photo: Eastbay XC
I was in elementary school and the only sport they offered in school was cross country and track. They called it Pups Running. You were allowed to participate in 4th and 5th grade. I watched my sister (who’s 2 years ahead of me) compete and I thought it was the coolest thing. It inspired me to try running as well once I reached the 4th grade and started me on my running journey.
Definitely winning the team state title my sophomore year at the Track & Field State meet. It was such a fun atmosphere to be apart of and there’s truly nothing better than a team championship title. I would also say that winning my first individual state titles in track in the 1600 and 3200 was a blast. Eastbay Nationals was a great experience as well. Getting to meet and hang out with some of the best athletes in the country was a really fun opportunity.
In track, the main goal is to break the 4 min barrier in the mile, but overall I just wanna have fun. It’ll be my last season in highschool and I want to enjoy it with my teammates and everyone else who’s got me to where I am now.
It was an experience like no other. It’s such an honor and privilege to represent your country on the global stage, and I was lucky enough to be blessed with that honor. There’s something special about putting on those Stars and Stripes. A sense of pride in our nation. A confidence that comes with it. I wanted to represent our country well. The memories I made on this 6 day trip are memories I’ll never forget. Met some amazing people, saw incredible sights, and of course ran into some kangaroos. Australia was a beautiful place with such kind people. I felt very welcomed the entirety of our stay. I was so pumped for the gun to go off on Saturday. Sadly, my baggage didn’t make it to Australia. It got left behind in Atlanta. But the USATF staff did everything and more to make sure I was comfortable and had what I needed to make it through the trip. They got me a pair of spikes and had an extra kit for me to wear on race day. It wasn’t ideal not having my stuff, but I was sure gonna make the most of it. After all, I was in Australia racing for Team USA! Doesn’t get much better than that. The race was insane. By far the toughest 26 minutes of running I’ve ever ran. But still so incredibly fun. There was mud, water, sand, heat, and hills for days! I don’t think there was a single flat spot on that course. They even had tires for us to run through. We toed the line next to the best in the world. Then we were off! The plan was to go out slower and conserve energy and we did just that. The whole team moved up really well throughout the course of the race. By lap 3 of 4 my legs really started to burn, but Coach Smith yelled at us that we were in Bronze medal position! That gave me a new burst of energy as I began the final lap of the race. I was currently in 4th for the team and the top 4 score for each team. So I knew it’d come down to me. Micah came up on my shoulder with about a half mile to go and gave some encouragement. We made the final turn and I gave it all I had. I passed 2 more guys in the final 200m. I flailed across the line and point to the sky in thanks to God. I finished 25th in the world and 4th for team USA. We gathered together in the finish area and our coaches eventually found us. They quickly told us that we’d just won the Bronze medal as a team! We were elated beyond belief. We had just won a world championship medal! The excitement and joy in that moment was overwhelming. The rest of the trip was in celebration. We received our medals and got to drape the star spangled banner around our necks. It was the perfect way to cap off the experience of a lifetime.
It’s a blessing to be recognized with these awards. There are so many great competitors in the state of Indiana. These awards solidify all the hard work I’ve put in to get to this point and God’s faithfulness through it all.
This year AP Biology is by far my favorite. I’ve always been a math and science guy and not so much language arts and history. I’ve always been intrigued with how the human body works.
I actually began my life living in Xi’An, China. I was born in Indianapolis, but 2 months later flew out to China with my parents and sister. My parents were missionaries for CRU. We lived there for around 2.5 years and in that time my younger brother was born there.
The Bear. It’s a workout we do once a year during our tournament season. This year we did it on Lavern Gibson. It’s 5k, 2mi, 1mi with about 8min of rest after the 5k and 6min rest after the 2mi. It’s always been one of my favorites and I love the challenge it gives me.
Boulder, CO. There’s not a place in Indiana that I could confidently say is my favorite place to run. Indiana is pretty boring. Boulder is the opposite. There are so many great places to run and I’m so excited to spend 4 or more years training out there. Best place in Boulder for me would probably be the Rez because there’s so many routes you can run from there.
Peanut Butter pretzels. It’s my go to snack and it never fails. Very underrated and if you haven’t tried it you have to.
Chick-fil-a. Hands down. Not even close. There’s nothing on the menu that’s bad. Their breakfast is crazy good too. The service is unmatched. There’s truly no better place to go get a meal. My go to is a #1 with no pickles, large fry, and replace the drink with a vanilla shake.
I’m more a fan on chill music. Some of my favorite artists are Rex Orange County, Glass Animals, Dominic Fike, and Still Woozy. I can also go for some early to mid 2000s throwbacks.
Stranger Things and F1 Drive to Survive are my top 2, but I just finished season 1 of Rings of Power and it was so good. I’ve never been a huge TV show person, but these are some great ones.
Instagram for sure. Find me at @kole.mathison. I barely use Snapchat and I don’t have Twitter. I don’t like spending a ton of time on social media though because it can be pointless sometimes. It’s not what I want to fill my time with.
Anthony Rizzo. I’m a big Cubs fan and when I first started following the Cubs Rizzo was my guy. He was there from the beginning and helped bring the World Series title back to Chicago. He’s got such a cool personality and I think it’s be cool to talk over a good lunch with him.
I’d probably choose Morgan McDonald because I feel we’d have some good conversation. Chances are we’d probably doordash something for dinner. I’ve actually already had dinner with Morgan and the rest of Team Boss when they raced here in Indiana, but it’d be fun to do it again.
Probably my dad. He’s done so much for me and I’ve always looked up to him. I look down on him now though because he’s a good 5 inches shorter than me. He’s shaped me not only as an athlete but as a person and how I hold myself each day. He’s also led me in my faith a great deal too.
Joe Klecker. The things he’s done and the work he’s put in to get where he is is so respectable. He makes sure he’s doing every little thing to be at his best. It’s fun to see him accomplish he’s dreams and I hope to some day follow in his footsteps. I’ll be getting in as many #kleckermiles as I possibly can.
I couldn’t be more excited to become a Buff. The rich history, the community, the team. It’s all such a special thing. It was a long process that took some twists and turns, but I eventually ended up where God wanted me to be. I visited 6 schools. They were Stanford, Notre Dame, Colorado, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Indiana. I’m blessed to have had such an amazing selection of schools, but couldn’t be happier to call Boulder my new home.
I’ll be in Colorado’s Integrated Physiology program. I’m very interested in studying the human body and how it works and moves. I want to eventually go into something in the realm of sports medicine.
In 5 years, I want to be signing a professional running contract to fulfill my ultimate dream which is to run professionally. In 10 years, I want to have made an Olympic team. I also want to give back to the running community in some special way because it’s done so much for me. I want to give something in return.