistant. He leads a weekly Bible study. He also recently won a scholarship at CU’s Awards Night Ceremony.
“I was given a scholarship with the English department, and I really appreciate it,” said Larson. “They went out of their way to give me the scholarship that I actually didn’t even apply for, so it was really nice of them.”
Larson said he doesn’t conform to the normal standards of what people think about English.
“I love writing,” Larson said. “Most people hate reading and writing. I like to read. I like to write. I’ve written a book. I’m a bit of a nerd at the end of the day.”
Larson said he wants to pursue his writing career later in life.
“I think it would be cool to write my own books, because I have plans for like these elaborate book series,” said Larson. “I honestly think that I will probably do that later on in my life after lots of adventure and cool things.”
As a resident assistant, or RA, Larson is able to work for CU as more than just a student. He also enjoys getting to know different students through his position.
“I like that it gives me the opportunity to get to know a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds,” Larson said, “and to be able to work with them, become friends with them and help them out in any way that I can.”
As an RA, Larson’s main duty is to uphold campus housing policies. He also is responsible for making sure his residents are taken care of. Larson also must go to certain events as an RA.
Freshman Austin Barnes is one of Larson’s housemates and is also his teammate on the cross-country and track teams.
“He’s a rule follower, but he’s very graceful,” Barnes said. “He just tells us to clean our room and do what we need to so we don’t get fined…I really enjoy him as an RA.”
Barnes said Larson has taken on a leadership role within the teams.
“With our coach leaving, he’s really stepped up into like a leadership role in guiding the team and really helping us get through this challenging time,” said Barnes.
In addition to recently winning an academic award, Larson was named as the Champion of Character recipient for the men’s cross-country team.
“It’s obviously a great honor to be nominated and to be given those awards,” Larson said. “But I think it says more about something that hopefully I’ve been doing right, where I’ve been hopefully stepping up as a leader on the team.”
Larson initially started running to get in shape and then started running competitively in high school. The team aspect was something that really made running special to him.
“I value the team and friendships on the team really more than anything else,” said Larson.
Larson’s duties on the team also contribute to his lack of free time.
“Training can be challenging,” said Larson. “Keeping up with academics, athletics, friendships, family, all that can be challenging unless you’re really good at putting everything together, which almost nobody is.”
Larson said it’s hard to be at your best all the time as a runner.
“The biggest challenge is just being on your A-game all the time, because it just doesn’t happen,” Larson said. “It really doesn’t happen for anybody. You always have ups and downs.”
Larson took over the team’s weekly Bible study from Samuel Bennett during the fall semester.
“About midway through my sophomore year or his senior year, [Samuel Bennett] was like ‘hey, so I want you to take over Bible study next year,’ which kind of comes with a spiritual leadership role on the team,” said Larson.
Larson and the team finished studying the book of Romans this year and he’s currently leading the team through 1 John.
“I didn’t anticipate how much I was actually gonna learn myself,” Larson said. “A lot of times you learn a lot in teaching.”
The way God impacted the team was something that really stood out to Larson.
“You should always anticipate God to move, but sometimes he moves in ways that you don’t even anticipate,” Larson said.
Larson was joined on campus in the fall by his younger sister Amelia, who is also a runner at CU.
“She has made a lot of great friends on the team, and I think they have a really good friend group which I think is really good for her,” said Larson.
Amelia said having Samuel nearby really helped ease her into college.
“I think it’s just nice to have him near,” she said. “If I ever need him, he’s there and it’s just fun.”
The amount of things which Samuel participates in can be a lot, but Amelia said he does a good job balancing it all.
“He does get overwhelmed sometimes,” she said, “but he just tries to stay calm and just focus and do what he needs to do to get everything done.”
Larson still manages to find time to do other things. He has developed a love for guitar and has written several songs. He plans to play on a worship team at a camp in Oregon over the summer.
He also plays pickleball, ping-pong and intramural sports. And he still finds time to go fishing, bragging about a huge catfish he recently caught. All these activities help him to bond with his teammates and friends at CU, where Larson has become a fixture around campus.
Larson doesn’t know what the future holds. After college, he wants to go into the military or be a college coach, but the path in front of him is still unclear.
“It’s really hard to say because if you would have asked me five years ago where I’d see myself now, I probably wouldn’t have had any idea that I’d be here,” Larson said. “Life can be very unpredictable.”
Editor’s note: After this story was written, Larson won the 2026 John and Jody Wheeler Award for Men’s Outdoor Track and Field.
