TERRE HAUTE — Nick Dason’s schedule at West Point is as rigorous as he expected … and he’s loving every minute.
Before breakfast each day at 6:45 a.m., Dason joins his triathlon teammates — triathlon is a club sport at the U.S. Military Academy — for practice at 5:30 a.m.
Then after a full slate of classes — 18 credit hours, the least he’s taken in four years — the team convenes for more practice at 4 p.m. and goes until 6:30. After a less formal dinner, Dason works to maintain his dean’s list studying habits. His major is American politics and Dason has a minor in systems engineering.
The Terre Haute North High School alumnus welcomes the demanding routine when he compares it to the 10 months he spent in one of the most volatile cities in Iraq.
Last year, Dason met up with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., in Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province.
On Friday, 27 people died in Ramadi when a suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with TNT and chlorine gas into a police check point.
Dason contributed to more than 150 combat missions as a machine gunner with the infantry.
“We were really fighting the fight,” Dason said. “It’s a very volatile region. It’s tough. We lost some good guys and had a lot of guys get hurt.”
It was quite a learning experience, to say the least.
“We were trying to make the city more secure. It’s a totally different world. You realize how great America is,” Dason said.
“Some people get down when they’re here [at West Point] because everything that’s required of you is so high stress. The fact I’m back at school now, getting ready to graduate from a premier institution … It could always be worse. I could be in Iraq.”
In addition to the challenges of battle, Dason took on the challenge of staying in good shape. Accustomed to working out nonstop since his high school days at North when he went from cross country to swimming to track, Dason found ways to work out.
“We weren’t allowed to run outside because of mortar threats. We had a gym with a treadmill that didn’t work half the time, but there was an elliptical machine and a stationary bike,” Dason said.
He wasn’t just staying in shape for triathlons.
“I had to stay in shape for missions,” he explained. “I’m 165 pounds, but carrying all my gear, I’m over 300 pounds.”
Dason had already given up his spot on the Army varsity swim team before heading to Iraq and had planned to pursue triathlons, which he first competed during high school in the Terre Haute Triathlon.
“I was always more of a runner in high school,” said Dason, who was a member of North’s cross country team that ended a long drought of state-finals appearances and took 10th in 2001.
He returned from Iraq in November and tried out for the triathlon team in January.
“That was one of the toughest things,” he said, “trying to stay in shape.”
The 24-year-old is feeling good about his fitness now with two weeks before the collegiate nationals. Dason finished third overall last weekend in the Lone Star Triathlon at Galveston, Texas, and was the top finisher among 20- to 24-year-olds. He finished the Quarter Ironman — a 0.6-mile swim, 28-mile bike ride and 6.5-mile run — in 2:07:04.
His parents, North teachers Mike and Patti Dason, went to Orlando, Fla., to see Nick win the Wildman Triathlon on March 18. They don’t plan on missing any races, especially considering Nick’s schedule doesn’t allow him much time to get back to Terre Haute.
“That’s why we go. I’m going to miss a [Patriots girls] track meet this spring,” said Mike, North’s longtime girls track coach. “We’re going to Tuscaloosa, [Ala.] for nationals.”
Nick and his teammates also enjoy the chance to take a weekend away from New York.
“You feel like a professional athlete for a weekend,” he said. “Everything is paid for by old [West Point] graduates.”
Plus, you can’t beat the competition; even a good rivalry exists for he and his fellow cadets. The West Point team competed against Navy at the Lone Star Triathlon. Two Navy midshipmen finished ahead of Dason.
The collegiate nationals triathlon is April 21 and is priority No. 1 for Dason and his teammates. Two more weeks of solid training — fitting in 10-12 hours between studying and five hours of sleep per night — before tapering off before the nationals.
Does Dason imagine himself competing in Hawaii in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship?
“Maybe eventually, not anytime soon,” he said. “The commitment level for that is much higher. You’re training 20 hours a week to jump up to that distance [2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run].”
For now, Dason is focused on his career. He’ll graduate in December from West Point. Then he has a five-year commitment to fulfill to the Army. He hopes to enter aviation training.
“I really like the Army,” he said. “I could see myself making a career out of it, but I’m not going to overcommit myself. My long-term goals are to graduate, continue to race triathlon, and if I have an opportunity to go to next level, I’m going to do it.”
Given to Fly
April 7, 2007
Given to Fly: Former TH North standout Dason thrives at West Point
- Given to Fly
-
-
GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Records are definitely meant to be broken; athletes today are faster and stronger than those in the past in many endeavors in athletics.
-
GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
-
GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
-
FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
-
'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
-
'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
-
'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
-
'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
-
'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
-
Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
-
Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
-
Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
- More Given to Fly Headlines
-
GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Suspect in Killing of Officer Found Dead in Cell
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Officials: Truck Hit Bridge Before Collapse
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
Today in History May 24
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
Sheriff: No Sign Killing of 2 Kids Was Planned
ShowBiz Minute: Pickler, Franklin, Potter
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
