How Trent McFarland Went From a 4:13 Walk-On to 3:52 NCAA Contender — And Why Nobody in the NCAA Can Stop His Kick

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month. A few years ago, Trent McFarland was a 413 mileer from Michigan. No national meets,

no big offers, no one outside his home state knew his name. Today is running 352 school record

for the University of Michigan. Today is running 352, a school record for the University of Michigan,

and telling anyone who will listen if he's still in the race with a lap to go, it's over.

And those are bold words a week before the 2026 NCAA indoor national championships.

This conversation breaks down how Trent had his breakthrough from 413 to a 352 mileer,

and what it means for every runner who's ever felt like they were behind in once a breakthrough

themselves. If you enjoy this conversation, give us a five star view. It takes next to no time.

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McFarland and make sure you share the podcast with a friend or a teammate or a family member.

That's the easiest way in which we can grow and have the impact I ultimately want this podcast to

have. I hope you guys all enjoy this legendary conversation with the man with the most lethal

kick in the NCAA. Mr. Trent McFarland, USA.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm doing something today I never thought I would do. I grew up in Tulito,

Ohio. So it was on the border of Ohio and Michigan. So I was not too passionate,

moved to Austin, then moved to Columbus, and I got indoctrinated. I'm a massive fan of

the Ohio State University. So I never thought I'd invite someone from the team up north on the

podcast. But when you're running the performance says that Mr. McFarland, USA, is running,

it's an open invite. This guy's taken over the nation. Trent, how you doing, man? Welcome to the

podcast. I'm good. How are you? I'm glad to be on here. I'm excellent. First question for you.

I mean, you kind of came out of nowhere, I feel like. I'm sure it hasn't felt that way for you.

I'm sure you've worked really hard at this sport for years. But I feel like last month,

you really put your name on the map. What's kind of the homecoming been like?

I mean, it's been good. It's been good to kind of see these performances kind of fruition

into these good races and good marks. So yeah, a lot of work over the past three, three years or

whatever now. So yeah, it's been great to be able to finally see really taking these big steps

forward on national stage and being able to kind of get my name out there and see the results.

Your class of 2027, right? Yeah. When I think about that class, I think of Connor Burns,

Simon Burnbaum, Jackson Heidech, you know, that whole squad of guys, Aaron Solomon, who were

breaking for in high school. I mean, what were you doing as a senior in high school? Did anyone

know your name? You know, not really. Like I, like statewide in Michigan, I was, I was like,

well-known. Like I was back-to-backstage champion, the 800. So like, I was, I was winning races

on the state level, but I really never made it to any, any national meets or anything of that

source. So yeah, it was, it's a lot different, like seeing those guys in high school and seeing

what they were doing and breaking for and all these national races where they're running these

crazy fast times and I was just sitting at home and just relaxing at my, at my small high school

races and kind of, it's a lot more chill, not, not really stressed about anything really. So,

yeah, it's, it's very different from from what they were doing.

Was there ever any insecurity, you know, back in the day, junior, senior year, seeing other kids

go to the meets you wanted to? I think, I think definitely. Like you always have to be,

I think a lot of people talk about like not comparing yourself to others, but at the end of

the day, it's something that's very real. Like everyone kind of sees what other people are doing

and they're, they want to be in those positions. So I think definitely a little bit of insecurity,

but I had to just know that like the work that I was putting in was, was real and, and whatever I

was getting out of it was, was what I was putting in. So I just had to stay the course and,

and, and be patient and be consistent, be dedicated and, and just keep working.

Michigan kid threw in through, growing up in the state, now run for University of Michigan.

I'm sure that means a lot to you kind of keeping it in state. I'm sure you feel a little bit of a

chip on your shoulder, not getting the big wig offers from, you know, CU or Stanford or,

what does that feel like to, you know, be homegrown and, and represent now be a school record holder

for, for the state you call home? I think it's great. Like I, I wouldn't say I like didn't have

an interest to go other places. Like I, I definitely would have liked to be a, a crazy like

top or true in, in the country and, and have offers to go anywhere I wanted to go to, but,

I get the end of the day, I think, growing up in Michigan, I did always just want to go to Michigan.

So being able to actually live that, that dream that I, that I had, uh, that long time ago was,

is, is great now. Like being able to, yeah, be from my home state and having another,

a bunch of other guys on, on the team that are also the same way and they've been from Michigan.

Some of them were Michigan state fans, which is, we've converted them to Michigan fans now, but,

yeah, it's, uh, it's a cool thing, you know, like I get to, I get to see my parents when they,

when they come down and watch races at our, at our indoor track that we have a, we have a,

we have a pretty nice facility here. So like that's, that's another like added benefit. Um,

well, yeah, I, I love it. I didn't have to, I didn't have to make a lot of adjustments,

traveling across the country. So, um, I think it's been, it's been, been pretty smooth and pretty,

pretty easy. So you grew up, uh, Michigan fan, not, not Michigan state. Yeah, definitely,

definitely not Michigan state. So big, big, big day on Sunday. How do we feel about it?

