Episode 222: What Fuels the Talented Herriman High Boys Cross Country Team

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They raced to the finish line making history as the only Utah team ever to take home the first-place title at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with members of the Herriman High boys cross country team to find out what fuels them across the finish line and how it feels to be among the best of the best. Hear what their coach has to say about the talented team.

We're here at Herriman High School to talk with the coach and a couple of the runners who were involved in a big victory for Herriman High School in Oregon over the weekend. Coach Soles, thanks for taking a moment to talk with us.

Coach Soles:
Thank you so much for having us.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me a little bit about this competition. I know the state cross country season is over with, but this is a separate thing and it's a big deal.

Coach Soles:
Yeah, in 2004, Nike decided they wanted a national championship in cross country and so they created the Nike Cross Nationals. Pretty much brings together the fastest individuals and fastest teams in the country. So every year you get a chance to work your way through the process. You got to go to the Nike Cross Regionals, basically finish in the top two or three there and then you get an invite up to Portland to compete at the Nike Cross Nationals.

So out of the 18,000 plus teams that run cross country in high school, 22 of them end up in Portland. And if you can just make it there, it's pretty much an honor. But these guys had bigger goals and wanted to go after actually trying to win it this year after taking third last year. So pretty exciting to see it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the qualifying event. That was only a few weeks ago, right?

Coach Soles:
Yes, so two weeks ago we took I think almost 60 kids down to Arizona and had a big competition for the Nike Cross Regionals. And these guys took second to American Fork there. We got out a little bit slow and it wasn't the race we wanted. So we had two weeks to make some adjustments and really get in their heads about where they needed to be at Nationals. And they listened to everything we told them to do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me a little bit about those adjustments. What are some of the things that make a fast runner faster when it comes to cross country? Don't divulge any secrets or anything. But in general, what are some of the things that you look for runners to do?

Coach Soles:
When you get to that level, almost everybody up there is a pretty fantastic runner. So you really have to understand the strategy that you need to use for that course that day with the group of kids that you have. So last year we went out really conservatively. I think we started like 14th or 15th in the race and then moved up and took third by the end of the race. This year we knew it was going to be extremely muddy and wet. There were big giant oceans of water on the course, so big puddles. So we told the boys it's really hard to move up when it gets muddy like that. So you're going to need to get out much faster than we're used to and much faster than we're comfortable to be able to do it.

That was one of the things that Jack was saying at the race is “I know for me to be successful, I have to go out much faster than I'm comfortable with doing.” And so as a coach, that's getting them to understand the positioning. We got out just a little bit better than American Fork did and I think that was the difference.

Anthony Godfrey:
So really it's the condition of the course to a great extent that determines your strategy.

Coach Soles:
Yeah, we couldn't set a strategy until we got up there and really did the course run-through on Friday. Coach Pugel runs with the boys and takes them through the course and they really look at where are the biggest obstacles, where do they need to make the moves in the final cut and then we evaluate what strategy we want to use. So it's really a team effort.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about Utah conditions you've coached for a very long time in California, you've competed in many states. How do the Utah conditions lend themselves or not lend themselves to good conditioning? Does the altitude make the difference that you might think it would or?

Coach Soles:
Yeah, actually we're almost exactly at 5,000 feet here at Herriman High School. And the nice thing is that it's of good benefit in terms of training for elevation but it's not so high up that you can't really do great workouts. So we've kind of got the best of both worlds here. We can push ourselves really hard and get those benefits and we can also make sure that we get the benefits of when we do our aerobic stuff that just that elevation is helping us. So when we go down the sea level in Portland, Oregon, all of a sudden that last mile we feel fantastic and everybody else is gasping for breath. So it definitely helps.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's interesting, it sounds like too much altitude would be counterproductive. Like if you're too high you can't really get a rich workout.

Coach Soles:
Yeah, I think a lot of the professional runners found that out. A lot of them were racing up to high altitudes and what they started to find out was they couldn't run fast enough at those altitudes to get some of the work that they needed. So they started driving down to lower elevations to do their speed work and then driving back up for the aerobic stuff. So there's always a balance but I think at 5,000 feet here we have kind of that perfect mix of just being able to get out and crank in most workouts and feel pretty good about what we do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, what are some of the skills that you focus on with newest runners? Kids who are new to running, they're excited about being part of the team, but they don't really have much of a head start. What are some basic skills that you really focus on helping them attain early on?

