Athlete of The Week: Jackson Wening

Freshman Jackson Wening is currently the only freshman running boys varsity track. He joined varsity in April of his first season competing in a track event after playing soccer most of his life. On top of track, Wening plays club soccer for Sporting Missouri Valley.

Q: When did you first start running track?

A: “Well, I just started running track this year. I actually haven’t started like any sooner or running but I did do [road] races before like a trail run last summer in Swope Park. That was a six mile trail run. And a funny story about that, they pointed me in the wrong direction. The very end of the race. I would have probably finished pretty high, if not like first, but went the wrong way. [I also] have been playing soccer which keeps my endurance up with all the running.”

Q: Why did you decide to join track this year?

A: “I just enjoyed running. I think it takes my mind off things.”

Q: What is it like balancing playing Soccer and track at the same time?

A: “So it’s kind of difficult because I have track five days a week. But then I also have soccer on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays. So on Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I basically go straight from track to soccer. That can be a little tiring. But I’ve always played soccer since I was little so I didn’t want to give that up. But, I really wanted to try track because obviously I said I wanted to run more and it’s a good way to connect.”


Q: How does it affect your performance or schoolwork?

A: “I mean, I don’t think so. It definitely takes a lot of time. I’m really busy, so I don’t have a lot of free time to do other things. I can still hang out with friends but all the time I’ll end up being busy, so I have to definitely use my schoolwork time wisely to get work done because I don’t really have time to do it at home.”

Q: What was your first meet like?

A: “I remember my first meet was pretty fun. I started off on JV. Now I’m running varsity meets. I’m not sure if I’ll get moved back to JV or whatever. But I remember the first meet was kind of really nervous. I was just nervous. Because I’ve never raced before and I wanted to prove that I was fast, so it wasn’t a ton of fun.”
Q: What were you surprised by when you joined track?

A: “I guess something that surprised me is that you can improve a lot by just working hard. In track you can improve your times way more than I thought I could. [Me and some] other people have improved [our] times a ton. So it’s just like, you can get better if you really want to.”

Q: How would your teammates describe you?

A: “I guess I’d say I’m pretty chill when it comes to track. But I do try my best to stay with thepack or whatever. I try my best to fight through races even though sometimes they may be hard so I guess I’d probably say I’m a fighter when it comes to trying to do my best.”

Q: What are your goals for the rest of the season?

A: “I think I want to get a better two mile time. I really want to improve that a lot because that’s my favorite race. maybe [I’ll} get that [time] [to] around , I don’t know, [10 minutes and 40 seconds] by the end of the year.”

Q: Do you plan on continuing track next year?

A: “Yeah, I have a big decision to make because I don’t know if I’m going to. But I’m definitely going to do track. Cross country like I’ve really liked soccer too, as I said but cross country would help me become a way better runner. So I’ll just wait and see.”