I'm excited. I mean, I think, uh, I think we're going to kick their butt, but you never know,

nowadays in college basketball, anything, anything can happen. So we just gotta, we just gotta get it done.

Hey, I mean, no, I got to bite my tongue here, but knowing Michigan, y'all, y'all are going to win

the Nadi and then some scandals going to drop, you know, two weeks later. Yeah, we'll see.

Basketball though, I will say basket, I've always found it easier to, to root for, for Michigan basketball.

They seem, they seem to have their stuff together a little bit more. One of my favorite clips all

time, we were both in high school at the time, I think, was, uh, when Michigan played Wisconsin and

one Howard, one Howard, however you say his name, yeah, took a swipe at the, the Wisconsin coach,

and the, the commentators like, we got a scrum in Madison later. Yeah, it was one of the funniest

calls. Yeah, that was the moment, like, that was one of the most insane moments. I've, I've ever

witnessed, especially from like a coach, like, you usually see like, I mean, players get, get a

little chippy out there and though, sometimes they'll look at a little antsy, maybe, maybe throw some,

some, some punches or some shoves, but like from, from a coach and seeing like, I mean, he, he went

to Michigan, he was a, a really good basketball player here. So like, that one kind of hurt, like,

knowing that he was kind of capable of losing his temper like that on another coach. So yeah,

that was, that was not, not a good, uh, not a good showing for the university.

If people want to be entertained, look up, uh, scrum in Madison, Michigan,

versus Wisconsin, the, the call, the call is amazing from whoever the announcer was, um, talking

back to, back to running. Um, I feel like Michigan's a program that historically has had a lot of

individual success, uh, but it's been a little bit since that period. Like, I remember having

been flan again back on, on the podcast back in the day and he obviously had his breakout

moment and you look at the woman's team. I feel like every couple of years they might do something

across, uh, but I feel like the program, you know, when I saw you do it, you did at big 10s. I was

like, oh, I kind of forgot that Michigan was relevant. And I think that's how a lot of other

people felt. What's the kind of internal discussion with the guys of like, we want to put ourselves

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Yeah, I mean, that's definitely a real thing. Like we, like coming in freshman year, I wasn't really

like, I wasn't really too concerned about how we were performing as a team. Like, yeah, I know it's

it's a difficult ask, especially in track, more so than cross country, because you got to get

what is it? Like 30 or 50 or whatever, how many athletes we have on the total track team?

Everyone has to be bought in, and that's a lot more difficult than

asking of 20 guys on the cross team or 15 guys on the cross team. So, yeah, it was definitely

definitely a real thing. Like we, I think, our motivation and our, like, dedication throughout

the whole team has definitely only been on the rise the past couple of years, and

it's come internally from the distance guys, I would say, more so, especially like the mile group,

I think definitely our strongest group, even 800 group is also one of the stronger ones. So,

it's come from those guys, and just having people like myself, I feel like I've contributed

greatly to that, just kind of talking with the guys and kind of putting those performances together

that I can inspire other guys to kind of be like, oh, like if I'm running with him every day,

I can do similar things, or I can run those times that he ran last year, or whatever it is.

So, yeah, it's definitely been a real thing, and we definitely have felt like

like no one really cares about us in the Big 10, especially with the new teams that came in.

Like those, some of the schools are really track, heavy schools that

pushed us down the order a little bit more. So, yeah, just knowing that our time's coming,

and we just got to keep putting in the work every day, and there's also shown, like this year

coming in, and we were projected 8th or 7th in the Big 10 on paper, and we came home with

fourth place, and that was contributed like highly to from our distance guys, like we scored

bunch of points in the mile, we scored points in the 600, scored a point in the 5K, so DMR,

yeah, it's been a real thing, but I think we got the momentum in our favor right now.

So, good high school career, specifically in Michigan, go to Michigan.

Question for you is like, you go to a Stanford and NAU, like let's take any of you, for example,

you go in the, you know, the standard is excellent, the standard is winning a championship.

At a Michigan, you come in, and it's like, I feel like a lot of kids in the past, in your shoes,

they kind of rest on their laurels, and they never really do anything.

Was there a defining moment for you that made you think, okay, you know, I might not be at the

best running school in the U.S. right now, but I still want to win a NCAA title, and I still

want to do all the things I thought I could in high school. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I had a

similar upbringing here as I did in high school. I had another upper class in my event area,

kind of that kind of took on like a mentor role, so like I had Nick Foster two years ago,

my freshman year that I kind of looked at what he was doing, and how he approached things,

and yeah, like he knew how the team was going, but we knew that we could we could turn around

if we had the right attitude and adopted the right type of culture. So yes, similar to me in high

school, I had a, when I was a freshman, there was a junior on the team that had all the school

records, and just kind of seeing what he, how he approached it. Like again, we didn't have one

of the top teams in the state, but we just stayed the course and put in the work every day. So,

yeah, definitely here knowing that maybe our team isn't the greatest ever, but knowing that we

can make it better, and you just have to keep working. You can't ever really be satisfied,

especially in the NCAA nowadays. These kids don't play around. They're a limp big level, some of

them. So they're the best guys in the world, and you have to, you have to bring your A game every day,

and you gotta, you can't take any days off. You can't, you can't be satisfied. You always

gotta be keep working and moving forward. But yeah, definitely, I wouldn't say I always had a

goal of winning NCAAs. Like I, I came in freshman year as a 4-13-mileer, a 1-1-5-800 guy, 9-14 in

the 32. Like I, I wasn't like a, a super sought after recruit that was like coming in and like

already expected to score points or make NCAAs or whatever it is. So that was kind of something

that was unexpected, but it's no, like it's the credit of my work and the work that we've

put in as a team and as a coaching staff and like whatever. So it's all, it's all come together

because of, because of everyone's contribution. So it makes sense.

