************
Q) Talk about the recruitment process - what other schools were you looking at, and how did you come to choosing the University of Kansas?
I started the recruiting process towards the end of my junior year. At first I wasn't completely sure about running in college so I took several unofficial visits to schools like North Carolina and Virginia, just to get a feel for a few campuses.
After a few visits I realized I wanted to continue my running career and that's when I reached out to schools like Temple, LMU, and Kansas. I ended up taking an official to Kansas and absolutely fell in love with it from the start.
Q) What do you plan to study at Kansas?
I plan on studying Business, specifically majoring in the fields of Management and Finance.
Q) What event do you see yourself focusing on at Kansas?
I'm definitely more of a distance guy so hopefully the 5k and 10k during track, and obviously the 8k during the cross season, but i'm definitely open to trying new events in the future.
Q) You've had success in the 1,600 and on up to the 5k, which event would you say is your favorite, and why?
My favorite event is definitely the 5k. Starting my sophomore year I loved racing the 5k and that's all I wanted to focus on, and I would say it's my most comfortable event just being able to find a certain pace and keeping it, leaving just enough to kick at the end.
Q) You made a big jump from your freshman to sophomore year (4:51 to 4:31, 10:23 to 9:55, 17:37 to 15:49) - what would you say attributed to such improvements?
I credit my jump to all of my teammates for pushing me each practice and really committing to the sport. Coming off a 2nd place finish at state my freshman year the incoming seniors really motivated the younger guys to make the jump in order to succeed later on, and that's when I really started to focus and push myself during practices. The summer training was a huge help and rolling with the guys each morning and sticking to my coach's training plan is what made the big impact later on.
Q) The first result we have on you on MileSplit is a 10:39 2,400, 32nd place finish at the Platte Valley XC Invite in August of 2014 - what do you remember from this competition?
Not too much to be honest. I know I was probably just enjoying hanging around the team and going to a lot of fun middle school practices, so shout-out to Coach Sprafke and Coach Estell for putting up with me during those years.
Q) What got you interested in competing in XC/Track in the first place?
A big part of it came from my dad who competed in college, so he was always eager to get my sister and I running, but he never pressured me into it. I always went to races as my brother was running for the high school before me, and a lot of my friends ran in middle school making the decision pretty easy to keep competing on going into high school.
Q) Could you share any goals you have for your final track and field season?
My biggest goal would be to qualify for state in one of the events I run. Hopefully in the 2 mile to be specific as it's something i've focused on all throughout high school, but for the overall season just hanging out with the boys and enjoying my last season with them.
Q) What would your favorite high school moment be?
There's so many memories to choose from but my all time favorite moment would have to be winning state my sophomore year. There's just no feeling like it, especially being able to share it with everyone on the team as everyone put in the work for that outcome. Celebrating with all my friends and family is something i'll never forget, and it only added more motivation to the next few years of running.
The last thing I want to say is just a huge thank you to my coaches, friends, and family for all of the support and sticking with me throughout this process and all of high school. Without them I don't know where I would be.
