Nico Young will matriculate to Northern Arizona University on a cross country and track and field scholarship in the fall.
Nico Young of Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, Calif., has been named the 2019-20 Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Young set a U.S. high school record last fall at the Woodbridge Classic, finishing the race in a never-before-seen 13:39.7. He also won the national championship this past season, leading Newbury Park to the highest honor in prep school track. He ran a course-record time of 14:52.3 in that race.
The 5'11", 135-pound senior will matriculate to Northern Arizona University in the fall. He was heavily pursued by programs nationwide, including Stanford University, Georgetown University, University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, but ultimately felt that NAU gave him the best opportunity to pursue his dream of running professionally—and to reach his utmost dream: The Olympics.
Sports Illustrated briefly chatted with Young on Thursday. The following Q&A has been edited for clarity.
Sports Illustrated: How does it feel to have won?
Nico Young: It feels really good. Really awesome. Really good feeling.
SI: How does it compare to other awards you've won?
NY: I think it definitely trumps the other awards.
SI: Why is that?
NY: Just previously knowing how prestigious it was, it's definitely more prestigious than the other awards I've won. The presentation of it, too, is much more.
SI: You weren't told you were getting the award when you were entering that room—what was your first reaction?
NY: I was kind of just amazed because I saw everyone with cameras and stuff. I knew it was happening once I walked in but I was still really surprised. It's really cool.
SI: When did you know you were fast?
NY: [Laughs.] I'm not sure. I knew I was pretty good during youth track in my freshman year, but I probably didn't know I was getting a lot better until my sophomore year.
SI: What were the deciding factors that led you to commit to Northern Arizona?
NY: I really liked their team and their coach and just the amount of success that they've had is definitely a lot. I think their coach is probably one of the best coaches in the country regardless of college or professionally. He really knows what he's doing.
SI: How hard was that decision making process for you?
NY: It was definitely a really hard decision. I was also looking at Georgetown, University of North Carolina, University of Virginia and Stanford. It kind of just came down to what I really wanted to do later on and where I really thought I would be the most successful. As the year went on, I decided that I thought I had a really good chance of, in the future, being a professional runner and that's something that I really enjoy doing.
SI: Do you have a specific goal or time benchmark you want to hit in college?
NY: Running low 13 minutes in the 5k would be one of my goals. Other than that, just seeing what I'm capable under that training and at altitude and with that team.
SI: Are the Olympics in your sight-lines?
NY: Yeah, that would be a part of that. I would love to go to the Olympics.
SI: What would that mean for you?
NY: That would mean a lot for me. To just put myself up there with all of these other amazing runners who I've been watching throughout my high school career and being a part of that would be amazing.
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