Lindsey Koch shaved over a minute off her PR at this year's Liberty Bell meet. Contributed photo.
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Lindsey Koch's personal bests:
300 meter hurdles: 50.15
800 meters: 2:35.33
1600 meters: 5:54.53
5K cross country: 18:12
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Tell us about what led to the decision to sign with Creighton.
I visited a lot of schools and had been in contact with several coaches over the summer and this fall. Creighton just felt right. I loved the team dynamics and all the values that Coach Rogers models and expects of his athletes. I could tell that the tight-knit team was led by a strong coach.
What do you plan to study while you're at Creighton?
I have been admitted into the business school. I'm unsure of what business sector I will focus my studies on, but I love to work with people and I enjoy problem solving.
You ran cross country all four years of high school but track only the last two, and you shifted track events dramatically from your sophomore to your junior year. Tell us a little about that.
There's a long story to this question. My freshman year just after my third meet cross country meet, I got injured. I luckily still managed to have a pretty successful freshman season. I got hip surgery the January following that cross country season to fix a labral tear. The recovery from my injury was extensive so I couldn't compete in track freshman year. Sophomore year I was still in recovery mode during both cross country and track. I ran distance in track sophomore year, with a few 800s here and there. My junior year of cross country was not satisfying to me. After some reflection on my training, I noticed that my running form had changed and I wasn't feeling as fast. I really used my junior year of track to try and work to get my speed back and to do an event that would work my fast twitch muscles. I think the speed work combined with a bunch of increased mileage and hill work helped me to have the senior season I just finished. I also have great coaches at Regis who made sure my training was heading in the right direction.
What track events do you hope to run this spring?
I hope to run the mile and 800 this season.
Can you pick out a favorite high school memory from cross country/track and field?
My all-time favorite cross country/track memory was definitely during cross country this senior season when I finally broke my PR. The hard work and years of training finally felt paid off when I PR'd and took almost an entire minute off my time. I definitely said a little prayer of gratitude when I crossed that finish line. I felt blessed that I had the opportunity to compete in such a rewarding and competitive sport along with such great teammates and coaches.
