Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Nick Wolk
School: Peters Township
Class: Senior
Sport: Cross country
Wolk’s week: Wolk covered the 3.1-mile trail at Cooper’s Lake faster than any other boys varsity cross country runners, finishing with a time of 16:28.9 Saturday in the Slippery Rock Invitational.
Wolk outdistanced Ben Clouse of Sewickley Academy by 11 seconds and Casey Conboy of Baldwin by 13.
Wolk added this victory to one earlier this month, when he won the Red, White and Blue Classic at the Schenley Oval Sept. 12, when he turned in a time of 15:38.4 over the 3.1-mile course.
Domenick Perretta of Beaver Falls was 17 seconds back and Mike Kolor of Seneca Valley was 19 in the Class AAA field of 254 runners.
“I never felt like I was expected to win a race until after the Red, White and Blue,” said Wolk. “That was the first time I felt I was the favorite, and it made me a little nervous. I felt like they all would be coming after me.”
Devotion: Tim Wu, Peters Township’s cross country coach, knew Wolk was determined to commit all he had to this season when Wolk did an unusual thing.
He quit the band.
Wolk enjoyed playing trumpet, had lots of friends, and it pained him to make such a move.
“He wants to run at a Division I school,” said Wu. “He knew he needed the time to prepare better. He has always been a blue-collar runner. He’s smart about training and he is one of the most tactical runners I know.”
Wolk is being wooed by a number of schools, including Duquesne, Pitt and American University in Washington, D.C.
Wolk, who carries a 4.3 weighted GPA on a 4.0 scale and has a classload of Advanced Placement courses this year, is headed to Hershey this weekend to compete in the PIAA Foundation Meet.
“It’s a preview of the state tournament,” Wolk said. “I want to see the kids from the other side of the state, if they are winning races and by how much. Then I compare them to me.”
Extra help: Besides the training, studying of his form and dissecting of opponents, Wolk has a few other secrets, or rather superstitions, to help him perform.
“I always wear black compression socks,” he said. “I wear my lucky sweats and I floss before each race.”
Floss?
“It reminds me about humility,” he said. “No matter how good you are, you still have to put a piece of string between your teeth to clean.”
His times have dropped and his placement has risen each year in the WPIAL – 20th as a sophomore, 10th as a junior – and PIAA – 126 two years ago, 47th last year – championships.
“He’s an extremely strong runner, one of the best runners I know,” Wu said. “And the best part is that he performs great under pressure.”
Compiled by Joe Tuscano