Coach Soles:
Yeah, I mean one of the first things is making friends. It's really easy to put in the work out there when you've got a friend group. So we try to get them friends so that they're comfortable being out there. We try to work on just that core strength, making sure that they can handle the work that they're trying to do. And so there's running components, but there's also a lot of strength components, consistency components that they've got to learn. As they learn those, they slowly but surely work up through the program. So we've had a lot of guys that have come in and they just start literally as the slowest guy on the team. After they get working their way through it, they'll work their way up into the top varsity group. So you never know what a 4’10” freshman boy is going to be as a senior, sometimes they're 6’3”.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Coach Soles:
So we never write them off.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's true.

Coach Soles:
Come in and work hard and you never know what you can be.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, tons of potential. And I love the focus on friendship because there's this connection with others. And at the same time, you get to see what type of personal progress you're making and how you're improving your own times.

Coach Soles:
Yeah, and I think that's the best email you get as a coach. It's fun winning national championships, but you get these emails from parents saying, “hey, we didn't think this was going to be for our kid and now it's all he thinks about. He made connections here and he's got a great friend group. He's always struggled to make friends and now he's got tons, so we appreciate it.” That's the rewarding side of it as a coach for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love hearing that. And when you hear academic all-state for cross country, those are some high GPAs. You have some very focused students on your team.

Coach Soles:
Honestly, I've coached a lot of good teams. This is the smartest group I've had, some really, really smart kids. And Jack's here, he's a really highly intelligent kid. He was one of my student aides last year in class and I noticed, no matter what I asked him, he was spot on. And kind of had that wisdom a little bit ahead of where most people do. I think he was able to really look at what we were doing and what was going on and really understand it better than most kids do. And so I've relied on him a lot in terms of just maybe translating some of my stuff to the other kids and getting others to believe. I think he's done a great job with that.

Anthony Godfrey:
I've always been impressed when I watch cross country competitions, cross country meets, that students are so supportive of each other. Teams will cheer each other on along the trail. Speak to me a little bit about the culture of cross country.

Coach Soles:
Yeah, cross country is a weird sport because you tend to share workouts with other coaches, you tend to be friends with other coaches. And the athletes, a lot of the time they go and they're excited when they make new friends from other teams. So I think it's encouraged by the majority of programs.

We were facing an American Fork who had beaten us at State and beaten us at Nike Cross Regionals. And just we were the top two teams in the country this year and they'd gotten the better of us. I'm really close with the coach over there. Timo Mostert is one of the best coaches in the country and probably one of the best coaches of all time. So just having the opportunity to compete against people like that is just really high character and great people.

I think it was hard for our kids and our program while we're celebrating, we have to look over and see guys that we really care about hurting. Because they were right there and they were that good to win it as well. Their performance was good enough to win most NXN. So I know it was tough for them.

I've been on both sides of that equation and stood there and watched other teams celebrate while we were brokenhearted. So I thought it was really awesome. They came over and congratulated us and our boys went over and gave them hugs. And we understand that someone's got to win and someone's got to lose. But it is hard when it's people you're close with.

Last year, neither team really was quite able to think they were going to win it. So I think we were a little more relaxed and our boys and their boys ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together and hung out. And so they're really good friends and I think that's one of the coolest things.

But we always tell our kids in cross country, you go out there and make friends. Be nice to other parents and other people. You're going to get asked questions from other programs about our program. Be polite, be nice and the Herriman kids are amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, well, it's exciting to hear about the collaboration, and the friendship, and the competition that helps you bring out the best in each other. So congratulations on an amazing run, if I may say. And a great season and going from third last year to first this year. A lot of great things are ahead.

Coach Soles:
Yeah, actually we returned some of the best guys in the country and we're going to really be favorites to win next year as well. So hopefully this is the beginning of a dynasty for Herriman High School.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're thrilled to have you here and I really appreciate your taking the time.

Coach Soles:
Thank you so much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back team members talk about their big win and what's next in their incredible high school cross country careers.

Break:
In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families, free of charge. You can take a class called Blues Busters for children feeling sad or worried. Just Breathe is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends? There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District school psychologists, counselors, and school psychology interns. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're at Herriman High School talking with two of the student athletes who competed over the weekend in the national cross country competition and took first. Tell me a little bit about yourself. Introduce yourself when you started running and tell me what got you started in running.

