Dillon Maggard places eighth at Mountain Region Cross Country Championships, goes to nationals
On Friday Utah State University hosted the NCAA Mountain Region Cross Country Championships for the first time in over 20 years — and junior Dillon Maggard made the most of it.
Utah State will send Maggard to nationals, as he individually placed eighth with a time of 31:02 for the men’s 10 Kilometer race.
Having been born and raised in Kirkland, Washington, Maggard expressed how he has been running for the past four years of his life. Being a junior on USU’s cross-country team has allowed Maggard experience in Mountain West Championships in his previous years, this one being his highest placement yet.
His peers didn’t hesitate to give Maggard a good rep.
“I think Dillon Maggard should be able to qualify individually,” said teammate Brody Smith, before Maggard’s performance Friday.
“Dillon Maggard finished up in the top 15, top 20 for sure,” said Colby Wilson, another cross-country peer of Maggard’s.
Seeing a teammate individually place is rewarding for the rest of the team. Many of the athletes at the meet went out of their way to be supportive of one another.
“Your boys take care of you,” said one runner competing for Colorado State.
Maggard shows sportsmanship to opposing teams’ racers with open arms and a willingness to chat, often patting others on the back in admiration.
“I’ve raced Jonah Koech, he’s from UTEP and I’ve raced Jarrell Mock from Colorado State…and he’s in our conference, so we were kind of duking it out in the last 1K so it’s kind of a tight-knit community here,” Maggard said.
Before competing in regionals, runners physically condition and mentally prepare themselves. Maggard shared some of his mental preparation techniques before a big race.
“Day-of I like to listen to some music and try to get a good night’s sleep,” Maggard said. “But weeks before, just trying to stay consistent is what prepared me for this. I was just trying to stay relaxed and just stay calm, focus on my form and stay in the top group. Being really patient was kind of my plan until the last 1K, then that’s when I was going to try to move.”
Maggard’s plan paid off, as this will be his first time competing at nationals. He will be the seventh Aggie distance runner to compete at nationals since 2000.
“It’s a dream come true,” Maggard said. “It feels good and this is what I’ve been training my whole life for. Today we went out really slow and the first mile everyone was just talking to each other, so it was super slow. I waited until about a loop to go and then everyone started to roll. That played into my strength because I’m more of a miler, so that played to my strengths.”
The NCAA Cross Country National Championships, hosted by Indiana State, will take place in Terre Haute, Indiana on Nov.19.