Was there a defining moment early on in your career that you had a mindset shift of like,

I gotta get serious, or do you think day one on campus you're pretty serious about your goals?

I think there definitely was a defining moment. I would say probably

cross-country was definitely not that moment. I freshman year cross-country, I've read

and I kind of just came through and like, oh, I'm not going to be a cross-country guy. I'm not,

I don't, I don't matter right now to the team. So I don't really have to have to work as hard or

I don't really, I don't really care as much. It was kind of the attitude and that changed very quickly,

freshman year indoors. Got to run the mile and found where I thought I belonged and ended up

scoring at Big Ten's. But I had guys in front of me like, like, Adam Spencer, who is a, is a great

mileer and he's an Olympian. So I had Nick Foster in front of me. I had Evan Doran Camp, who had

really good success in the, in the Big Ten before, for the new Big Ten and then, then going to

Oregon. So like, I think I would say that is the defining moment. I, I got fourth place in

that field and I thought I was, I thought I was like satisfied with that and I looked at those

guys and what they were achieving in the national level and that was kind of where I was like, okay,

like, this is a, this is a reality. I need to get serious now and, and know that I can get there

one day if I, if I just approach it like these guys do and, and kind of, kind of, yeah, lock in a

little bit more. How important is getting that, like, quote-unquote first win. Like, even just having

the chance indoors to race Big Ten and get your ass handed to you by a guy like Adam. But still,

having a win in your book of like, oh, I'm in the, in the, you know, Big Ten championship. I

know a lot of high schoolers who it's like when they get to varsity, it's a win and then they like

lose and that motivates them. Yeah, no, definitely. I, like, I've, I mean, I've had bad races. I've

had failures and I've had successes and some of them, some of my failures, I've, I've learned,

or almost all my failures, I've learned more from than than the, the, the races I've won. So

definitely, like, going into that and, and failing and knowing that, like, um, or I guess not,

I mean, like, like, failing in this sense that you got forth, but not failing in the sense that,

like, look at the guys that I lost to and, and I can take a, I can take some from that and learn

from that and, and use it in the future. But yeah, getting, you just got to get those small wins.

Like, I came in fresh when you're indoors and I opened up with like three straight,

hundreds, I think it was at our home races and, and I won, I won two out of the three and, and

like, um, it was just so important. I felt to, to kind of get that relief of, of each finally,

you finally got your win or you finally got your, you're kind of turning point to where you can,

you can kind of make those big strides to, to the next race and, and just keep moving,

keep moving forward and keep building that momentum. What's your advice to a 413 mile or listening

today who is right on the edge of like, oh gosh, I don't even know what that's doing. It's

double A now, uh, the edge of going D1 or like getting into their dream school, but they have hope

someone like you that, I mean, 413 to 352 and you're not done yet, progression is, is crazy. So

I think a lot of kids feel that where it's like, okay, I'm good, but I'm not great, but I'm good

enough where I know I could be great. What would you say to them? Um, I would just say like don't,

I would say don't give up. Like there was definitely times where I like, yeah, like we mentioned

it earlier, like looking across the country and high school and you're seeing these other

other kids run these crazy fast times and even nowadays where I'm sitting here and I'm seeing

16 year old run 348 and, and I'm still four seconds off 348 and, and I'm four years older than him.

So it's, you kind of have to just know that it's, it's hard to not compare yourself, but you have

to just, you have to not, not take it as seriously in, in the sense of the comparisons and just know

that if you're, if you believe you're doing the right thing and um, you just continue doing the

right thing and don't give up and, and stay dedicated and know that your time will come eventually

and like everyone, almost everyone has, has break the races at some point. So I think if you just

keep putting the work, stay dedicated, don't give up, don't, don't, uh, don't compare yourself too

much. Like obviously it's good to compare yourself because at the end of the day, if like, if

you're not getting better and other people are, then you're, you're getting worse. So you have to,

you definitely have to keep putting the work and, and just stay, stay on the grind.

