By Craig Pearson
TERRE HAUTE — Pain tolerance can be a big part of endurance running, Indiana State coach John McNichols said recently, and Indiana State senior Eric Schulz and classmate Scott Keeney are two of the toughest runners McNichols has coached.
Keeney, the first four-time All-Missouri Valley Conference men’s runner in ISU history, took a cortisone shot to curtail back spasms before helping lead ISU to the MVC title. It turns out Keeney had suffered a fracture in his lower back that has put the remainder of the fifth-year senior’s collegiate running career in jeopardy.
“That’s life,” said a disappointed Keeney, who’s in the process of choosing a medical school.
Keeney qualified for the NCAA meet last season, so whether or not his career is over, he’s there to help a teammate go after his dreams. Keeney finished 196th in last year’s race, saying he probably worked his body too hard in the week leading up to the race.
“I think [ISU’s 2006 NCAA qualifier] Justin Kunz told him the same thing: all the work is done, it’s just recovering from the regional meet,” Keeney said. “It’s not what you do that last week, it’s what you don’t do.”
Schulz and Keeney have been the senior leaders on an ISU team that almost worked its way into the NCAA field even without Keeney.
Following the region meet at Indiana University, Schulz said he and his teammates were motivated by their team captain’s absence. The Sycamores took fourth in the region for the school’s best finish, with three runners — Schulz, Michael Disher and Craig Padgett — all earning All-Region honors by making the top 25.
But only three Great Lakes teams made the field this season, a fortuitous down year for the region. The Sycamores could have been a huge cinderella story, but they did not receive one of the final at-large selections.
Schulz can make up for some of that disappointment with a solid performance. Unlike his training, the native of New Albany sees no need for tapering his expectations.
“I’m definitely going for that All-American status just because that’s what I’ve dreamed about,” Schulz said. “I’ve always wanted to achieve what Jordan Fife did [as a steeplechase All-American on the track]. He was from Seymour, and being from that neck of the woods, that was inspiring for me.”
More recently, Justin Kunz has set the mark for Sycamore runners when he finished 76th in the 2006 NCAA meet on his home course.
“Ending my college cross country career on my home course is a great feeling,” Schulz said. “If I’m top 75, I’d be happy. I just want to get out fast. I know the course. That’s going to help me.”
“To do the workouts on your home course, to run and finish all-state in high school, to end it all in Indiana, it’s pretty sweet,” Schulz said.
When Schulz arrived at ISU, he was a walk-on who had only once cracked the top 25 at the cross country state finals. Schulz didn’t make ISU’s top seven as a true freshman, but he needed the experience of racing the big meets at Notre Dame and Pre-Nationals.
“As a sophomore, he made that top 7, then last year he finished in the 50s at the region meet, then this year he’s up to sixth, just a huge improvement,” McNichols said.
Schulz’s 10K time of 31:13.37 at the region meet ranks second to two-time NCAA qualifier Jason Gunn (1999-2000), and his sixth-place finish was the school’s best for an individual.
McNichols was impressed by many of his runners in that race, but especially Schulz.
“He went out strong. He said afterward, he felt like he was out as well as he had been in any race this year. We have some video of him, and it does indicate that he was not overrunning but in very good position,” McNichols said. “The last 2K, he was pretty miserable. Racing the way those guys do, it’s pretty uncomfortable. The training helps them tolerate that pain.”
Schulz’s prosperity in the 10K has developed during his time at ISU.
Former Sycamore standout Antonio McDaniel, now the assistant coach for the IUPUI women’s team, recalls letting Schulz know what he thought of his strength.
“He was doing the steeple a lot, and he wasn’t having much luck with it,” McDaniel said. “I kept telling him by his form and the way he runs, ‘Schulz, you’re a 10Ker, you need to run the 10K.’”
As a sophomore, Schulz placed fourth in the 10,000 on the track, running a 30:28.
“I felt then that I had really stepped up my game. That was a step in the right direction,” Schulz said. “Then it was ‘I can be one of the top guys in the region,’ and now I’m on the national level. Now, I’m getting confidence that I can run with almost anybody.”
