Sweeney Is Making The Most Of Every Opportunity

BOULDER-- Just a few months ago, Charlie Sweeney was competing against the University of Colorado men and trying his best to beat them.

Now, he is one of them.

A fifth-year transfer from Western Colorado University, Sweeney has come a long way as a runner.

Running wasn't even initially on Sweeney's radar. He grew up dreaming of being a professional football player or skateboarder, though by his junior year at Northern High School in Owings, Maryland, he began focusing on running because he says "I was comparatively best at it."

Sweeney was a solid high school runner, though his times were not yet good enough to run at the NCAA Division I level. He decided to look at Division II schools instead, choosing Western Colorado in Gunnison, Colo.

"I wanted to train at altitude and thought Western would develop me well," he said. "They also had a good exercise science program, which is what I wanted to study."

After redshirting his freshman year, Sweeney was consistently Western's second man in cross country and setting big track PRs. By the end of his fourth year he had garnered nine All-American honors in track and cross country.

Sweeney says going to Western for undergraduate school was the best decision he could have made. However, as he developed as a runner he knew he could compete at the highest NCAA level. As his senior year reached a close, Sweeney began thinking about transferring to Colorado. He knew a few men on the team and had fallen in love with Boulder his sophomore year when he raced an indoor meet there.

"I always knew that if given the opportunity, I wanted to run under coaches Mark [Wetmore] and Heather [Burroughs] and in all these big meets," he said. "I wanted to make a name for myself at the Division I level."

He entered the transfer portal in June of 2021 and arrived in Boulder on August 1. As one would expect, he immediately noticed changes in training.

"At CU, we do more quality work than I've ever done," Sweeney said. "We do two workouts a week, with added aerobic work. Compared to Western, here we get more recovery which allows you to push harder in workouts."

Over the course of a few months at Colorado, Sweeney's perspective on the team and racing strategy has changed dramatically. Coming onto the CU team, Sweeney says he felt like he had to prove himself to both his coaches and his teammates constantly. As a result, he would race in an effort to beat teammates instead of other teams. This is no longer the case, though.

"I've gained confidence and don't need to run selfishly," Sweeney said. "Now I'm focused on how special the team is and trying to do well for them, to win a national championship together."

Sweeney and his teammates are doing everything they can to achieve this goal at nationals in Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday, including going to bed two hours earlier to adjust to the Eastern time zone. He says the team is confident in their training and knows they can dream big.

Along with the team goal of winning nationals, Sweeney personally hopes to be an All-American and place 35th or better. In the midst of it all, though, he says he is constantly thankful for being able to compete at this national, Division I stage at all.

"I find myself thinking a lot about how grateful I am to be given this opportunity to be here and go for a title," he said. " Every day is like a dream come true for me."

Players Mentioned

Charlie Sweeney

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