What do you do when you experience those moments of doubt or those low moments? What goes through

your head? How do you get out of those moments? Um, it's, it's very difficult. Like I think it's,

it's a very real thing and I think people try to try to like avoid it all the time. I think a

lot of people, a lot of people, experts on our team, which this works for them and like Brendan

Herger, for example, he's, he's a crazy, crazy, good athlete. Um, and not many people know about him

yet, but he's just like, he's just super fun to be around and he just takes it all, he just takes

it all very unsuriously and he just has so much fun with, with, with running and that's like,

that's one way I think to look at it is just to have fun with it and not really, not really,

it's not life or death. Like it's just another race and, and we, it's such a, it's such a crazy

like blessing to be able to be in the position to be a division one athlete and be able to run

every day and, and be healthy and, and race and line up. So you don't want to, you don't want to

like lose the race before you even run it in that kind of sense. So you don't want to, don't

want to beat yourself up before you even step on the line and kind of, kind of get yourself out

of it. So you're gonna, that's one way to look at it is just have fun, but for me, I would just say,

like one thing I use at Arkansas, for example, was just knowing that you belong on the track and

you belong in those races. So whenever you feel like you're comparing yourself to others and you

think that, oh, this guy is so great and he's running these times and I'm not, you just have to

step on the track and, and just know that you belong, you belong in those races and, and you're,

you're ready for big performances and you just have to line it up and, and, and go for it.

You've become known for your, your lethal kick. Was this, you know, existing in middle school or

has this kind of been developed the odd time? Um, I would say, I, I always had it in a, in a,

in a certain sense, like in high school running the running 800 more than, than the mile I

kind of came from more of a, like speed, speed type of, type of background-ish, but I still ran

like cross-country and stuff and whatever, but, um, yeah, I think I, like in, in high school, I was

kind of like both the ways I won, I won states in high school was, was from a kick and I kind of

just sat behind, sat behind the leaders until the last, last 200 and then just, just let it rip. So

I think I've, I've always had it, um, to a certain extent, but it's, it's only been elevated in college.

This year is very, is very weird though. I, we haven't done that much, that much real top speed

or, or speed training type workouts and, and for some reason, my, my speeds at all time high and

I don't, I don't think that anybody in the NCAA can keep up with me. So it's, it's kind of a,

kind of a weird thing to, to say and to think about that I haven't really, really touched any speed

in practice, but it's a, yeah, I kind of feel, kind of feel unstoppable right now with, with, with

one lap to go, but, um, yeah, I think I've, I think I've always had it. If you're, you know, within

a second of the leader with a lap to go, mileage, EMR, are you coming out on top? Yeah. Hell yeah.

So we feel good, we feel good going to NCAA's then. Yeah, definitely.

Is that, uh, innate confidence? Is that coach confidence? Is that family confidence? Where's

that come from? Um, I would say it's a, it's a little bit of, I would say it's definitely,

I don't know, I, it's a little bit of all is of all, I guess, like, like, I, I have a really,

really good relationship with, with my coach and, and Sully's great and he, he knows what's a,

kind of say to, to get me, get me fired up and get me locked in and he, he knows that I thrive

very, very well off confidence. So, um, yeah, I think it definitely helps having him on,

having him on your side and knowing that he believes in you and there's no like, obviously,

there's added pressure and there's external factors that that make you nervous or anxious,

but just knowing that he's in your corner always and, um, yeah, I mean, he lives, he lives for

the moment as much as, as much as I do, if you, if you go back and watch any of the big races,

I've run, like, you can see him in the background getting, getting excited, running down the side

of the track and throwing his arms in the air, but, but yeah, it's definitely, definitely from him,

it was one thing and, and also, like, family, like, my, my dad was, like, he was super hard on me,

like, all my life. So, it's, it's made it, it's made it worth, worth the, worth a while in the,

in the end, knowing that he, he's like, even though, even though he can be hard on you, it's not from

a place of, of neglect or anything like that, he always just wants the best for me and he wants me

to be at my best as much as I can. So, having him in my corner and, like, he'll give me a little

text before the race and just, just know that he knows that I'm going to go, go kick butt and,

yeah, just, just get it done. But also, it is also something that I've, I've developed myself, like,

I, I've kind of come from a place of, like, yeah, in high school insecurity, like, seeing those

guys run those crazy times in the, in the, in the country and knowing that I wasn't running those

times yet, I kind of had to shift my, shift my, um, insecurity into confidence and kind of know

that, like, I am who I am because of the work I put in and just know that I'm, I am putting the

work in that I, that I need to put in and I am doing things the right way. I think integrity is

a very big thing for me too. So, doing things the right way and knowing that I'm on a, on a good

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You mentioned your dad being hard on you growing up. Did you ever resent him, you know,

for, for being so hard on you and what's it been like to, to see all the, the work pay off?

Um, I would say, I would say no, but it definitely was like,

like, there was, there's obviously times when I was younger, I was like, I just couldn't get a break

of this and I was, I was, I was fed up with it. But, um, I mean, yeah, like in the back of my mind,

it was always like, okay, like, I, I believe he's doing this for the right reason. And,

and obviously, I see now that it, it's paid off, it's paid its dividends. So, um,

resent no, but there was definitely a time where I was like, yeah, like, I could, I could get sick of

this pretty soon. Uh, I just asked because I think it's something a lot of, a lot of kids can

really do. And, you know, for my perspective, I think it's more about the kid and their

receptivity. I mean, it works on some kids, other kids, it doesn't, I think it's the parent,

it's, it's knowing which kids to push, which, which kids to hold back. Because if you push a kid who's

already driven, like, he's gonna, he's gonna go too far. Um, yeah, but some kids need a,

open the bot to get going. If they want to get where they want to go. Yeah, I mean, it doesn't, uh,

uh, he tried, uh, he tried, I have a younger sister. So she, she, she was a runner, but, you know,

it doesn't, it's not like you said, it's not gonna work with everybody. So she, she doesn't handle

it the same way that I do. But, um, yeah, it's, it's, uh, I think it's, I think it's paid off for me.

