(Photo provided by Lucas Mueller)
First of all, how did you first get involved
with running?
I first started running during the spring of 9th grade because my mom thought I might like it. I didn't actually run on the track team; I'd missed the deadline to sign up and was a shy kid anyway. So from April to June, I just ran around the block every day after school, increasing the number of laps by 1 every week until I ran about 4 miles a day. It was only during the June Driver's Ed class that one of the guys on the cross country team suggested I come to summer practices. My first official workout was quite painful. We were doing an easy 7 mile run, but I'd never run that far before. In my infinite freshman wisdom, I decided to pace with the fastest guys on the team and ended up having to walk the last mile. I was very proud of that effort, and kept at it throughout the rest of the season.
What are all your personal records, including cross country?
800m-2:00.5
1600m-4:28.18
1 Mile-4:25.1
3200m (xc)-10:01
5k (xc)-16:08
Do you do, or have you done, any other sports?
From 6th grade up until this fall I fenced. It was really good cross-training for running. I ended being on a state championship team in 10th grade, as well as individual state runner-up in 11th grade and helping my team to a 3rd place finish that year. I had to stop fencing towards the beginning of fall senior year to focus more on my running and on mock trial, which is basically the school sport at Nova. Fencing always seemed pretty similar to running. An individual could score points for the team, but could also place well personally. I think I always liked that aspect of both fencing and running. You can still do well individually if your team doesn't do well, but you are also competing for the team.
What types of workouts do you do as a fencer? I assume that you need to do a lot of work on your reflexes?
It's a ton of drills. We'll usually do about half an hour of footwork, then another half hour of drills, then half an hour of actually fencing or games (like where one person has to attack, and another person has to do a counter-offensive action). There are some things that help with reflexes, but the most important thing actually isn't doing things fast, it's doing them correctly. Sometimes instead of footwork we'll do agility ladders, strength training, or plyometrics.
What is your favorite or most memorable competition you've ever been in?
The 2016 Milaca cross country race. I had decided to not go out as hard and stay maybe 10 meters behind the lead pack. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day and the course was pretty slick, and I fell on my face about halfway through the race right in front of my coach. Fortunately, I managed to get up and chase down the lead pack and led the 2nd and 3rd miles. At 400m to go, I absolutely died, but managed to rally and kick for 2nd and a PR. At the finish line, I collapsed right as I was getting my award. It was a crazy race, and it really showed me how much mental toughness could do.
Other than your own teammates, who are some of your favorite athletes to compete against?
In sophomore year track and junior year XC I remember the two people I just could not seem to beat were Henry Brink and Seguy Hanson. More recently, Declan Dahlberg and Michael Mitchell have been great to run against.
Who are some people that have been most helpful to you in your athletic career?
All of my coaches have been absolutely fantastic: Dennis Barker, Kimberly Strand, and Nathan Anderson. Apart from them, my teammates, especially Blaine Brownell. Former Wayzata coach Bill Miles was also helpful-I met him while watching the state class AA meet junior year, and he encouraged me to train much more consistently over the summer and this winter.
What is a challenge you have had to face as an athlete?
Being injured and sick 2-3 weeks before the State Cross Country Meet last year. I could not run for 5 days, and could barely breathe without coughing my lungs up. At the same time, I had a hip injury which prevented me from running. At our conference meet I ran 17:30, about 80 seconds off my usual time. I then managed to claw back a 4th-place finish in the section meet still about 20 seconds off my PR. Going into State I tried to stay confident and managed to place 8th.
What are your main goals for this upcoming track season?
A top-3 finish in the 1600m or 3200m at state. Top 3 in both would be ideal.
As a senior, how have your perspectives, strategies, or attitudes changed since you first started running, what advice would you give to younger track of XC athletes?
Be consistent. You can do a crazy workout one day, but if you can't even walk the next, it's not worth it. Run every day, take a rest day if you feel like you'd get injured. What really made me as a runner over this past summer and winter was just running every single day of every single week. I started out at the typical 4-5 miles a day and built up slowly to 10-11, maybe adding an extra half a mile to my daily run each week. It sounds really clichéd, but if you want to do well in June, then you need to work for it January. Even if it's 10 degrees outside, even if you don't want to, even if no one else is running. Don't expect big results in the first week or even the first few weeks. Running is not a sport where you can expect instant results unless you just started doing it. But after an entire summer/winter of running? You'll amaze yourself.
Do you have any college plans?
I still haven't decided quite where I'm going. The deadline for deciding is May 1st, but I want to squeeze in a little more research about the physics programs at the places I'm considering.
In addition to physics, what are the main things you are looking at in your potential college choices, and what schools are you going to be deciding between?
Every school I applied to has a great campus, and financial aid is good for almost all of them. Most have pretty good running programs. So it's mainly just the physics. I'll be deciding between Marquette, St. John's, Carleton, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of Rochester (New York), and St. Olaf.
Do you have any rituals, routines, or superstitions either on or off the track?
Coach Barker gave us an article he wrote about mental toughness during training and races back at the start of 10th grade XC. I generally read it at least once before I race. It has some great anecdotes, like Lasse Viren running a WR in the 10,000 after tripping and falling. Apart from that, I try to follow all of my competitors' efforts, whether through race results or their hometown paper giving a report about their training.
When not doing anything track-related, what might we find you doing?
I like reading, doing Mock Trial, roleplaying games, and biking.
Tell me one bizarre fact about yourself.
My school requires a senior thesis to graduate. I decided to do mine on optimizing our school's track team.
Can you give us quick summary of your thesis?
I constructed an algorithm to maximize points scored in the Section 4A track and field meet by Nova track athletes by placing them in the optimal events. The algorithm was based off of results from the previous 7 years of the section meet.
