Cole (Louis) Spackler '23 Recruiting Profile

I am Cole Spackler. I started my running journey in the 7th grade. The track coach at my middle school noticed that I was getting really good pacer scores and he told me to run track. I wanted to be a sprinter, but he kept working me up in distance until we settled and figured the mile was just right for me by the end of my 8th-grade year. That has been my main event ever since. I was a boy scout and worked all the way up to my Eagle Scout by the time I was 13. That was where I got my work ethic. Ever since then, once I put my mind to something and understand what I need to do to be the best, I will reach my highest potential. I have applied this in both school and running, as I hope to finish high school in the top 3 in my academic class rank. I’ve tested myself over this past year running especially. I got a hint of a real running program this summer and wanted to continue doing so during my regular school season. 

During this past regular season (2021 Cross Country) I was running by myself a lot. I made some friends that run for other schools and asked them simple training questions like how many miles they were getting, at what pace, any special workouts (tempos, intervals), etc. After talking around I realized I was well behind what I needed to be. I started running 2 times per day 3-4 times a week and was almost doubling the mileage of anyone else on my team. It still wasn’t a lot but it was a big jump for me and my body wasn’t taking it super well. I was tired all the time and felt horrible in all of my races. Regardless, I was running faster than ever. I had gathered a regular season pr of 18:22 in a race where some of the fastest kids in the state were running slow compared to other meets they had run. Then Districts started looming. My old middle school coach had sent me the rankings and I was expected to go 25th. With the top 30 going, it was going to be a close race. It was a fast start and I was well behind the place I should have been. I was never a fast starter but I made up my places in the remainder of the first mile and I found myself in 20th. The ground was all mud and it made it really hard to stay balanced and fast. The ground was zapping my energy and by 800 meters left in the race I had dropped to 27th. I could see the finish around the corner and saw the kid in front of me making moves so I went with him. I didn’t necessarily pass a ton of kids, getting 24th by the end of it, but that kick was what secured my ticket to state. It was an amazing feeling.