So I'm, I'm glad he did it. It was worth the, it was worth the, the tears as a, as a younger kid.

Was he, uh, was he like forcing you to run or, or, or what? Um, no, it's just like, just

habits. Like he, he, he wasn't a runner. None, none of my parents were, I mean, my mom ran,

like the 400 in high school, but she, I mean, she wasn't like a crazy athlete, but both my

parents played basketball in high school and that was their, that was their sport that they really

liked and, and my dad was, he loves baseball as well. So baseball is my first sport and, um,

just like instilling habits, like going outside and, and hitting hundreds of baseballs a day and,

and making sure you got the right form and you can't leave until you do it the right way and,

like, all that stuff. So, and then basketball's the same way. You're shooting hundreds of,

hundreds of shots a day, hundreds of threes a day and you, like, you're not going inside until,

until you get the, get the form right or you make this many. So it's just like, knowing that

all that work that I put in and, and building those habits of just like rinsing, rinsing and

repeating those, those, those skills and, and not, not settling for less than perfection is,

is something that I, I use, I mean, even now, like I, I, I want to be perfect and everything

that I do and, and obviously it's, you can't be perfect every day, you can't be perfect every race,

but getting as close to perfect as you can will, will only help you, um, perform at the, at the best.

So, at your best. So, um, yeah, that's definitely, that's definitely kind of where it comes from.

Dad wanted that Olympic sun. I can, I can respect the game. I can, yeah. It's going to be me one day.

What's funny though, is like running. There's only so much, like, I wonder if that was more

geared towards running. There's only so much you can do. Like, without those sports, you can work so,

like, running is hard. Don't give me wrong, but there's so much more you can do in other sports.

Like, theoretically, your arm's not going to fall off if you shoot a thousand free throws and you

probably could get better than where you shoot. With running, it's like you can only run so much or run so

hard. You know, yeah, yeah, you just get injured or you're just, yeah, that, that, no, definitely.

And, and it was kind of, it was kind of weird. Like, um, yeah, they, they didn't know much about running

in high school. So it was, it was kind of a new thing, even for me too. Like, I was very unfamiliar with it.

And, um, yeah, when did you make the shift?

It was going into high school. I had to choose between, between baseball and track because

they're the same season. So I couldn't play both. And, um, I played, or I ran across country in

the fall. My freshman year, because, I mean, I wasn't like, I wasn't super big. I was going to

play football. So, and I wanted to do something. I was like, oh, I'll just run across country. I'll,

I'll get, I'll get fit for basketball or whatever it is. So, and then I ran across country. And I was

by the end of the year. My freshman year, I was second or third best runner on the team. And,

and I was like, oh, maybe this is a, this can be a real thing for me. So yeah, going into the spring,

I was like, oh, I got to choose between track and baseball. And I'm not really like, I think,

I could be better at track than I was at baseball, even though baseball was my best sport back then.

So, um, yeah, it was a rough, it was a rough decision to, to choose baseball as that was my,

my first sport that I played. So, it was tough, but yeah, I made the, made the switch and it,

it kind of, it paid off. Going back to time out, Sally, who, who you

mentioned, he's funny because he's really accomplished coach, but I feel like he massively flies

under the radar. Like, if you said a different coach's name, I wouldn't have been shocked.

Maybe that's just me not falling this board crazy closely, but I feel like I know it enough

to know who's in it. I feel like he, he kind of likes being in the shadows. And then every

few years, like I said, with Ben Flanagan, like the last time I really heard about the guy was

sort of Ben Flanagan era, um, and his story is training Ben around Ben's races and, um,

when Ben won the 10K and everything behind that. What's your, uh, coach athlete relationship

like with him? And, uh, do you think he deserves more flowers given he, he really doesn't really

take credit or praise. It's not really out there. Yeah, I mean, like I said earlier, like we,

we have a, we have a great relationship. I think we're, we're very, we're very similar people in,

in the track type of, type of setting, like, like what we, what we believe in on the track and,

and how we train and, um, the type of like runners that we are in a, in a sense, but he's,

he's definitely a more, he's definitely a more shy person. And, and he, yeah, he does very much

flying to the radar. He doesn't really, he doesn't really like being in the spotlight as much.

He kind of, he kind of lets that, lets that be, um, like how it is. He kind of wants his athletes

to be more in the spotlight. And he kind of just sits back and doesn't really take as much credit

as, as I think he deserves, but yeah, I think he definitely deserves his, his flowers as,

as an athlete and a coach, like I think a lot of people forget that he's an Olympian and, and the,

one of the most accomplished Canadians in, in all of track. So it's, uh, he definitely

deserves his flowers there, but also as a coach, he's like he's had some, some crazy good athletes

that have, uh, ran under him and, yeah, I think that a lot of people don't know that or they forget

that and they don't give him as much credit as he deserves, especially like with our, with our team now.

