Wheaton native
Brian Wurtz returns for his senior season with the Thunder cross country and track teams. Wurtz finished seventh at the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional to qualify for the 2008 Division III Cross Country Championships, where he finished 53rd out of 278 runners. Below is an interview with the Thunder senior.
Q: What event do you prefer during track season?
A: I love racing the 5,000 meters. It is impossible to explain to someone who is not a distance runner what a distance race is and how it feels to race. The 5k is a beautiful race because of the tempo and rhythm of the race. I am also biased towards the 5k because that is the race with which I have had the most success.
Q: Why did you choose to attend and run at Wheaton?
A: I chose Wheaton because of its reputation as a strong academic Christian school. I grew up in Wheaton and I originally wanted to go further away from home for school but I decided Wheaton was where God wanted me. I did not decide to run for Wheaton until late in the summer before my freshman year. I chose to join the team because of my love for racing and to be a part of the team community.
Q: What do you appreciate about competing for coach Scott Bradley?
A: Coach Bradley is a great coach. He cares about our personal lives and he never forgets that running is not the only thing on our schedule. He devotes a lot of time to each runner’s training schedule and is always open to trying new things and discussing training with me and all his athletes. He is also very good at setting the mood before races. He doesn’t put too much pressure on meets early in the season but he is very competitive and drives us to do our best in the conference, regional, and national races.
Q: What do you enjoy most about Wheaton?
A: There are great opportunities at Wheaton largely because of the great people at Wheaton. The coaches, professors, and students at Wheaton all care about each other. The community is one that develops people who seek after the truth in God’s world in every way. The diversity of gifts and talents of people at Wheaton is amazing.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the experience of competing at the Division III Cross Country Championships last fall?
A: Competing at the national championships was a huge honor. I ran a great race at the regional championships which allowed me to qualify individually along with Brandon Mull, even though the team did not qualify. It was exciting to race at nationals and it made it easier having a more experienced teammate on the starting line next to me. Qualifying for nationals was a goal throughout the season and it was great to accomplish it.
Q: What are your thoughts on the upcoming cross country season?
A: I am excited about the upcoming season and what we can accomplish. There are a lot of runners on the team who could take a step forward this year to make the varsity team and help us do well late in the season. We have a lot of strong freshmen and sophomores and a great group of upperclassmen to lead us to be competitive at the conference and regional races again.
