Washburn High School has been a consistent producer of top caliber runners. A few recent graduates include Andrew Sell and Hamza Ali. Joseph Minor will add his name to this impressive group of alumni after he finishes up his final high school track season this spring. Minor has an impressive high school career under his belt, and this week I got a chance to catch up with him in order to reflect on his high school career and look ahead to the years to come.
As with many other runners, Minor did not start out in cross country and track. Prior to his freshman year, he had never run. Instead, he had played football, baseball, and wrestled. It was during his baseball days that he became acquainted with current teammate, Caleb Haugland.
Minor's first cross-country win came at the Ron Kresch Invitational (over yours truly) and has built an impressive resume since that point. His sophomore year was marked with an historic upset in Section 6AA, known informally as the "Section of Death," where Washburn qualified for State cross-country over Edina. Minor went on to help that Washburn team place second overall at State. "We spent most of that season never thinking we would make it to State!" Minor recalled of his proudest moment to date.
With the graduation of team leaders, Hamza Ali, Andrew Sell, and Martin Donovan, the reigns of the Washburn team were passed onto Minor. "It was challenging not having those guys to pace with on hard days and I had to learn how to push myself harder," he said, but his results continued to speak for themselves. Minor finished that season with an 8th place finish at State, in a field that included numerous current D1 athletes. He went on to run his fist sub-16 minute 5k at Nike Cross Heartland, an improvement of roughly two minutes from his freshman year!
In his final cross-country season, Minor won the Minneapolis City Conference Championships, placed third in the stacked Section 6AA, 12th at State, and an excellent 15th at Nike Regionals, running a personal best of 33 seconds. He committed to run at South Dakota State this past fall, where he plans to study computer science and mathematics. "The team, the school, and the coach really drew me to SDSU," Minor said, and he will join a strong contingent of Minnesota alumni currently at SDSU.
Running with the Washburn team, Minor has been exposed to consistent top-level competition. In his own team, Minor credits Caleb Haugland for helping him get better every day as his training partner. His favorite athletes to compete with include Wayzata star Khalid Hussein, who Minor has ran against since his sophomore year, and Roseville star, Acer Iverson. Minor and myself have encountered each other numerous times over the past years as well.
In preparation for his final track season, Minor has been putting in steady consistent work over the winter. He ran a 4:31 indoor miles PR at the SDSU Classic, has been focusing on taking his easy days easy. "Since starting that I have been getting a lot faster in the hard workouts." Minor extended a thank-you to teammates Anna Kelly and Grace Dickel for running with him on his easy days, making waffles post-long runs, and keeping running fun.
Minor's first goal for the season is to qualify for the Hamline Elite Meet in the 3200 meters, which requires a fast early season time, and will give him the chance to compete against the top Minnesota runners in a mini-State meet that includes all classes. After that, Minor hopes to aid the Washburn team to qualify for True Team State, win conference, and qualify for State out of a very tough section. A top-five finish at State would cap off a very successful career for Minor.
When not running, Minor enjoys playing PS4, basketball, and is also currently working on producing a song. He is an avid Star Wars fan, owning most of the books, comics, and posters, and is a fan of Alicia Keys. Minnesota will lose one of its top talents next year when Minor graduates. He has performed at a high level with remarkable consistency throughout high school, and we expect that to continue as he begins his collegiate career.
