Years played: 6

Wingspan: How long have you been doing cross country and what got you started?

Niekamp: “This will be my sixth year in it. I started in seventh grade and I wanted to go out of my comfort zone so I tried cross country. For the first few years I wasn’t really good at it, but I pushed myself really hard and overcame many trials and tribulations. Then my tenth grade year I made varsity and I’ve been on it ever since.

Wingspan: What are your goals for this season as a team?

Niekamp: “As a team of course I always want us to make regionals, so that’s kind of the biggest thing this year. We lost a lot of our seniors from last year, so just pushing the team and making sure that everyone is happy where they are is important.”

Wingspan: Do you have any thing that you want to accomplish individually?

Niekamp: “Individually I want to try and make state. I’m going to push myself just as hard as I can and make sure that every moment counts. Just knowing that every meet will be worth the hard work and pain that I’ve put into it.”

Wingspan: What is your favorite part about cross country?

Niekamp: “I think it would definitely be seeing other people pushing themselves. Knowing that people have pushed themselves, and seeing their face after a tough workout or seeing how they look after their meet. It’s something that always makes me really happy and want to try for other people.

Wingspan: Do you plan on continuing cross country after graduation?

Niekamp: “I do plan on running cross country later on in college, but it kind of depends on whether colleges will scout me or not. But i definitely hope to be a walk on if I don’t get scouted.”

Wingspan: What is it like to be a senior on a varsity team?

Niekamp: “It definitely has its perks, so I definitely get authority over a lot of the younger kids. It has given me a lot of responsibility because I know that I have been in this program the longest. I have to keep the guys focused on what they need to do and keep pushing them so we can keep getting better. I take a lot of pride in knowing that other athletes are looking up to me.”