Um, I think he coaches the mile guys the best just because that's the event he, he loves like that's,

that's his event. So he knows how to, how to coach us the best. He knows how to prepare us the best.

Um, I think our mid D crew is, is with the eight and the miles that is the best, if not one of the

best in the country and that's, that's because of him and, and what he has like kind of instilled in

us coaching wise and training wise and whatever. So yeah, I think definitely he flies into the radar

when, when I think he, he should, he should be a little bit more bold and a little bit more, uh,

celebrated, but yeah. Stay, uh, stay mysterious. That's, that's the theme in 2026. Coach

Stella is on a perpetual winner arc. It sounds like just, yeah, yeah. Stay in the shadows. Um,

you mentioned that you hadn't done too much speed work and you're kind of surprised with how good

your kick was off this strength work. Is that sort of intentional? Just like focusing on, on

outdoors versus indoors and with the really good kicked indoors thus far without too much speed

work. Do you think a lot of it's come from like racing in the shape?

Um, I would say, I would say maybe, uh, I think I think I'm really like, I, I don't have any,

I don't have a clue. Like I've done, I would say like the strength stuff like you mentioned,

that that was definitely a focus. I wanted to like use the, the big block I had from cross country

and, and kind of use that to my advantage knowing that I didn't have that last year. And I think,

um, strength indoors in the miles is so much more, uh, useful than people realize. And so I've

kind of, I definitely wanted to use that to my advantage and, and use my strength to kind of

propel me to those, to those new, those new highs and those new marks. Um, we had a speed stuff not

being there was definitely not, not super intentionally. It was more so to do with like kind of like

injury-ish kind of thing that I had going on early season indoors. I like, I tweaked my hamstring

a couple times, um, doing like some top speed stuff, kind of, kind of racing guys in practice.

Like that's, that's kind of our, our thing sometimes some guys get competitive and,

you know, you don't want to, I, I can't lose anybody like I, it hurts me to lose. So I had to,

I have to race them and, and sometimes we go a little too fast on some reps and

that's when the form breakdown happened, that's when injuries happened. So stuff like that creeps up and

we just wanted to be smart with it and luckily it didn't, it hasn't inhibited me at all. Like I've been,

I've been as strong as I think I've ever been. So um, but yeah, it definitely wasn't, uh,

it definitely wasn't intentional. That's, that was, that's the reason why we've avoided it a little

bit. But then I've been surprised that I've been able to keep up my speed so well.

A year ago, if I was to talk to you, would you be surprised that you'd go on a podcast and

state if I'm there with lap to go, I'm gonna win an NCAA title? Yes, I think, uh, like being in

the position I am now, it's, like I wouldn't have expected to run 352. Honestly, I, I, I even,

like every season I go, I go through and I, and I put my like goals for each race. I want to

make sure that I'm like, I'm very goal driven and I want to make sure that I have a clear headspace

and know what, know what each race is for and the goal for each race and, and what I can accomplish,

meet by me. So I like, I went down the list and I, and I named out what I, what I wanted to do each

race and, and this year I had, I had Arkansas down at 354. Like I, I didn't think that I was gonna

run 352. The goal was just to run the school record, which was 354 mid. So that was, yeah, that was

the goal and I definitely surprised myself and I, I definitely would be surprised if you asked

me a year ago that I would be competing for an NCAA championship and, and having one of the,

one of the strongest kicks in NCAA that, that I can win with a, with a lap to go and, and if I'm

still on the race. So I would be, I would be surprised, yeah. Not to, to make you choose like

favorite child type B, but uh, you could only choose one NCAA title, DMR or mile, what you're choosing.

I think I would choose, I think I would choose the DMR. I think like being there with my boys and,

and knowing that we have, we ran the NCAA lead this year and, and you never know like the,

the team could be different next year and I mean the team will be different. We have, we have one

guy graduating. So it's like, um, knowing that this is kind of our year to, to do it and we're,

we're the favorites and, in the sense that we're the NCAA leaders. I think, uh, I would definitely

choose that one if I had to choose one of the two, but, um, yeah, it's just, it's just so fun.

I won't be bad either. Yeah, I mean, I mean, I'm going for both. So it's, either one will be good,

but, uh, yeah, DMR, I would definitely choose over only because, yeah, your run I'm not there with

your guys like, um, like there's just no better feeling than, than knowing you're a part of a,

a team that's so talented that you can run the NCAA lead and the number three all conditions,

DMR or whatever it is. So, um, yeah, I definitely want to go out there and, and bring it home for

the boys. Has Michigan ever won the DMR? Um, I believe that Sully anchored the DMR to,

to a nationals win, um, when he was in school, but I'm not, I'm not 100% familiar with that,

but I also think they, um, might have won one under like Nick Willis, uh, was a, was anchor. He might,

he might have won one as well as Nate Brandon might have also anchored a, anchored a team to win. So,

