Pilot in the spotlight: Jeff Thies

Sport: Cross country

Grade: Redshirt freshman

Hometown: Huntington Beach, California

What piqued your interest in cross country in the first place?

Entering high school, I was coming into a new school, so I thought I could get into cross country and make some friends. I did end up making some really good friends, and my passion for cross country gradually developed into what it is now, which is pretty exciting.

So going from doing cross country all of high school, what was it about UP’s team in particular that you liked?

We’re currently ranked fifth in the nation. We have a very strong program. Coach Connor has been here for 25 years and is an amazing coach with a history of developing runners into elite collegiate runners that are the best in the nation. That’s what I was looking for, so UP drew me in.

You’re a redshirt freshman, so this is your first official season as a runner for UP’s cross country team. How does that feel?

It’s actually really cool because last year I had to pay for all my own expenses to go to meets, and this year I’m finally in uniform and getting to wear purple. I get to travel to better meets where I get the chance to compete with some of the best teams in the country.

You’re originally from Huntington Beach, California. How is running there different from running in Portland?

In California it’s about 70 degrees every day and sunny, and there’s no trails—it’s all boardwalk along the beach which is asphalt and not very easy on the legs. It’s very monotonous, you go in one direction for a long time—here we often run in Forest Park, which has a lot of great trails that are great for training. Portland is much better.

At the UW invite in Seattle, you finished with a time of 24:15.  When’s your next meet, and how are you planning for it?

I’m going to the West Coast Conference in Sunnydale, California in about a month, and that gives me some time to get a lot of good training in and hopefully run even better than I did last time. My goal is to become the West Coast Conference “Freshman of the Year.”

That’s a good goal! Do you have any others for the rest of the season?

As a team we would love to get on the podium at nationals and get a trophy. We want to show the nation how good our team can be.

Is there something that helps you get in the zone before a meet?

I like to listen to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, and remind myself that I’ve put in the work, and that I belong where I am—it helps to reassure myself.