Leaning on his blocks, senior Will Poelker, was ready to take off into the wind and run his heart out. He was embracing the nerves and converting them into confidence. When the gun fired, he bursted off and led the pack. 

This year, in Chicago, Poelker’s hard work paid off when he broke the two-mile school record by seven whole seconds.

“I had a really good last full year of training,” Poelker said. “A big summer block, a good cross country season, and a good winter that all lead up to this season.” 

He stayed with the front group of runners for most of the race and then finished with a strong final lap, running it in just 62 seconds. His final time was a 9:16 two-mile, the previous record was a 9:23. 

Poelker said his success came from a great year of training. He ran about 50 miles a week and did cross training to protect his legs.

“This winter we did more speed work like 600s, 400s, and 200s,” Poelker said. “That helped my speed a lot.”

With Poelker and the team heading up to Chicago, they entered the event with only one goal: break the school record.

He thanked his coaches for helping him stay motivated and focused, especially track coach Adam Boehm, who helps during workouts and tracks his splits. Now, Poelker is focused on the state meet, where he hopes to place and score points in both the mile and two-mile. 

After graduation, he will run Division 1 cross country and track at Mercer University in Georgia. 

“I’ve always been self-motivated,” Poelker said. “Now I want to do well at state and keep growing in college.”