I don't think they've won that many, but I think they've definitely, there's definitely some guys

that could, that could have got it done. Yeah, in a league company, if you, you get it done,

all those names, I'm sure a lot of our audiences familiar with the DM, the DMR, if, if you're not

familiar with track, DMR is one of the most exciting events. I wish we had it outdoors more. It's,

it's electric. Yeah, I think that's why it's like, it's going to be a big focus for us at Penn,

bringing home a wheel. Like, I thought we, we ran good last year in the, in the 4x8, but, um, yeah,

we were really close to getting it, getting it done. Just came down to the, the last leg, um,

and we were, we were in it, but just, just fell a little bit short and got third. So it's, um,

yeah, we're excited to get back there and, and run a relay. Maybe that's DMR, maybe it's 4x8,

maybe it's 4x9, like we, we don't, we don't know what to, what to do yet, but we're just hoping to

bring home a wheel and, and do it for a, do it for the team. Obviously, only a junior, a big future

ahead, not then the world, if things don't pan out your way this year. I'm sure pressure on

yourself that, that you want to get things done this year, but what's your kind of mindset knowing

that you have, you know, longevity in your career, left, and maybe also coming to terms with

like, oh, I, I can definitely do this at, at the next stage now and, uh, big, big things that

for me, I don't have to rush anything. Um, I mean, yeah, like I, I definitely like to, like,

live in the moment and, and not, not think about like, I don't know, I think people don't appreciate,

like what they have and until it's, it's gone, right? So you have to, you gotta live in the moment and

know that like what I'm doing right now is, is a very real thing and, and what I can, what I have

dreamed of achieving is something that I can achieve right now, but it also is good to, to know like,

oh, if, if something goes wrong and it's not, like if something goes wrong and I lose, it's,

it's not the end of the, end of the world. You get, there's more races to be run and, and those,

there's more NCAA championships to, to be at and like, yeah, that was like a, a very real thing

for me in outdoor season last year, I felt that I, I underperformed at the national meet in the 15.

So it's, it's something that you have to, you have to learn from and just know that there is

going to be more races as long as you, you stay focused and, um, stay locked into the task at hand

and, and not get, not get overwhelmed and not get, I don't know, not get complacent. You have to,

you kind of just have to keep, keep moving forward and yeah, know that there's, there's more

opportunities and, and yeah, like going on to, going on to professionally, like that's,

that's definitely a goal of mine and knowing that, like, I'll be able to run even faster as a professional

or, or, or make the Olympic team or, or whatever it is. So be a national champion, um, for the US,

like anything like that, those, those things definitely motivate me, knowing that those things are

coming and seeing some of the guys that, like I look up to and, and seeing what they're achieving

and the, on the, like, professional stage, that definitely, uh, that definitely motivates me too.

Seems like every couple of years, you know, the event to look at on the US stage that

collegets are really good at in comparison to the pros is the men's 1500, uh, and you're talking about

sort of, you know, what you can do in the future in terms of winning US championships or making teams.

How much do you key on guys like Ethan Strand or guys in the past, Nathan Green, uh, Joe Asuka,

who have made teams, um, in the past, uh, as collegets knowing that there's actually not too much

of a gap between what you're doing now in the pros. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I, I definitely key on

that a lot. Like I, like racing Nathan Green and, and Ethan Strand last year at NCAA Nationals,

like, those guys are, they are next level in the sense that they're, they're the top of the,

of the field, like, that they went one to NCAA. So they are, they are elite athletes and,

but knowing that I was in that race with them and, and I can, I can be at the level that they're at,

um, in time and just knowing that that's, that's the trajectory, trajectory that I'm on. But,

no, definitely, I, I would lean on, I would lean on those guys because, like, I, I came in freshman

and made regionals, um, in the 15 outdoors and, um, Nick Foster, who was my mentor and my team

at the time, who was also there. Um, key, we walk up to check in and it's, it's Ethan Strand and he

says, what's up to him? And like, he introduces him to me. It's like, it's a, it's such a great,

like, interaction and whatever. And just knowing that, like, at the moment, or in that moment,

I was like, holy crap, like, it's Ethan Strand, like, whatever and like, seeing how much better he

was at the time and then actually being able to race those guys at regionals and then race them

at nationals and just know that, that is the level I want to be on and that's the level that I'm

about to be on is, is a, is a good feeling and yeah, I would say I definitely lean on, lean on that

type of, that's about mindset and those, I've definitely lean on those guys and knowing the,

knowing that I'm, I'm coming. President Barack Obama. Virginia, we are counting on you.

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Talking about winning an NCAA title this year next, but we'll speak specifically about next

weekend. What would it mean for you to win your first NCAA title specifically with what you

could call an unorthodox journey to get to the top? It would definitely, it would definitely mean,

it would mean the world. I don't think it would fully set in that I'm an NCAA champion.

