Hornet men’s top
runner never misses a day
It’s the obvious question when talking about Skyler Delmott.
For 21 straight races to start his career, Delmott was the top finisher for Emporia State’s men’s cross country team, a streak that ended three weeks ago at Jones Park, when teammate Adam McGovern finished one place and three seconds ahead of him.
So the question, obviously, is how in the world did Delmott achieve such a streak of consistency?
“I start with the hard work he does,” coach Dave Harris said. “He’s the hardest worker on our team. He’s the hardest worker year round, and with a distance runner, that dictates a lot of how good they’re going to be, how consistent they’re going to be.”
Consistency — that’s another part of the equation.
Delmott lives a life of consistency. He does not miss a day of running. There are some weeks that he’s run 100 miles. During the season, he averages 70 miles per week. During the offseason, he starts at 40 to 50 miles and works up to 80 to 90 per week.
This summer he took a trip with the School of Education to Korea. During the trip, Delmott still ran every day.
“Little less mileage,” he admitted. “Pretty mountainous where we were at.”
Harris adds, “He’s willing to put in the time, whether it’s the middle of June when there’s no meets, or whether it’s on Chrismas holiday when no one is watching, he’s out there running.”
So what drives Delmott to run every single day?
It’s what has always made him a great runner. He won the Class 5A State championship his senior year at Emporia High and was recruited by Kansas State and the University of Kansas.
Success drives many, but there’s something that drives Delmott more than success.
As his teammates will tell you, he’s the most competitive runner on the team, something that’s been even more evident to McGovern since he beat Delmott.
“I can tell there’s a little bit more motivation to get in front of me on workouts,” McGovern said. “Since I beat him, we’ve both been running a lot faster.”
After the ESU Invitational, Delmott said he was happy for McGovern, but he admits it has been bugging him since.
“Ever since high school, I’ve never wanted to be beaten by a teammate, because they’re there all the time and they’re able to say, ‘Hey, I beat you,’” he said. “Whereas with the other schools, you only see them once a week or once a month. It does help to motivate me, because they’re there at practice, too.”
Last Friday at the Ollie Isom Invitational, McGovern beat Delmott again and so, too, did teammate Will Hohmeier.
Delmott was battling a hamstring strain; however, the fact that two teammates beat him is a sign that the program is making progress.
“Our program is really close to being good,” Harris said. “I would say that Skyler has had a lot to do with that. ... It’s by example that he leads. I think he’s passed that onto some guys on our team. They’re better off because Skyler Delmott was on their team.”
Delmott sees the progress and he looks forward to seeing what Emporia State can become once he graduates; however, his record ending makes him feel a little uneasy.
“I’ve thought about it a little bit, and it was cool while it lasted,” he said. “But now that’s it over, it’s like, ‘Well, somebody else is stepping up to take my place.’ It kind of makes me feel old.”
Delmott has a few final goals before his cross country career ends in the next month. On Saturday, the MIAA Championships are at Emporia State’s Jones Park, a course that Delmott has run many races on dating back to high school.
Delmott said winning would be tough, but “not out of the question.”
Last year, he finished fifth, and he would like to improve on that finish and make the All-MIAA team for the second straight year.
But he has one final goal — and probably the most important to him:
“Be the first runner for our team,” he said. “But have everybody else close behind.”