Hannah Runyon is setting an early pace for Norwich that may be impossible to maintain. Then again, those who understand her dedication to basketball, may believe that anything is possible for the junior guard.

Runyon, a co-captain on the Tornado’s girls’ varsity basketball team, led her club to its first Norwich Pennysaver tournament title since the 2006 season, and was the unquestioned most valuable player.

She just missed a triple-double in an opening-round victory over Sidney scoring 20 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out nine assists. In the championship win over Oxford, she hit key baskets down the stretch that assisted in pulling away for the win.

Oxford head coach Chris Palmer said after the game that she was a deserving MVP, Norwich first-year coach, Josh Bennett, believes Runyon deserves everything she achieves because of a second-to-none work ethic, and she is a deserving recipient of our Evening Sun/Smith Ford LLC Athlete of the Week honor.

“I went to four or five Norwich (girls) games last year,” Bennett said, who worked as an assistant coach in the Norwich boys’ basketball program in 2008-2009. “I knew her to be a great character kid and a hard worker. I knew she would do the right things in and out of basketball, she would be at practice to work hard, and she would push her teammates.”