PALATINE, Ill. - The Harper College men's cross country team had an exceptional 2011 season, winning the Region IV championship and then going on to win the national championship. Colin Weber (Wheeling, Ill., Wheeling) was on the team but was not one of the top seven runners to participate in the race. The team also brought along an eighth runner as an alternate, but Weber was not chosen.
That scenario is hard to imagine in 2012. Weber has stepped up as a more-than-capable second runner for the Hawks and is a vital piece of the top-ranked team in the country heading into this weekend's national championships in Delhi, N.Y.. His emergence has earned him the honor of being selected as Harper College's tenth Athlete of the Week of the 2012-13 school year.
“He's just improved light years,” said head coach James Macnider. “He has improved about two minutes over an 8K race. He's working really hard. He's got the most mileage of anyone over the summer and through the season.”
Weber entered this season as the team's fifth runner, someone who would score points but not be relied on for top finishes. That has changed significantly thanks to steady improvement by Weber. His first 8K time at the Aurora Invitational was 28:12. The next week at the Illinois Intercollegiates, he ran a 27:30. Two weeks later at College of DuPage, he completed the race in 27:05, and at the same course the next week, he ran a 26:30. At the Region IV meet two weeks ago, Weber finished second on the team and seventh overall.
“I like Coach Macnider's training program,” Weber said. “We are able to control our pace and get an idea of how you're able to make that momentous change within a race. It becomes kind of natural.”
Last spring, Weber discovered that he was anemic, so taking medication for that has strengthened him. And what's also helped Weber make such big gains is a routine Weber has been doing for about the last year and a half: he goes on a morning run ranging anywhere from three to six miles. Tack that onto a workout at practice that is typically about eight miles and Weber is reaching double-digit mileage on most days.
“By doing a morning run, even if it's just a couple miles, it wakes you up,” Weber said. “You're warmed up for the afternoon and can push yourself a little bit more. It has it's benefits, and I've seen them in the past year and a half that I've been doing it.”
Weber strives for excellence in more areas than just athletics. An environmental engineering major, Weber has a 4.0 GPA and is involved in groups on campus such as Phi Theta Kappa, Kappa Betta Delta and Mu Alpha Theta.
“He's a great student and that's carried over into his athletics,” Macnider said. “He approaches athletics the same way he approaches academics- by working hard. A lot of kids who get success all of a sudden have trouble dealing with it. He's not worried about that. He just goes out there and runs.”
Weber will stick around next season to finish his degree. Though he doesn't have any eligibility left, Weber plans to be an assistant coach and team manager while also competing in meets as an unattached runner.
But during his last meet as a member of the team, Weber is intent on replicating last season's success at the national meet. Something that with runners like Troy Cunningham (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Conant), Josh Campos (Mount Prospect, Ill., Prospect), Jhoan Lino (León, Guanajuato, Streamwood) and Nick Modlin (Wheeling, Ill., Wheeling), is entirely possible.
“We have to make sure that we're doing this together so we can get more points,” Weber said. “We have to make sure to take this seriously and understand that we want to win it again. There's something on the line and a reason why we're here.”
