At Neuqua Valley High School, the cross-country coaches combed through the year’s first results, “convinced somewhere in these [race] times was the next Michael Widmann.”
This statement from the Neuqua Valley team’s website illustrates the impact redshirt freshman Michael Widmann had, even after a year’s absence, on his high school program. More importantly for Tiger fans, it shows the impact he could have on Missouri’s men’s cross-country team.
Already in his first collegiate race, Widmann was the second-fastest male Mizzou runner, placing far ahead of many upperclassmen.
“There’s no reason why he can’t be one of our top guys moving forward,” coach Marc Burns said.
Burns expects Widmann to be one of Missouri’s top seven runners this season.
Widmann’s high performance at such an early stage can be attributed to the decision to redshirt him in 2015. Redshirting is when a student practices with the team but does not compete in the first academic year of college. The athlete’s four years of eligibility begin in the second academic year and end after the fifth year of college.
“I absolutely think that redshirting was the best option,” Widmann said. “You got to figure a lot of things out. Taking a year off and not wasting a year of eligibility to figure that [out] is a great way to go about it.”
While high school athletes run 5,000-meter courses, college athletes have to run 8,000- or 10,000-meter courses, which can be a huge leap. With different distances come different pacing and racing strategies, all of which Widmann learned in his redshirt year through intense workouts and training.
Not everybody can handle these workouts as well as Widmann can.
“He’s very consistent,” Burns said. “It’s really important to get his weekly training volume up. Last year, we held him back and had him run 65 to 75 miles per week. This year we were able to go to 75 to 90 miles per week. And then next year will probably be 85 to 100 miles per week.”
Consistency is Widmann’s weapon, and his rapid ascent through the workouts stems back to high school.
“He’s from a really good high school program from Illinois … a championship program. They know how to win,” Burns said. “By championship, I mean they get better every year. And that’s what Michael knows how to do … At [the collegiate] level, you got to get better every single year.”
With an already great start combined with this level of consistent improvement, Widmann has potential to lead the team and dominate the course in the coming years.
But his impact goes beyond performance: He is determined and willing to work hard.
One time, in a high school track meet, “he kicked hard the last 100 meters,” Neuqua Valley coach Paul Vandersteen said. “He ran out of gas about 10 meters in front of the finish line and collapsed. Through sheer determination, he got back up and dove across the line, qualifying by time for the state meet.”
“Michael was a true inspiration,” Vandersteen said. Examples like this are how “an average freshman … through hard work … developed into one of [Illinois’] best.”
And if all goes well in the future, he could develop into one of Mizzou’s best as well.
_Edited by Bailey Sampson | bsampson@themaneater.com_