May 26—VALDOSTA — Following in his brother's footsteps, Lowndes cross country standout Aaron Munger will be a Blazer.

Aaron, like his older brother Alec did two years ago, signed with Valdosta State University Friday, May 19.

"VSU has always been on my radar, just to stay home and be with my family," Aaron said. "Once my brother and one of my good friends, Matt (Herndon) — my brother signed two years ago and Matt signed last year — it just made it an even easier decision to stay home and I've had a pretty good relationship with Coach (Todd) Smoot. When we talk, he just seems all about it and he seems really focused on what he's doing and it just makes me excited for what's in store for the future."

During his recruitment, Aaron felt like he could make an impact right away with the Blazers.

"A big thing is just making an impact on the team, even if it's not scoring for the team," Aaron said. "It's just being there for my teammates and just making a difference. It's not always about the time or me specifically but being there for the team and being a Blazer."

Lowndes head cross country coach Martha Mazurkiewicz spoke about what Aaron's signing means for the program after the ceremony.

"This day, for me, is the runners taking the sport into their own hands and carrying it on and leaving their legacy here at Lowndes High School and leaving their legacy in the hearts of all their teammates," Mazurkiewicz said. "His teammates really looked up to him. He's a solid person, he's a solid runner and he's a solid character. He's a wonderful friend and he was always lifting them up. He's going to be missed, but he's going to stay local at VSU so we get to see him running in the streets with his brother and Matthew Herndon, who graduated last year. That's our feeding program. We just feed them, feed them, feed VSU.

"They have a stellar coach and I trust him with my runners to just continue and build from that base that they have here. Like I said, Aaron has just been a treasure — a wonderful, top-notch character. I just can't say enough good things about him."

Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.