I think a lot of people dream of that, especially people that are in the NCAA and competing for

that. Everyone wants that to be their goal. It definitely would be surreal and I would

be surprised, not in the sense that I don't think I can do it, but surprise in the sense that I

achieved that, because I can remember running for the first time going into high school and not

knowing anything about anything and just not even being familiar at all with what I could achieve,

and then now being at the NCAA competing at the highest level and winning NCAAs would definitely be,

yeah, it would just be a dream come true. What advice do you have for those out there who

want to make a similar shift that you did in terms like year-over-year crazy breakthrough? What's

your message to them in 2026? You just have to do things the right way. You have to be

integral. You have to be dedicated. No one's going to run the races for you. No one's going to

put the work in for you. Whatever you put out on the track every day in practice is what you're

going to get. You just have to make sure that you're focused and locked it and your goal driven and

you know where you want to be and you know where you think you can be and then I would also just say

you have to shoot for the stars. You can't ever, for example, or last year outdoors in the 15,

my goal was to be a top eight all-american. I wanted to be on that podium and get one of those

trophies and I think I kind of sold myself short on just going for eighth. I was six tenths off

winning the race and I didn't even think that I, it didn't cross my mind that I could have won

and I think that's a poor way to look at it. You have to always think that you're in the race

and you're in the race because you belong in the race and you have to go into it and understand

that it's a very real possibility that you could win and I think if you think that you can achieve

something, I would say you should aim higher. I think I understood myself this year thinking

that I could only run 354 and that thinking that that was the goal. I should have came in and said,

let's shoot, I'm going to go run 350 and then if I ran 352 then I would still be super excited

with that. I would just say as advice, just don't sell yourself short really. Go for your goals

because if you do fall a little bit short, I'm pretty sure you'd still be happy with the result

that you ended up with. Before you hop up, Ann Arbor, favorite food spot, favorite coffee spot,

what are we rocking with? Well, I'm not a huge coffee person but yeah, that's a way of

I need to get on I think but so I'm not the one to ask about the coffee spots but for food.

I don't know, there's I think like the go-to with my parents is hopcat. They got a little bit of

everything. I like a like a good burger from there or like a good thing a good plate of mac and cheese

but I would say best like restaurant. It's a little on the fan's ear side but not super expensive

is it's called Monty, M-A-N-I. Yeah, amazing. I was waiting for that. It's amazing. It's the

the vodka pasta like it's just like it's out of this world. It's amazing and another place that

I've I've gone with my parents is Paleo. It's another like Italian type place that that's a really

good place but yeah, I think those those couple are are top to your for sure. If you want to get into

coffee amazing dinner as well definitely fancier but coffee best chocolate one of the best chocolate

croissants like I'd say up there with croissants I've had from New York. It's called the Boro. It's

in Dixboro. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, go there great great spot

to fall in love with coffee and minimally incredible pastries. Check that out. So check that out. If

you win an NCAA title, I'll I'll drive up to Ann Arbor. I'll take you out to the Boro.

More motivation for you. Final, final, final, you have to put that under your calendar right now.

Let's go. Let's go. I'll get the AMX ready. I'll get the AMX ready. Final question for you man.

wrapping up this conversation. motto of of the podcast of of my life is helping people to turn

their what I've seen the reality turning the what if of what if I start a podcast change my life.

What is a what if that you've turned into a reality and how has it changed your life?

I would say I would say like what if you win like I think a lot of people approach

approach things and like I said earlier they don't they don't understand that they could win or

they don't understand that everything could go right. They they only plan for what could go wrong.

So I think it's a very real thing that that I sit down with and and I kind of I kind of made

it a theme this year to to kind of write out like I posted it from my Arkansas race. A lot

a couple of like some people saw it and some people some people enjoyed it. So I kind of just planned

out how the race was going to unfold or how I thought it was going to unfold or how I wanted it

to unfold and I kind of wrote down some words that I that I would repeat to myself to kind of stay

locked in and stay stay motivated. But yeah I would I would definitely say like what if you win

because yes I think so many people just think about what could go wrong and they're not really

concerned about what could go right and I think thinking about what could go right helps you not

fall into kind of a negative a negative spiral of just just anxiety and freaking out like you have

to just understand that yeah you belong and you belong on the on the track and you but I mean not

not everyone can win obviously but but people like someone has to win. So you just have to

understand that that could be you and you have to kind of hold on to that and just stay positive

and just know that yeah it could all it could all work out just the just the way it just the way it

should. Trent, appreciate the time. I love stories like yours because I think they're just with

this board needs it's what high schoolers in America need right now is you don't have to be the

best guy to ultimately end up the best. So as much as the bucking me he needs to say this I'll be

parts of me will be rooting for you next weekend I wish you all the best you're welcome back on

the podcast anytime and yeah thanks for sharing your story keep crushing them in. Yeah perfect thank

you for having me I enjoyed it a lot and I I enjoy sharing sharing my thoughts I think you know I

want to I want to I want to see more people like me out there like I want to see more people that

that have like just over a lenteless drive and and we have guys on our team that that I hope can

be inspired by the work that I put in and just know that yeah you don't have to be you don't have

to be the best in high school or you don't have to be the best in college but you can you can be the

best at something eventually and you just gotta you just gotta stay a two teams one cup the prime

time stage is set for the TGL presented by SoFi finals Los Angeles golf club versus Tiger's

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