MS: LOOKING BACK ON THE SEASON DID YOU ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS AND WHAT YOU SET OUT TO DO?
CM: Going into the season, my goals were 4:08 for the 1600 and 8:55 for the 3200. Obviously those numbers were not met, running a 4:10 and a 9:00. That being said, we do feel like I was in shape or gearing towards those times until I strained my quadricep three weeks before the state meet. I took a couple days off and had to back off daily for the rest of the season. I am confident that I was in shape for my goal times but injuries and setbacks will always happen and I am just grateful I was still able to compete and hit the marks I did.
MS: WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER?
CM: I can look back at several races as high moments in my high school career but I am most proud of the events and goals that occurred behind the scene. My freshman year at Westfield High School, the girl's cross country team had just completed their third consecutive state championship while the boy's team was struggling to place at lower end meets. While the girls were a tight knit squad, we were more factions and individuals. This past year, my senior year, we were ranked fifth in the state but more importantly we were the closest and group orientated team Westfield Boys Cross Country had ever seen. That family-like atmosphere converted over to the grass, classrooms, and households. I am honored to have been a part of the building of a great athletic team and the formation of life long friendships.
MS: WHAT IS YOUR OFFSEASON LIKE?
CM: Obviously, my offseason consists of higher mileage weeks, this past winter I was consistently at 55 miles until an injury in early February. The offseason is also the time I really focus on strengthening. Push-ups and abs daily with lifting three times a week. Besides that obvious strength work, I have really focused on working my gluts. My athletic trainer has been incredible to me these past years and has helped form a system to stabilize my hips to ensure everything fires and works when it should, and the strengthening of the gluts has been key in that. Another large aspect of the offseason is just that, it's an offseason. After all the hard work of the mileage and strengthening is done, I enjoy just being a kid. Late nights with friends, trips, and just going wherever life takes you. That being said, running is and always will be the focus and I have never done and never will do anything to inhibit or interfere with that goal.
MS: WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES OUTSIDE OF TRACK?
CM: We all know that the life of a runner revolves around running. It just comes with the sport. In the time outside of running, my family and friends come first. Running has a way of making the empty roads your best friends so I make sure to see my actual friends as much as possible and enjoy a real high school student's life. I also enjoy art. I sketch and paint when I can.I took AP Art this past year and used it to widen my studies. Reading is another way for me to widen those horizons.
MS: DO YOU HAVE A SONG THAT PUMPS YOU UP OR GETS YOU READY FOR A MEET?
CM: Personally, I have strayed from listening to music before my races. I never wanted to become a person who felt like they needed to listen to music to get pumped up. I prefer to visualize the races and do any last minute tweaking to my body during that time. That being said, I do use music before warm-up or during form drills if I feel a bit sluggish or tired. Touch the Sky by Kanye, Beautiful Lasers by Lupe Fiasco, Freaks and Geeks by Childish Gambino are the big three. Once in a while I'll listen to music on training runs, that is when the Beastie Boys, N.E.R.D, Dirty Heads, and The Cool Kids join Kanye, Lupe, and Childish Gambino in the playlist.
MS: DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE?
CM: "Conquistadors of the useless" Not a quote necessarily, rather the title of French mountaineer Lionel Terray's autobiography and referenced in the documentary '180 degrees South.' It describes the absurdness of all anyone sets to accomplish. In the film, they apply it to summiting mountains. There is absolutely no point for one to risk their lives in order to stand on top of a large rock. No one outside of the climbing world, and even most within it, will not care one ounce. But the point of climbing the mountain was not to gain publicity, it was for the pleasure and joy of the journey. And for that they were conquistadors. For me, that ideal connects to running very well. We as runners commit so much time and effort in order to master such a primitive skill. So what we can cover ground quickly? Running in an oval is pointless. What does it matter? There is only one thing that truly matters; that one loves doing what they do. And for that, one can become a mighty conquistador, even if it is putting one foot in front of the other.
MS: WHO ARE YOUR RIVALS OR TOUGHESET COMPETITORS?
CM: The word rival is such a tough word. Basketball teams have rivals. Footballs teams have rivals. In my high school experience, I haven't had rivals but rather friends and teammates that I have always run with and have pushed my to become better and I can only hope I have pushed them. Central Indiana is an area in which I have been pushed from the very beginning of my high school career. I have been extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to race and look up to the older guys such as Zach Gates, Drew Shields, Dylan Sorenson, and so many others as role models. Then to have had the opportunity to compete against talented runners my age and even younger such as Chris Walden, James Martin, John Mascari, Jason Crist, Kent Garret, Austin Mudd, and Futsum Z. All of these guys have been the toughest competitors and by competing against them week after week I have become a better runner and person. I am just honored to have been a part of the resurgence of Indiana distance running, bringing the state to a national caliber.
MS: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR NEXT SEASON?
CM: My goals for the upcoming season are very simple as of now. Log good mileage, train hard, and stay healthy. I truly am looking forward to training at the next level and having guys around me, and more importantly in front of me, to push me daily. With the team at Princeton being such a talented deep team I do not plan on competing at the varsity level, but that is part of why I look forward to it so much. It allows me to become comfortable with the new system and have something to aim for in the following seasons.