Jack:
I'm Jack Beckstrom, I'm a senior. I started running when I was in ninth grade. And honestly, the thing that started me running was my mom said I could stop playing the violin if I did.

Anthony Godfrey:
[LAUGH] So she said you could stop playing the violin if you started running. Is that something you came up with or did she come up with that bargain?

Jack:
I think she came up with it, but I took it as fast as I could.

Anthony Godfrey:
How long had you been playing the violin?

Jack:
For ten years at that point.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you were a decade into your career as a violinist and you gave it up for running.

Jack:
Yeah, I have three brothers, one older and two younger. And of everyone that's reached ninth grade so far, everyone's taken the deal.

Anthony Godfrey:
So everyone became a runner?

Jack:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow, can you outrun your brothers?

Jack:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
[LAUGH] That's a very interesting way for you to enter running. Tell me how it felt to start out as a runner.

Jack:
It was pretty hard to start out. I was like five foot two or something when I was a freshman.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jack:
My legs were tiny little nubs, could barely get moving. It was just really hard to do anything. So I just had to put in a lot of work. Then as soon as I started growing, it got easier.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, and you could feel the progress as you worked hard.

Jack:
Yeah, it feels really good to look back and see like, “Oh, I've been improving pretty steadily for years and years.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I want to give your mom some credit. I would think that the discipline of practicing the violin for ten years benefited you when it came to being a disciplined runner.

Jack:
Yeah, for sure. We had to practice it 30 minutes a day, five days a week. So going into practicing six times a week for however long. It's just, if you're doing something and competing in something, you need to have the discipline to practice it over and over again. And that really helped me develop that.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a pretty important lesson that consistent hard work will bring you some results that make it worth it.

Jack;
Yeah, it is a good lesson to learn.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your career, introduce yourself.

Tayshaun:
I'm Tayshaun Ogomo. I'm a junior this year. I started running when I was in elementary school in sixth grade. My mom signed me up for, we have a program around here called Race Cats. And it starts you through the elementary school and you just go to smaller competitions or race against other elementary schools. She signed me up for that because I was currently playing baseball and soccer before that. And she told me if I ran, I would get faster to continue playing baseball and soccer. So I decided she was right and I started running. Back then it wasn't really running, it was go play sharks and minnows for 30 minutes and get a piece of candy after.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sharks and minnows and candy, that was your entrance into cross country.

Tayshaun:
Yeah, no, it definitely was. And then as we progressed through running in elementary school, we went to our races and I noticed that I was one of the fastest kids in those races, taking the first or second throughout them. And I was like, “Hey, I'm really good at this, I should keep doing it.”

Anthony Godfrey:
So at what point did you decide I'm not running for baseball, I'm running for running?

Tayshaun:
So that didn't happen until after my freshman cross country season. I continued playing baseball and soccer and even started basketball up until ninth grade. We finished the cross country season and I ran pretty good. It was right before Coach Soles got here before the track season.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Tayshaun:
And right then it was the first day of track. I had tried baseball, but I didn't make the team and Soles came in and told us all these ideas that he wanted to take us as a team. And a lot of the guys had just started buying into a lot of my good friends on the team at that point. So I was like, “hey, maybe I should dedicate all my time to this running.”

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk to me about the competition this last weekend. What did that feel like?

Jack:
It was just a really cool experience. Nike really takes care of all the athletes that make it. They fly us out there on Thursday. They take us around their campus. On Friday, we run through the course. They give us a bunch of gear for our race. Saturday, we run the race. And Saturday, we come home. But they just take really good care of everyone. We're at a really nice hotel. They give us lots of food and-

Anthony Godfrey:
And they pay for all of this.

Jack:
Yeah, they pay for everything. They really want to, I guess, reward everyone for all the hard work they've put in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about Nike swag.

Tayshaun:
The Nike swag is honestly really awesome. They give us all, they fully set us out in new uniforms. They give us backpacks, water bottles. They give us new sweats and jackets and everything. They just really make us feel as if we're one of the best runners in the nation. And they show us how it would be to almost be a Nike-sponsored athlete.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a really good way of putting it. Tell me about the other runners on your team.

