River View’s Wilson heading to Lake Erie

WARSAW – Nick Wilson has been a contributing member of the River View cross country and track team for four seasons.

His dedication was rewarded, as the senior signed his letter of intent to compete in both sports for Division II Lake Erie College Monday at River View High School.

“It’s the next chapter, and I will get to see how far I can push myself,” said Wilson, who will major in criminal justice.

Notre Dame College was the first to contact Wilson, but the setting of Lake Erie College influenced his decision.

“It’s very rural and feels like Coshocton,” he said. “It’s a beautiful place and the people were really nice. The hardest part of the transition will be living away from home, but from a running standpoint, the coaches said it won’t be too difficult, just different.”

Wilson runs several distance events in track, mainly the 1600 or 3200, and was part of this year’s cross-country team to reach state.

The experience of running since junior high should aid Wilson’s transition as well as understanding how he can improve.

“The whole experience and those memories of every single year of my career will help,” he said. “I have to work at getting my speed up because I usually run the same pace. When I run the 10K (next year), I have to speed up on my last three miles over my first three.”

Learning from two of the best distance runners in recent River View history, Steven Scheetz and Corey Miller, has benefited Wilson. Those lessons will provide Wilson a solid foundation going forward.

“Corey had long legs. He wasn’t the fastest, but he could stride out, and Steven is a pure athlete with a strong running mentality,” Wilson said. “I like to watch other runners’ forms and see how they run and try to correct my form off of theirs. I look up to (Miller and Scheetz) and want to get myself as close to their athletic abilities as I can.”

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Twitter: @brandonhannahs