West Stride is proud to honor Nicholas Yanek of Milton High School as our August Boys West Strider of the Month. With school back in session, Yanek has wasted no time in doing some schooling of his own. Yanek claimed high honors at Milton’s XC team time trail, setting a new home course record of 16:46 over an infamously difficult course.
The senior class harrier then bounded him way to a school-record matching 15:01 clocking over 5K at Bob Blastow Early Bird XC meet in Whitesburg on August 26th. His time stands as the 5th-fastest time ever run on the course and the 2nd-fastest time by a GA high schooler this season.
Transplanted from Pleasant Valley High School in Iowa, Nicholas is a welcomed addition to the Milton XC program. Iowa’s Quad Cities Marathon and the John Deere Foundation are just two of the volunteer organizations to which Nicholas has dedicated his time away from the XC course. Furthermore, connecting his passions with service, Mr. Yanek worked as a camp counselor for his middle school running camp in Iowa that prepares runners for competition at the high school level.
Where his legs have excelled, the mind has kept pace. Nicholas ranks in the top 10% of his class academically and serves as senior class secretary on the student council. Keep your eyes peeled for big things to come from Mr. Yanek.
Where to spot Mr. Yanek you may ask? “Racing in the front,” Coach Andy Carr said. Racing with a ‘Prefontaine-esque’ quality means opponents must run at their absolute best to steal the win. Nicholas is excited for his final season in high school and aspires to make the Nike Nationals in Cross Country & Track.
Congratulations Nicholas!