Jack:
We have a lot of really good runners on our team. So I guess for the team that went to Nationals we have Jonah and Micah Tang, who are both juniors, they're twins. Then we have Max Hofheins, Will Steadman, and Hyrum Wood, who are all seniors. And it's just a - and we have Noah Manwaring, who's also a junior. He went to a different national championship meet in Alabama and he did really well there too.

Tayshaun:
All the guys on the team were really close. It's almost become like a family. We spend 90% of our time together practicing Monday through Saturday. For what, two hours a day? We spend a ton of time together. Even when we're not practicing, we try to hang out as much as possible. So it becomes like a family, especially through the seven guys. They're all super fun to hang out with. Even our eighth man, we're all super close and it pushes us harder, as Jack says.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you do when you're running? Do you listen to music or do you not so that you can concentrate? How does that work?

Jack:
We usually run together. There will be a big group of like 15 guys at least that are all together. So usually we'll just be talking about our days and having conversations instead of listening to music.

Tayshaun:
Yeah, we're definitely more of a social team. We don't just like tune out and listen to music. While we're on our own, some of us do listen to music. But for the most part, we run together and just socialize.

Anthony Godfrey:
So most of you running is with others. You're mostly not running alone.

Tayshaun:
Yeah, definitely. We only run very rarely alone. And even when we do, we try to meet up if it's supposed to be a long run.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the friendships you make and the relationships you have are a big component of why you love cross country.

Jack:
Yeah, it's great to be surrounded by friends you love for so much of your day. And it really puts in perspective why you're doing it. Like if you're running a race and you look around and you see all your teammates. You remember that you're doing this for them and it really makes you work your very hardest.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do the friendships and the connections you have with other people on the team give you a competitive edge?

Jack:
I think they absolutely do. Running it hurts, obviously, and when you're kind of in a painful spot in the middle of a race, you think of the people that you've been training with all year and all the work they've put in probably how hard they're hurting. And sure it may hurt physically in the moment, but knowing after the fact that you didn't put your heart and soul into a race hurts more.

Tayshaun:
Yeah, definitely. From my personal experience, we were at Nationals and I was running along one of our seniors, Maxwell Hofheins. And I started to fall behind him as he kept going. In my head, I was just thinking, he's hurting a ton and I want to win this championship for this guy and for Jack farther ahead of me. It just gave me the motivation and the strength to push through that pain all the way to the finish line just because of how close we are.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the celebrations and the way that you've been greeted here at Herriman High School having come back with that victory.

Jack:
It's been like a hero's welcome. We're having people from all over the school, parents from all over the community. We got a police escort back to the school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Jack:
When we were getting back from the airport. It's just really great to see all the support we have in the community around us and that they care about us.

Tayshaun:
Yeah, it's almost as if we just become famous or something. Everybody cares. We went through the school yesterday and they had us go down the halls and we had the news recording us, we had every student at the school was just standing out in the hall chain for us and they really showed how we were welcome and how much we’re appreciated.

Anthony Godfrey:
A long time ago, I ran a few 5Ks here and there and I would always kind of pick out the person that I was going to overtake. It was mostly like somebody running with a stroller and a child. And I'm trying to like okay, you have a dog or you have a stroller. So maybe I can beat you. So I'm going to run as hard as I can to try to take you, overtake you. Do you do that in a race? Do you like pick okay, that's the next person. I'm just going to watch their pace and I'm going to outdo them. And then I'm going to pick off the next person and the next person. Are you motivated by the person right in front of you?

Jack:
Yeah, so we run our races. We go out a little more controlled at the beginning and we'll kind of speed up and pass a lot of people towards the end. It's not only good from like a physiological perspective where you're more likely to run better if you ease yourself into it. But it's also really good mentally because it just feels good to pass people.

Anthony Godfrey:
[LAUGH]

Tayshaun:
Yeah, no, we definitely also, we know what the other team's jerseys are like and we know who we're competing against. So just being able to see them up there and being like, I'm going to go hunt him down and go pass him. It's definitely a really good feeling.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the three of us have some running experiences in common.

Tayshaun:
Yeah, definitely we do.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, that feels really good. That feels really good. Congratulations on a great outcome this weekend and on working so hard to get to where you are. We're really proud of your efforts and your accomplishments. So well done.

Tayshaun:
Thank you.

Jack:
Yeah, thank you for having us.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.