Hayden Grotelueschen to run at North Central College
By FRED KRONER
At some point in his life, Hayden Grotelueschen will likely think back and reflect on “the good ol’ days.”
Don’t expect his junior high running career to be a prominent memory.
“I began (running) in junior high and certainly wasn’t any good when I first started,” Grotelueschen said. “I remember the first practice I went to over the summer, I only made it three-tenths of a mile. The only thing that kept me going with it was the fact that my mom (Jama) wouldn’t let me quit before the season was over.
“Fortunately, I had some patient coaches who helped me stop being such a mess, and I made some friends in it. With those two things, I ended up wanting to keep doing it of my own volition.”
The next stop on Grotelueschen’s running career – after he finishes his senior season in track this spring for Mahomet-Seymour – is at North Central College, in Naperville.
That is the same North Central College that has one of the most illustrious resumes for running of any college in the country. The Cardinals have captured 31 team national titles (19 in cross-country, six in indoor track and field and six in outdoor track and field).
The school has also produced a myriad of individual champions at various distances, including Mahomet-Seymour graduate Gabe Pommier, who won the Division III 1,500-meter title outdoors (3:46.63) as a senior in 2021.
That is the same Pommier who was instrumental in connecting Grotelueschen with the North Central coaches.
“One of my coaches in cross-country (at M-S), Gabe Pommier, went there,” Grotelueschen said. “He was, and still remains, a tremendous help to me.
“He gives the program there a lot of credit for his success in running as well as other areas. I asked him if he would give them my email. So really, I was the one who reached out to them about six months ago.”
Grotelueschen isn’t viewed as a “can’t-miss” prospect, but as one whose best days as a runner are in the future.
Andrew Walmer, now the Bulldogs’ boys’ cross-country head coach, got to know Grotelueschen as a track assistant in the spring of 2020.
“Right off the bat, he was one of the more gifted runners to come into the high school,” Walmer said. “He ran a 10-minute 2-mile as a freshman.
“North Central will be a great fit for him. Gabe Pommier went there and had success. Kyle Nofziger is there now and having success. Hayden will be in that same boat. He’ll mesh extremely well and will be great at any distance he does.”
For the longest time, Grotelueschen wasn’t sure he wanted competitive running to be a part of his future.
“I can’t say it was ever really a goal to me,” he said, referring to the possibility of competing beyond high school. “In fact, up until this last year, I would say I was probably opposed to the idea.
“A lot of that change in mindset came from an old coach of mine, Coach (Neal) Garrison. He maintained a lot of faith that my best years in the sport were ahead of me, and is really the reason I started to consider pursuing running further.
“It wasn’t ever really a goal for me. It was something that just sort of happened.”
Grotelueschen plans to continue in both cross-country and track and field at North Central.
At Mahomet-Seymour, he has been a contributor in both sports. He was one of the top six runners as a freshman on a cross-country team that placed 11th in Class 2A at the IHSA state finals. He was one of the top five runners as a junior on a team that finished eighth at state. As a senior, he was one of the Bulldogs’ top four runners.
In track, he was part of a team that took eighth in state when he was a sophomore. As a junior, he was an alternate on the state-placing 3,200-meter relay. His freshman season in track was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Typically, he has done a little better in cross-country because he views himself as more of a distance runner,” Walmer said, “but this track season, he is giving himself more of an opportunity to see what he can do.
“He gets miles in in-season and out-of-season and that consistency has helped him.”
Not all of his high school highlights have centered around achieving personal-bests or placing well in meets. Participating in track has been enjoyable, he said.
“I don’t know that many sports that require the same level of pain tolerance, discipline and focus,” Grotelueschen said. “The goal is to push yourself to your limit with each race and workout.
“Because of that, there’s a real sense of pride and accomplishment that I get from running a new best time. However, more important to me than that is probably the friends I’ve made from it. Running as much as I do, you end up spending hours with your teammates each day with nothing to do but talk. As a result, you certainly get to be good friends.”
As such, he finds it difficult to isolate one or two career highlights.
“There’s certainly not many standout events or memories,” he said, “not because it was all bland or bad, but because I really just enjoyed most all of it.”
Grotelueschen didn’t make many college visits, which meant he didn’t need to agonize over a series of tough choices.
“The process of narrowing down which school I wanted to go to was the same as figuring out if I wanted to run in college or not,” Grotelueschen said. “North Central was really the only cross-country and track program I was looking at.”
And when he knew, he knew.
“There wasn’t much of a process to my decision. I was probably a lot less concerned about what I was doing for college than most of my peers, and never really wanted to discuss the subject with anyone,” Grotelueschen said. “On the night I sort of just decided, I sent a text message to the coach saying I was committed to running there.
“Despite how spontaneous my decision was, I have no doubt that it was a good one.”
His coaches agree.
“North Central is a mecca for distance runners,” Pogue said. “Being there will change his perspective and change his level of expectations.
“He will flourish.”
Pogue believes Grotelueschen will benefit from being able to run longer distances in college than the ones that are available at the high school level.
“He could be a 5,000- 10,000-(meter) guy,” Pogue said.
Walmer said that Grotelueschen has already demonstrated his adaptability as he made a successful transition from Garrison’s coaching regime with the Bulldogs in cross-country to the changes that were implemented after his departure.
“Hayden – and a lot of them – are willing to learn and think through different ways they can get better,” Walmer said. “Part of my philosophy is to let guys be part of the process. I like to get their feedback.
“The transition from Garrison’s style to mine was a little harder for some of the older guys, but he showed growth in making that adjustment and still being able to thrive. He is a good listener and very easy to work with.”
Pogue said Grotelueschen positions himself well for success.
“He’s a hard worker and has a great attitude,” Pogue said. “This (indoor) season it has been great to see him blossom.”
The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Grotelueschen is looking forward to the future steps he will take with his running.
“I’m certainly excited about it,” he said. “I think it’ll be a good experience in many regards. Seems like there’s a lot of opportunity to improve both my times and myself as a person.
“I’m sure the transition will be just fine. Everyone there seems to be good people.”
At North Central, Grotelueschen hopes to pursue a dual major in finance and accounting.
He hasn’t looked further down the road yet to establish a projected career path.
“What’s my plan for the future,” he asked, rhetorically. “Wait until circumstances present themselves that allow me to think of a plan.”
