The Maverick
Michael's go at competitive distance running is quite the opposite of his sister. Only within the last year or two has he scratched the curious itch.
"I never really trained my freshmen or sophomore year," he admitted. But while Madison was turning left, Michael was starring on the soccer field - he scored the lone goal to elevate Broomfield to the state title this past fall, and he was the 5A Player of the Year.
Like many competitive distance runners, Michael's success on the pitch translated quite nicely to the track, once he got training.
"Training under Greg (Weich) last year really showed me how much better I could be," Michael explained. "I started training more consistently, and seeing a lot of improvement.
Improvement may be an understatement.
Michael didn't run cross-country the first three years of high school - because fall is soccer time, but he did hit the track each spring, and showed promise.
As a freshman he ran a 4:53 PR - which was slightly faster than his twin sister's 5:05 PR. He lowered that time to 4:39 his sophomore year, but didn't tally any state appearances - that came his junior year, where he placed sixth in the 1,600, and had a season PR of 4:21.94.
His junior season showed true potential, and Michael was sure to cap on that this year.
In his first cross-country season last fall he finished seventh at state and ran a season PR of 15:25 at the Nike Cross Regionals. Additionally, he was the Region 4 champion. All the while, he was still playing soccer for Broomfield.
And then winter came.
"I took about two weeks off after state, then started training again," Mooney explained. "I think that, and running cross-country have really helped me this season."
Again, "helped" may be an understatement. Helped, aided, let's just say training more gave Mooney rockets, because he took off during the outdoor season.
Mooney opened his season nearly where he left off - he ran 4:24, and that was barely the tip of the ice burg.
He ran his first 3,200 ever, winning the event in 9:51 on a windy day. A week later he ran 9:20, which was the fastest 3,200 in the state at the time. But hold on, that's not all.
Overseeing Michael's training, his coach Greg Weich saw what was coming.
"He'll break 9 at Arcadia," he shared a week before Michael went to California.
And true to form, Weich was right - Michael shocked the nation with his US No. 1 8:50 bomb.
The time was eclipsed a few weeks later, but Michael's 8:50 is still No. 2 in the country.
"I didn't originally have a time goal for the 2 mile," Michael shared. "But I knew I wanted to break 9 when I was headed to Arcadia. So I just focused on competing."
Focusing on competing first seems to be fitting, as he proved his 8:50 was no fluke by running 4:14 in Colorado a few weeks later, and again, he wasn't done.
Last week he ran the fastest 1,600 in Colorado this year - 4:11.99 - to win the event at St. Vrain. That brings him closer than anyone this year to the 37 year-old 1,600 record of 4:10.98.
With his recent rise, Michael's goals remain nearly the same as when he started: run hard.
The strength he brings to the track has made him one of the most feared competitors, as he's quick to set a hot pace.
With state looming on his horizon, he knows he's not done - he's eyeing a coveted state title, just like his twin sister, Madison.