Former Moose runner an All-American

TERRA HAUTE, Ind. — Wylie Mangelsdorf, a former Palmer High School cross-country standout, earned All-American status for his top-20 finish in the national Division III cross-country meet this past weekend.

Mangelsdorf posted a time of 24:52 in the 8-kilometer race, which was three seconds off his personal best set the week before at regional competition. A junior running for Principia College in Elsah, Ill., Mangelsdorf is a 2010 Palmer High graduate.

Going into the nationals, Mangelsdorf said his goal was to finish in the top-30 and become an All-American. Even so, he was surprised with his strong finish, which was 70 places ahead of his 89th-place finish in 2011.

“I was able to train a lot better this summer leading into the season,” he said by cellphone Wednesday. “Mostly, the difference was better training.”

He also said a new mental approach to competitive running has improved his performance this season.

“I had a pretty big mental attitude change toward running in general,” he said, “which is just looking at how everybody out there is doing something we all love and putting all this hard work into.”

That perspective helped take a lot of mental pressure off racing, Mangelsdorf said.

“I was able to just go into the race with complete calmness and thinking that we’re all just out here to have fun,” he said. “Taking my mind off myself is what I think actually made a big difference.”

That’s why during the race, held in Terra Haute, Ind., Mangelsdorf said he was never sure just where he was in relation to the rest of the top finishers. He heard coaches shouting times and places during the race, but it wasn’t until the finish that it hit him that his goal of becoming an All-American had been achieved.

“That was my drive going into the season, to make All-American,” he said. “I finished the race and the assistant coach jumped over the fence and told me what place I got and it just blew my mind. … During the race, I was running and there were multiple people yelling lots of places, so I thought I was farther back than I was. During most of it, I had no idea I was that close.”

The improvement from last year’s nationals makes Mangelsdorf, a junior majoring in graphic design, itching to run in his senior campaign next year.

“It’s very exciting for my senior year,” he said. “I think some goals are a possibility of winning our region, and one of my goals would be a top-5 finish (at nationals), then to run under 24:30. Ideally, it would be great to get our whole team up there (at nationals) as well.”

Although the scenery has changed for Mangelsdorf running in the Lower 48, there’s still some not-so-subtle reminders of home and Palmer High. His team uniform resembles the Moose, and the large “P” on the front reminds him of Palmer as well.

“To me, that’s very cool,” he said. “It’s fun running with that same ‘P’ as in high school.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.