On Saturday, April 18 at 2 p.m., freshman Nicholas Cho got into his runner’s stance at Awty International School’s Nick Finnegan Meet. Little did he know, just four minutes and 34 seconds later, he would cross the finish line and step into the school’s record books.
The freshman mile record was something that had been on Cho’s mind since the start of the season.
“I was kind of expecting it,” Cho said. “I saw the clock every lap and I knew I was on pace for low 4:30’s.”
Coach Ryan Hershner motivated Cho during his record-breaking season.
“During this one race I was behind a lot of guys,” Cho said. “And he (Hershner) yelled at me, you can win. And I started sprinting, and I did win my heat, (it) felt pretty good. He has helped me with my mindset and being competitive.”
On the Track and Field team, a winner’s mentality is one of the most important aspects of succeeding for Cho.
“He would rather win than run fast. And I think there’s a big difference there in track and field,” Hershner said. “There’s kids who would rather be fifth or sixth and run a PR, and there’s kids who want to win. And I think Nicholas is a winner; he would be fine if he never ran a PR again, as long as he continued winning.”
Throughout the season, Cho learned new things about the mentality on the team.
“One of the main takeaways is don’t let a bad start get to my head because in my opening meet, I didn’t run well,” Cho said. “But I learned to not let that get in my head and just move on to the next one.”
Looking forward to the future, Cho hopes to one day become a leader on the Track and Field team.
“I hope that one day in my junior and senior seasons, I can be a captain and a leader on the team,” Cho said.
For Track and Field, the offseason workouts are equally as important as practice during the season, and Hershner believes that Cho will be the leader in organizing the workouts.
“The offseason training is easier and better together, and so the more people you can have at practice, the better it is,” Hershner said. “That’s where he (Cho) has to come in and show up.”
The unique aspect with Cho is that he has a twin brother, William Cho, and they both have an opportunity to become leaders on the team.
“I think they both know that they’re going to be the centerpieces of this program in the future,” Hershner said.
With Hershner, keeping his athletes motivated is key, and Cho has one of the best mentalities on the team.
“What’s driving him is he knows he can compete at the top,” Hershner said.
