For Jim Thorpe's Johnathan Condly, the journey continues.

After capping a stellar scholastic cross country career last month with a medal-winning 14th place finish in the Class AA race at the PIAA Championships in Hershey, Condly recently made his collegiate plans official when he signed a National Letter of Intent to compete for Temple University next fall.Condly will join David Fitzgerald (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill High School) as the Owls' only recruits for the 2015 season.For Jim Thorpe coach and Temple alum Drew Benyo, being able to see Condly continue his career at a Division I program will be another chapter in a relationship that started when the latter was only in middle school."I remember John when he was in seventh grade and he couldn't decide if he was going to do cross country or soccer," Benyo said of the time. "How we got him to do cross country, I'm not sure. But we're sure glad we did because it worked out really well."Just to watch him grow up and get bigger from that little, tiny boy that I remember…he has come a long, long way, and he's got a long way to go. It's been an honor to be his coach and watch him grow, and we'll continue to do that."And it's that potential for continued development that drew Condly to Temple and all that it has to offer, both on and off the course."I really liked their team and the coaches," Condly said, "so that was a big part (of the process) for me because I'm going to have to spend a lot of time with them. It's important to like the people around you since I'll be spending so much time with them."But I also really like the idea of being in Philly because there's so much to do there, and I really enjoy being active and doing things. I think it will be good to have several options."The decision was a relatively easy one for Condly, who admitted that the Philadelphia-based school was his first, and only, choice."I was talking to the coaches all season, and Temple was my top choice," he said. "Once I went to visit (after the state meet), I was pretty set that it was where I wanted to go."Condly, who hopes to major in engineering, has been just as decisive and calculated with his actions on the course over the past two seasons as the Olympians unquestioned team leader.The senior took second at this year's PIAA District 11 Cross Country Championships and led Jim Thorpe to a runner-up finish in the team standings, good enough to advance the squad to the state meet for the second-straight year.Condly also won his second-consecutive Schuylkill League title this fall and set a personal record on the 3.1-mile course with a time of 16:23. His strong performance helped lead the Olympians to a second-consecutive team title at the event as well.While he knows it won't be easy, having faced such stiff competition en route to achieving his success is something Condly thinks will only benefit him at the next level."I got to compete against some really good kids this year, and next year it's only going to be even better kids, so I think that will really help," he said. "I know I'm not going to be winning next year, but I'm going to be facing some good competition. Hopefully my times get faster just from racing quality opponents."I feel really good about it. I think with the college coaches I can really drop my times and get better."After watching Condly steadily improve during his tenure, Benyo sees no reason why continued success won't be possible next season and for many years to come."He hasn't reached his peak yet," said Benyo. "To see the improvement from his sophomore to junior year, and then from his junior to senior year, was just tremendous."It's been a step-by-step procedure, but he's getting there. He might not be the top guy at Temple, but he'll certainly be a contributing member of the team and he'll make the team a lot stronger, not only because he's a great athlete, but because he's also a great young man and a great person."