Monarch High School Alums Find Success At CU

(Senior Jenny DeSouchet, a member of the cross country and track and field team, recently sat down with two of her teammates, junior Maddie Alm and freshman Kaitlyn Benner, both Monarch High School alumni, to talk about their success this year. DeSouchet wrote this special feature for CUBuffs.com and will graduate on May 9 with a degree in English.)

The 2014-15 year has brought another menGÇÖs NCAA Cross Country Championship, a slew of All-Americans, school-record breaking times and an enormous depth of talent for the University of ColoradoGÇÖs cross country and track distance programs.

But in addition to the achievements of the team as a whole is the remarkable background of two Monarch High School alumni who have blossomed into highly successful competitors, cutting minutes off of their high school bests. Junior Maddie Alm and freshman Kaitlyn Benner currently rank amongst the top 5k runners in the NCAA West Region, with hopes of taking their talents to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June for the first time.

Of course, Benner and Alm are two of many success stories for the program this year, but the remarkable improvements made in their time since competing at the high school level makes theirs a tale worth noting. Neither Benner nor Alm won an individual state championship while at Monarch nor were they the GÇ£top recruitGÇ¥ in their class. BennerGÇÖs 1,600/3,200/5k (cross country) high school PRs were 5:03, 10:58 and 18:08, respectively. AlmGÇÖs 800/1,600/5k (cross country) PRs were 2:20, 5:35 and 18:58.

The two now have 1,500 and 5,000-meter run marks of 4:26 and 16:16 (Benner) and 4:22 and 16:15 (Alm). These two are on their way to joining the ranks of coach Mark WetmoreGÇÖs many CU athletes of more humble high school achievements that have worked their way to the top.

Benner, a true freshman, has had an immediate impact on the national and international level, beginning her breakout cross country season by finishing as the fifth scorer for the women at the Pac-12 Championship (29th overall), as well as the NCAA Mountain Region Championship (13th overall). She finishing her season by placing 81st at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November, this time as CUGÇÖs third harrier. Behind last yearGÇÖs performance by Melanie Nun (68th), it was the top placement by a CU female true freshman since 2010 when Shalaya Kipp placed 40th. This steady progression in cross country began with her ninth place overall finish at the Rocky Mountain Shootout in September as CUGÇÖs seventh finisher on the course, to her fantastic finale at the NCAAs.

Her progression did not stop at the end of November; her most drastic improvements occurred this winter and early spring. While surrounded by high school teammates, coaches, family and her CU current teammates and coaches at the USA Cross Country Championships on Feb. 7 in Boulder, Benner dominated the junior race, winning in a time of 21:48 to earn a trip to Guiyang, China, where she finished as the top American junior (27th overall). Since then, she won the indoor conference 5k title in 16:08, beating a number of nationally-ranked and All-American women, including ArizonaGÇÖs Elvin Kibet (three-time All-American and 2012 NCAA Indoor Champion), who finished in second more than five seconds back.

On the track this outdoor season, Benner has posted impressive times in the 1,500 (4:30 at altitude converting to 4:24 sea level) and 5k (16:16). Just a few weeks ago, she finished third in her heat at Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., just tenths of a second behind Alm, who made a late surge in the race for a strong second-place finish.

AlmGÇÖs three-year long career has been a story of resilience and steady improvement, so this yearGÇÖs breakout has been in the works long before she even realized it was coming GÇô at least to this degree. Rather than experiencing a smooth transition into collegiate running, Alm braved her share of injury and illnesses, and has made her way to becoming a top-two scorer this year. Her first cross country season as a Buff (2012) ended early before Pac-12GÇÖs while she dealt with bouts of mononucleosis, strep and shin splints.

Her next cross country season (2013) ended on a higher note with her first time scoring for the team, placing 36th (CUGÇÖs No. 5). She had a tremendous race at Coal Creek Golf Course in her hometown of Louisville, Colo., surrounded by her family, high school team and many members of her community.

This year, AlmGÇÖs season began well, placing 28th at her first appearance at NCAA Pre-Nationals. With improvement for each race, her season extended all the way NCAAs, where she finished as the BuffsGÇÖ No. 2 runner with a 51^st place finish. She narrowly missed the top-40 All-America standard at nationals, with the 40th place woman finishing just nine seconds ahead of her.

Alm jokes that her nickname should be GÇ£Mads-AlmostGÇ¥ after coming so close to achieving something she once thought to be a GÇ£lofty goalGÇ¥ (becoming an All-American). Luckily, she still has a year of eligibility to achieve this goal, as well as the remainder of this outdoor track season. Her achievements this year and drastic improvements over her three years in the program are not GÇ£Mads-AlmostGÇ¥ impressive, but GÇ£Mads-ActuallyGÇ¥ impressive.

Both Benner and Alm have a few theories about what prepared them mentally and physically for the intensity of WetmoreGÇÖs program, and it appears that Monarch High SchoolGÇÖs successful team dynamics and encouragement of cerebral intuitions have much to do with the womenGÇÖs current success and consistent gains. As their teammate, it wasnGÇÖt hard to track these two down to ask them a few questions about breakout year.

Q: What factors made you decide to run for CU? What made you decide to run collegiately?

Benner: When I first started looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to run and I also knew I wanted to go out of state. But, after looking at a lot of different schools, I kept being drawn back to CU. I didn't think I could run for a program of this caliber though. There are obviously a lot of connections between my high school program and CU and a lot of people encouraged me to at least contact Colorado and see if the program would be a good fit for me. It was great to be able to talk to Maddie and Laura (Laura Thweatt, former CU cross country and track runner, current assistant coach at Monarch and professional runner) about their experiences on the team and how they were able to transition from running in high school to running at CU. Overall, I really liked the team and coaches and I thought that I would be able to develop well as a runner here.

Alm: I didn't decide I wanted to run at the collegiate level really until my sophomore year of college. I emailed Mark and asked what I needed to do to be on the team and he gave me a time to run at the time trial and said see you in September. So I tried out and ended up making the team as a walk on. It took me quite a while to adjust to CU's program and level of training. I ran relatively low mileage in high school so I went up in miles quite a bit and the workouts were a lot more intense. But I had amazing teammates that kept motivating me and pushing me every day in practice and after a while my times began to drop and I saw a huge improvement.

Q: Describe what kind of support system you have with your former coaches, team and family all being fairly close in location.

Benner: It's great to have a support system so close to where I'm living, training and sometimes racing. My parents and sister will come out to all of the races in Boulder and it's really special to have them there. I still have a strong relationship with my old coaches and they are always super encouraging. Coach (Kent) Rieder will always text me before and after each race to say good luck and good job. Coach (Paul) Lilly will email me sometimes and Maddie and I actually got to see him because he was able to come to the Stanford Invite to watch our race. I am really thankful for those two, along with the rest of the Monarch coaches, who have continued to support Maddie and me even through college.

Alm: My high school coach has been so supportive throughout my whole transition to a collegiate runner. He always believed in me and I'm the runner I am today thanks to his support. The summer before the time trial he, along with Laura Thweatt, helped me train every day. Without them I probably wouldn't even be running at CU now. I'm very thankful to have had such a great coach and support team at Monarch High School. This year running with Kaitlyn as my past Monarch teammate has been great. She has transitioned to CU so well and it's been so amazing to watch her become such a successful runner.

Q: Has your relationship with running changed since youGÇÖve been at CU?

Benner: My relationship with running has changed quite a bit since I've been at CU. Although I definitely got more motivated my junior and senior year in high school, I don't think I was working up to my potential. Running collegiately, you have to have a lot more self-discipline and motivation to put in the work each and every day. Being able to train with the CU team and for Mark (Wetmore) and Heather (Burroughs) is a great opportunity that I want to take advantage of. Overall, though, I think I've just started to enjoy running more since I've been on the team. It's so fun to be able to train hard with such a dedicated group of girls. I can't wait to see how the rest of this season and the next couple seasons go for me, Maddie and the rest of the team!

Alm: My relationship with running has changed a lot in my time at CU. It has taught me a lot about myself as a runner and a person in general. I've learned how to be self-motivating and that itGÇÖs up to you to make success happen. I've loved working with the coaches and my teammates here and it's so inspiring to constantly be surrounded by people who set the bar so high and aren't afraid to have lofty goals. I've learned to have confidence in workouts and how to push myself beyond where I thought I could, which has translated into a lot of PRs for me this year. I'm so thankful to be a part of this team and program and I'm looking forward to my next year here.

Both Alm and Benner credit much of their success to their involvement with MonarchGÇÖs program, so I reached out to coach Rieder to see just what made the program so unique in producing consistent competitive results from athletes that appear to also be having a great time.

Q: What do you do to help instill a healthy and competitive mindset for your athletes?

Rieder: Most of the top kids in our program come in with the competitive mindset that is part of the makeup of a successful athlete. Having a training program that helps them become successful helps promote their competitiveness. Once they realize they have the ability to compete at a high level, it creates motivation from within.

Q: Kaitlyn has progressed from being a top-3 finisher on the Monarch varsity team, to becoming an indoor conference champion in the 5k, the USA Junior Cross Country National Champion and was the top American junior at the IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships in China. She has cut much more than a minute off her 5k PR in only a matter of months. How do you think her high school training prepared her for such a huge leap in her performances and what other factors do you think has helped her to be so successful so early in her career at CU?

Rieder: Kaitlyn is a very talented runner, but she is also one of the most "cerebral" runners I've seen. She has a natural feel for strategy and pace, following workout plans and knowing when to go hard and when to rest. In our program at Monarch, we are on the low end of mileage, and emphasize quality over quantity. We stress recovery, and kids taking care of all the little details that other HS athletes may overlook, like nutrition, hydration, sleep and health. Most of our kids have a big upside in college when they take on more mileage and Kaitlyn is a great example of that. Coach Wetmore has obviously been a big factor in her progression and has brought her mileage up slowly, rather than in big chunks. His record speaks for itself, and I think Kaitlyn has the perfect combination of qualities that work within his program.

Q: MaddieGÇÖs story is a longer one, and she has truly blossomed beginning at the end of last yearGÇÖs outdoor track season, and has really turned it on this entire year, cutting 30 seconds off her 5k time, placing seventh at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championship and placing in the top 60 at NCAA Cross Country Championship. She struggled with injuries, sicknesses and progressed slowly into the program, making small yet useful gains each year. What was MaddieGÇÖs high school running career like, and how do you think she gained the resilience and preparation to become such a successful runner after some hardship in the sport?

Rieder: Maddie ran her junior and senior years at Monarch after playing soccer for many years. I think soccer players are great candidates for distance running, they have built up a base over their years in soccer, without realizing they have done it. Maddie's high school career was similar to her first few years at CU. She had some injuries and some illness that set her back just when she was on the upswing.

I think Maddie's perseverance is one of her strongest qualities. Most athletes would have given up after the adversities she has endured and then never realize their potential. Maddie has always had the talent, but had to persevere to realize her potential. I think Coach Wetmore has been patient with Maddie, seeing the abundance of talent she possesses. I know she does a lot more Alter G workouts than she would probably like, but she has adapted to what works for her and it has paid off in a big way for her.

Q: How do you encourage a slow progression and year-to-year improvements for your runners?

Rieder: I think the progression is natural with maturity, especially since most of our runners come into our program having little or no running base or background. We limit mileage on our kids, do the bulk of our training on softer surfaces, and have two running cycles per year between cross country and track and the two programs are consistent in the training philosophy.

For both Monarch alumni, factors like having a strong sense of community, a balanced support system and trust in their respective coaches in high school and at CU have all lead to huge leaps of improvement. To keep up with Alm and Benner, watch for both at the coming Pac-12 Championships in Los Angeles, May 16-17, and at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Austin, Texas, May 28-20.

Colorado University Athletics