Olympia High cross country runner Coleman has second-fastest 5K time in country

Jesse Stevick has a basic truth he uses to inspire runners joining his boys cross country team at Olympia High School: Unless an athlete puts in the miles, he’ll never know what he’s capable of.

When Ethan Coleman joined Stevick for a brisk 16-mile run at 5 a.m. recently, it was the latest example of the Bears’ senior team leader making sure he got his work in. He had a flight to the Midwest to catch later that day. An official recruiting visit to the University of Notre Dame loomed.

After the visit, Coleman, who has the nation’s second-fastest high school 5,000 meter cross country time this fall, committed to an Irish program that finished second at the COVID-delayed 2020-21 NCAA Cross Country Championships in March.

That Coleman, who was drawn into the sport simply because his three older brothers ran, would be among the national leaders and accept a scholarship to one of the country’s most accomplished athletic universities was far from inevitable.

Little more than three years ago, in mid-September of 2018, then-freshman Coleman lined up for the start of the Fort Steilacoom Invitational in Lakewood. A long 19:33.7 later, he crossed the finish line 64th. By the time the 4A state meet rolled around in November, Coleman had sheared almost three full minutes of that time, but his season best 16:38.5 was only good enough for 76th place as Olympia finished eighth as a team.

The big improvement on the clock, though, told Stevick he had an athlete with potential.

“Anything under 20 minutes by a freshman I get excited about,” the long-time Bears coach said. “Over the course of that season he got more mileage, more training in. He became a real contributor.”

Last Saturday at Oakcrest Golf Course in Marysville, Coleman ran 14:40.2 to win the Nike Twilight Invitational by 40 seconds over runner up Allen Emerson of Arlington. Coleman’s season best is less than two seconds behind the nation’s top fall 2021 mark of 14:38.8, established by Sam Rich of Catawba Ridge High School in South Carolina, also a Notre Dame commit.

This Saturday, Coleman and Olympia, along with every other high school in Thurston County plus 50 others from across Washington and Oregon, will contest the annual Bill Kehoe Invitational. The course at St. Martin’s University can produce fast times, perhaps giving Coleman a chance to take over the national lead.

“It’s wild,” said Coleman. “I never really thought I’d be in this position. I was just a kid who enjoyed running. Now I look at my stats and say, ‘Wow, I’m really up there competing with the best of the best.’”

Stevick saw Coleman’s potential turn into stardom during the 4A South Puget Sound League 3,200 meter finals at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner his freshman track season. Lined up against stellar junior teammate Connor Griffith and three senior standouts from other schools, Coleman ran away for a five-second victory over Adam Sjolund of host Sumner in 9:24.43.

“Ethan had the audacity to just blast off and go past everybody,” Stevick remembered. “That’s when I when I started thinking ‘this guy is pretty special.’”

Coleman credits Stevick for much of his success.

“I ran throughout middle school. I was OK at it, I enjoyed it and had a passion for it,” he said. “When I got to Olympia, I found a coach who really helped me get the most out of running.”

Stevick found a willing pupil in Coleman when it came to the need for high mileage.

“A big part of it is learning the process of training, not only how to train, but how to enjoy training,” Coleman said. “A big part of it is finding why you run. My family, my coaches, my teammates, everyone around me inspires me to run.”

After that eye-opening freshman track season, he had his efforts validated by outsiders.

“My sophomore year I started to get a little bit of attention from colleges,” said Coleman, who turned down Washington, Oklahoma State and Georgetown when he picked Notre Dame. “I realized there are people who want me to do this for something other than just a fun activity.”

For a long time, the usual trappings of high school competition have been lacking because of the coronavirus pandemic. Though he won a virtual state cross country meet staged by the high school coaches’ association in his PR of 14:39.2 and an all-star two-mile race contested on the track at Olympia, Coleman and his team mates have missed aiming for a season-culminating state meet.

“I’m excited. I haven’t really gotten that type of competition,” Coleman said. “It’ll be great to have a chance to see what I can actually do.”

Coleman has been a leader on a Bears’ team that also includes strong runners in seniors George Merrifield and Asher Coppin along with juniors Owen Windrope and Danny Pree.

“Ethan has an awesome attitude,” said Stevick. “He’s focused on the team aspect of it and wanting to bring guys up. He has fun with it.”

After the high school season, Coleman will still have a pre-college cross country goal to strive for. Though he has consciously chosen not to run for a club during off seasons, opting to train rather than race, he has one title he wants to pursue, at the Foot Locker Championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Southern California in December.

After that will come Olympia’s track season, followed by his first season of collegiate competition at Notre Dame, where he plans to be a pre-med major. Stevick sees big things ahead.

“Ethan’s still got a ton of room for improvement. He can still increase his mileage some,” Stevick said. “In addition to cross country, he’s got a chance to be an excellent 10k runner on the track in college.”