Nielson named top Aggie
Utah Statesman How do you feel about being named Utah State’s athlete of the week?
Mike Nielson: I feel really honored. It is quite an accomplishment.
US: Why do you like cross country?
MN: Gee … it is a wonderful sport. It is really unique because it is a team sport, but it is the most individual team sport. Individual finishes add up to the team score. It is nice because if you don’t do as well as you wanted, you can still have contributed to the team. Then again, if the team doesn’t do too well, you can still have a great race.
US: What got you started in cross country?
MN: I started when I was a sophomore in high school. I had played basketball and football before, but during my freshman year I got a back injury in football and I couldn’t play again. So, that year, I ran track and I really liked it so the next fall I ran again because I couldn’t play football.
US: Who has been most influential in your running career?
MN: My mom. My coaches have all been great, but they haven’t been with me all the way through. My mom is awesome. She flies to all my races and she even took up running because it was something I was interested in.
US: Why did you come Utah State for school?
MN: I really didn’t want to stay in Washington. USU actually wasn’t looking at me, but I had visited a friend here while I was still in high school and really liked the campus and the atmosphere. I wanted a Utah-like atmosphere, so I contacted the coaches and I liked what they said.
US: What has been your favorite memory in running?
MN: Probably the time when, as a team, we won the Big West Conference last year. It was a wonderful and satisfying experience. It was kind of sad because I think that we didn’t appreciate and enjoy it as much as we could have.
US: How do you feel about the support for the cross country team?
MN: I understand why sports like football and basketball get a lot of attention. They are fun to watch and you can just sit back and relax. Cross country meets aren’t like that. However, I feel like there has been a lot of support from my friends and family. There is no way that I can complain.
US: Do you have anything to say about your Utah State coaches?
MN: They took a risk bringing me here. I hadn’t proved myself to run really well in cross country on the collegiate level, but Coach [Gregg] Gensel let me come. I think Gensel handles the team really well and he does a lot for the team with the money he is given. He really knows people and works well with the administrative part. Coach [Steve] Reeder does a wonderful job of giving us our actual workouts. He is a really great coach, one of the most humble guys I know. He lets us have fun while we are running. I can’t think of a single time when I haven’t wanted to go to practice, and I think that is mostly because of him.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu