John Dressel

Photo by: Joe Hale

Photo by: Scott Arnold, ProMotion Ltd.

Photo by: Ben Ennis

Photo by: Chris Hook

Photo by: Dan Madden

Position:
Distance
Height:
6-0
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Cobert, Wash.
High School:
Mt. Spokane

ALL-AMERICA HONORS (10)
2015 All-American Cross Country (26^th)
2016 All-American Cross Country (33^rd)
2017 All-America First Team Indoor 3,000 (8th)
2017 All-America First Team Indoor 5,000 (4th)
2017 All-America First Team Outdoor 5,000 (8th)
2018 All-American Cross Country (9^th)
2019 All-American Second Team Indoor 5,000 (11th)
2019 All-American Second Team Outdoor 5,000 (14th)
2019 All-American Second Team Outdoor 10,000 (10th)
2019 All-American Cross Country (7^th)
2021 All-American Second Team Outdoor 10,000 (12th)

NCAA QUALIFICATION (7)
2016 Outdoor 5,000-meters - Preliminaries
2017 3,000-meters (8th)
2017 Indoor 5,000-meters (4th)
2017 Outdoor 5,000-meters (8th)
2019 Indoor 5,000-meters (11th)
2019 Outdoor 5,000-meters (14th)
2019 10,000-meters (10th)
2021 10,000-meters (12th)

MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP
2017 5,000 Champion

NCAA SCORING
2017 (I) 3,000-meters, 8th (8:01.93)
2017 (I) 5,000-meters, 4th (13:47.84)
2017 (O) 5,000-meters, 8th (14:38.40)

MPSF SCORING
2016 5,000-Meters, 3rd (13:53.77)
2017 3,000-meters, 1st (7:51.44)
2019 3,000-meters, 7th (7:54.46)

PAC-12 SCORING
2016 10,000-Meters, 7th (29:20.97)
2017 5,000-meters, 3rd (14:01.69)
2019 10,000-meters, 2nd (29:13.35)
2019 5,000-meters, 4th (13:51.10)
2021 10,000-meters, 2nd (28:42.17)
2021 5,000-meters, 6th (13:40.36)

CU TOP-10
6th CU History 3,000-meters
5th CU History Indoor 5,000-meters

2021: Indoor: Did not compete.
Outdoor: Raced six times for the Buffs ... Set a 5k personal best of 13:36.29 at the Hayward Premiere ... Ran the 5k and the 10k at the PAC-12 Championships, scoring in both with a respective 6th and 2nd place finish ... Qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000m run, where he ran a personal best of 28:03.87 and finished 12th ...

2020: Indoor: Did not compete.
Outdoor: Did not compete.

2019: Indoor: Ran a personal-best 13:41 in the 5,000 at the Husky Classic to qualify for the NCAA Championships ... Placed seventh at the MPSF in the 3,000 trying to qualify for the double at nationals ... Finished 11th in the 5,000 at the NCAA Championships in 13:54.58.
Outdoor: Ran sparingly in the beginning of the season ... Placed second at the Pac-12 Championships in the 10,000 to qualify for the West Preliminaries ... Also placed fourth in the 5,000 at the conference championships ... Ran a personal-best 29:00.98 in the 10,000 at the Preliminaries to finish ninth overall and qualify for the championships ... Came back and made a diving finish to qualify in the 5,000 in eighth overall ... Placed 10th in the 10,000 and 14th in the 5,000 in a warm NCAA Championship in Austin.

2018: Redshirted cross country, indoor and outdoors.

2017: Indoor: Dressel enjoyed a standout second indoor season in Boulder, becoming the second runner in CU men’s history to collect first team All-American honors in two indoor events (3,000 and 5,000). He crossed the finish line first in the 3,000 at the MPSF Championships with a time of 7:51.44, the fifth fastest in school history, which also won him the league individual title. At the NCAA Championships two weeks later, Dressel raced to a fourth place finish in the 5k (13:47.84) and an eighth place finish in the 3k (8:01.93) to earn All-American distinction in both events.
Outdoor: During his sophomore outdoor campaign, Dressel competed in the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs for the Buffs and was one of the team’s leaders in both events for the 2017 season. In the 1,500, his best finish was placing sixth at the Oregon State High Performance (4/29) meet in Corvallis, Ore., with a time of 3:45.49. In the 5k, he clocked a personal best (13:44.56) at the Cardinal Classic, which was fourth overall. Dressel’s highlight of the outdoor season was his 5K race where he took third at the Pac-12 Championships (14:01.69) and went on to place eighth at the NCAA Championships earning his third first-team All-America honor of the year.

