Over the past few weeks Mason Schmitz, a freshman from Hamilton Southeastern, has caught the attention of several from across the country.
Schmitz joined MileSplit for an interview last week after setting the indoor freshman 800m national record with his 1:54.10 performance. He talked about his work ethic, mindset, as well as the experiences he has already had a chance to immerse himself in.
Mason's running interest started in the 1st grade during sports weeks at YMCA Camp. During the week where track was featured his coach noticed that he may have a talent in running.
Mason would sign up for the track team and in 6th grade he would join the Soca Speed Track Club as he entered middle school.
During track season he would run in events ranging wildly in distance. He mentions how he liked to experiment with different events as he loved trying new events. He would also describe the importance that cross country has for him in his off season.
Throughout the interview he would also highlight some of the goals he has set of the rest of the indoor and outdoor seasons as well as the challenges he has overcome in his early running career.
Interview Topics
- 0:00 -- Episode Introduction
- 1:06 -- His thoughts going into the meet and his description of the races
- 1:58 -- Why he gets out hard at the start of each race
- 2:26 -- How he started his running career
- 3:32 -- Mason's take on experimenting on different events in track
- 4:51 -- His origins in joining SOCA Speed Club
- 5:34 -- Cole Hocker as a source of inspiration
- 6:35 -- How his experience at national level meets compares to events in Indiana
- 8:04 -- Upcoming big meets on the calendar
- 8:32 -- Biggest goal of outdoor is a new freshman 800m record and run a 1:48
- 9:45 -- What he claims is his biggest factor in his continued development and improvement
- 10:51 -- What mileage and training looks like
- 11:20 -- Other goals for this season
- 12:05 -- The adversity he faced after breaking femur at basketball tryouts two years ago
- 13:00 -- Closing remarks
