If you had told distance runner Henry Wynne when he was starting high school that he would one day win the NCAA national championship in the men’s mile, he would have laughed at you.
“I started running freshman year of high school, more to stay in shape,” Wynne said. “You know, I played lacrosse as a freshman. … My coach said, ‘You can weight lift or run track,’ and I didn’t really want to weight lift, so I went out for cross country.”
At first, he hated running, seeing it as only a workout for lacrosse.
“My mom forced me to do it,” Wynne laughed. “[She] kind of forced her hand on that one … [and] I ended up sticking with it.”
Things began to change for Wynne as he got to know his teammates and the coaching staff at Staples High School in Westport, Conn.
“I started enjoying it more, and I started seeing results as well, and so that … pushed me to kind of pursue it further.”
“Seeing results” is quite the understatement. Wynne was a 5-time All-American throughout his high school career and was the 2013 New Balance Grand Prix High School Mile Champion.
“That is when I stopped playing lacrosse and just picked up track full-time,” Wynne said.
High school flew by in a blur of championship titles for Wynne, and soon the time came for him to find the perfect school and track program. The University isn’t a very well-known school at his Connecticut high school, but he said he had heard only “good things” from the people he knew who went to the “Ivy of the South.” He decided to take an official visit.
“The second I got on Grounds I just fell in love with it,” Wynne reminisced.
Smitten with the atmosphere and beauty of the University, meeting with his future track program sealed the deal.
“I liked the team a lot, and I felt like I bonded with them immediately,” Wynne said. “The coaching staff was incredible, and I could just see myself here.”
Three years later, with a national title under his belt, it is safe to say the program is a good fit for him. He had one word to describe the atmosphere of the program — electric.
“I think we have got a lot of great team performances,” Wynne said. “I think it just got everyone excited, especially as we head into outdoors season, which is everybody’s favorite season. Everyone just wants to perform well and see if we can go to ACCs and beyond.”
One of the main reasons for this atmosphere is the team’s outstanding performance at the NCAAs, led by Wynne with his championship win, which he described as “a crazy experience.”
“The prelim[inaries] is always very nerve wracking,” he said. “So, getting through that, I was very relieved, getting into the finals. And then there, there was a lot of great competition, but I knew if I stuck myself into it I would have a chance to win.”
Despite already winning a national championship, Wynne still has many goals for the remainder of his season.
“I just want to run some big PRs in the 1500 and other events, make it out to NCAAs again, try to contribute as much as possible at ACCs…” Wynne said. “And the Olympic Trials are this summer — and [I will] hopefully try to make it out to those and just race with some of the best runners in America.”
Despite his Olympic Trial dreams, Wynne said he is just a regular student, who enjoys hanging out on the Track House balcony in the balmy spring weather like any other University student. He said he couldn’t imagine being anywhere better than Charlottesville or enjoying anything better than a afternoon basking in the Virginia sunshine.
“I love the school,” Wynne said. “It has been a great time. … I just feel like I belong here. … Look at today,” he said as he gestured towards the green grass of Mad Bowl and the blue sky above. “It is beautiful.”
And with that, Wynne and his teammates ran off back toward the track, ready to prepare for their trip to the Florida Relays this weekend.
Read More
Virginia volleyball falls to No. 3 Louisville in competitive match
By Cole Huff | 51 minutes agoThe Cavaliers fought admirably but predictably fell short against one of the best teams in college volleyball.
Appleton and Martin shine as women’s cross cross country finishes 14th, men 21st at NCAA Championships
By Caroline Wulff | 53 minutes agoEach of Virginia's teams moved up one spot from their finishes at last year's NCAA Championships.
The bleacher-stomping tradition that animates Virginia’s home soccer games
By Michael Liebermann | 2 hours ago"A great tradition," Coach George Gelnovatch called it.