2016: Indoor: Dressel only ran in two meets for the Buffs during his first indoor season. His first race of the season was a 3,000-meter run at the Husky Classic (2/13), where he finished in 8:00.05, one of the fastest times ever by a CU freshman. Dressel scored for the Buffs at the MPSF Championship in the 5,000, finishing third in 13:53.77.
Outdoor: Dressel ran several events, ranging from the 800 to the 10,000-meter runs. He debuted at the Stanford Invite, finishing second in the second heat of the 5k with a time of 13:48.88, qualifying for the first round of the NCAA Championships. Dressel went on to race the 800 (1:56.21) and the 1,500 (3:45.59) before the postseason rolled around. At the Pac-12 Championship, he placed seventh after running his first 10k in 29:20.97. Dressel went on to run the 5k at the NCAA West Preliminary round and placed 13^th overall (14:17.07), just missing advancing to the NCAA Championships by one position.

CROSS COUNTRY:
(2019) Became just the fourth CU male to earn four All-American honors after finishing seventh overall. Helped the Buffs to a third-place finish and a Pac-12 Championship.
(2018) Helped bring CU back to the podium with an All-American top-10 finish after crossing the finish line ninth overall. He was second on the team that finished fourth for a podium finish. Also finished eighth at the Pac-12 Championships.
(2017) Dressel only raced once before his season was but short due to injury. He recorded a 20th place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational and ended up redshirting the season shortly after the race.
(2016) Dressel had another great season for the Buffs. Although he raced the Rocky Mountain Shootout unattached, he won with the sixth best time in course history (24:38). Dressel’s first uniformed race was NCAA Pre-Nationals, where he was 27th overall. He helped the team win its sixth consecutive Pac-12 team title, finishing sixth overall. At regionals, Dressel moved up one spot to fifth overall. He earned his second All-America honor at nationals, finishing 33rd. During the season, Dressel also earned All-Pac-12 First Team and all-region honors.
(2015) Dressel had an outstanding freshman campaign for the Buffs. He raced unattached at a pair of meets before earning a spot on the varsity roster. At NCAA Pre-Nationals, his first race in uniform for CU, Dressel was 46^th overall, crossing the finish as CU’s No. 5 runner. A couple weeks later, Dressel recorded a sixth place finish at Pac-12s, helping the Buffs to their fifth straight conference title. He earned all-region honors two weeks later, placing 19^th overall. Dressel capped off his season with a 26^th place finish at NCAAs, earning his first All-American honor. He was also named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Dressel capped off his season with CU’s Male Freshman of the Year award.

HIGH SCHOOL: Dressel won the 2015 3A Washington State 1,600 and 3,200-meter titles as a senior and owns the Wildcats’ 3,200 record (8:57.00). Dressel competed at the 2015 USA Junior Cross Country Championships in Boulder and placed third to earn a spot on the roster for the world championships where he was the top American finisher at 27th. He was also a member of the 2015 APA Pan American Cross Country Cup team. Dressel was a three-time FootLocker Cross Country All-American (2012-14), and was a 2012 3,200 New Balance Outdoor Nationals All-American. He was the MSHS MVP four times, three on the cross country course and once for track. Dressel was all-state and all-conference six times (four cross country and two track). Georgetown, Stanford, Oregon, Wisconsin, Portland, Gonzaga, Princeton, Arkansas, Notre Dame and Oklahoma State all recruited him before he chose CU.

HIGH SCHOOL BESTS: 800-meters: 1:56.55; 1,600-meters: 4:10.95; 3,200-meters: 8:57.00.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Dressel is a business major with an emphasis in marketing.

PERSONAL: John Hiatt Dressel was born on May 2, 1997 in Spokane, Wash. He is the son of Alex, his high school cross country and track coach, and Linette Dressel of Colbert, Wash. and has one sibling, Hayden. His father also ran track and cross country at Arkansas and his aunt Lisa (Dressel) Ferraro ran at Wisconsin and Auburn. Dressel also enjoys soccer, traveling and hiking.