Trent Zimbelman, data analytics major, is currently in his third year of running cross country for Washburn. He spoke about his origins as a runner and revealed that he initially turned to cross country as an alternative sport.
“I was always a soccer player growing up […] and then there was a new age rule that split up my team, and I had no team to play soccer on,” Zimbelman said. “So, I decided to try cross country instead.”
Zimbelman started running in eighth grade and he has stuck with it since. He is now a proud member of Washburn’s cross country program and embraces the team’s culture.
“It’s really close camaraderie amongst everyone,” Zimbelman said. “Even not at practice, we’re hanging out together, just killing time and chilling. And then I think because the sport is one where, because you practice twice a day, you see each other every day. You just get so close with each other and it’s built a special bond between a lot of us.”
Tommy Roehl, senior data analytics major and cross country athlete, also commented on Washburn’s cross country culture.
“When it comes to spending a lot of time together, a lot of it’s at practice but we’ll watch football games,” Roehl said. “Usually we get together and watch the Super Bowl. That’s usually an entire team thing, including the women’s team.”
The men’s cross country team runs 8K’s throughout the season, then 10K’s come the championship season. Zimbelman mentioned how a collegiate athlete’s first 8K can surprise them.
“When you run your first 8K, you usually end up running your 5K personal best in the middle of it,” Zimbelman said. “You just surprise yourself every time.”
The men’s team ran their first race last weekend at Wichita State University. However, Zimbelman mentioned the team didn’t run their A-squad to keep them ‘fresh.’ Washburn placed second in the race.
Zimbelman also discussed future goals for the team.
“I’d say we want to, as a team, get top 20 in the country at Nationals,” Zimbelman said. “It’s not going to be easy, obviously, but we think it’s still a really attainable goal. And then personally as well, using this cross country season to catapult you into a good track season, because we basically go year round […]. So just keep momentum going.”
Sebastiaan Horselenberg, junior public administration major and fellow cross country athlete, elaborated on this goal.
“Last year, we made it to nationals for the second time as a team,” Horselenberg said. “We’ve got 24th nationally and we just want to do way better than that. We think we are way better than that.”
The men’s cross country team plans to run their next race in Columbia, Missouri at the Gans Creek Classic. It will be hosted by the University of Missouri.
Edited by Bidhya Sapkota and Anushma Dahal
