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<strong>Colorado's Class of 2014 makes their decisions...</strong></p>
Sean Paiz rolled to a fifth-place finish at this fall's state cross country meet. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
Sean Paiz's best marks:
1600 meters - 4:37.53 (at altitude)
3200 meters - 9:55.35 (at altitude)
5K cross country - 15:39.7 (at altitude)
Were you looking at any other schools and programs besides Mines? What made you land on Colorado School of Mines as your school of choice?
I had been looking at CSU and CU-Boulder for their engineering programs, as well as MIT. Mines stood out for me because not only was it close, but it was Division II. I wanted to find a school that would offer both great education and a great running program that would push me in both areas. I felt Mines would be the best because not only is it a great school, the team there gave me a wonderful visit, and showed me what the benefits of being an Oredigger were, including helping each other out with homework and supplies.
What do you anticipate your course of study will be at Mines?
I anticipate to study petroleum engineering at Mines, but if that changes over the course of my freshman year, that's fine by me. I thought petroleum would be fun because my mom works at Veneco, which was actually started by a Mines graduate, Tim Marcus. If he can do it, i can do it.
You had a solid career through high school, but also a very strong senior year. What can you point to that helped make the difference for your senior year?
I owe so much to my teammates and my coaching staff for pushing me my senior year. Every single practice my teammate Joshua Joseph was either right behind me, next to me, or in front of me. He and I pushed each other to a whole new level of competitiveness. We both wanted to win, and both of us had to give it everything we had to beat each other.
He triumphed me in over half the meets including state, and I managed to edge him out at the Thornton Invite to take first, league to take first, and Nike Cross Regionals.
My coaches are another reason for my drastic improvement. Coach O'Shea took one look at me after my first race and told me he could get me to be running 5:05 minute miles for the whole race before I was done. At the time my RR was 5:26 in the mile. He gave me the means to be competitive and handed me the reins senior year.
Try to pick for us a favorite or most memorable moment of your high school career to date...
My most memorable moment in my career was probably the state meet my senior year or the pre-state meet my sophomore year. The state meet, Josh beat me, but for the first time, I wasn't angry that he beat me in the slightest, because we both ran our hearts out. And I was really proud of him. At the pre-state meet my sophomore year, my first-ever 5K, I was the seventh man on the team at the time, and ended up placing third on the team. I can still remember that race to this day, because it was fun, not just a competition, and that's the way racing should be.
If it came to choosing are you more of a track or of a cross country type?
I consider myself a track kind of guy. Its where I started, and where I will finish my high school career.
Are there any particular goals that are helping to keep you focused as track season draws near?
Right now, i have a goal of being sub 9:40 in the two mile. That is my motivation. If I can take fifth in a cross country meet, I want to be up there as well in track. Its not going to be easy--there are a lot of great runners are out there--but nothing worth going after ever is.
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If you take a moment to go through the record of Sean's high school performances you will find out just how much he has invested in the 3200. It is little wonder that his goal for this spring centers around the 3200. You will also find that he does most of his running at the Adams 12 Stadium (now dubbed First Bank Stadium) next to Mountain Range High School. There's a good chance his first dip under 9:40 comes on that track.