Brian Holdmeyer admits he didn’t run his best during the regular track and field season, but that was OK.
The sophomore runner focused his energy on a more important race that would take place six weeks after his regular season ended: the USA Junior Championships.
In a field of 14 runners on June 22, Holdmeyer turned in a sixth-place finish in the 10,000-meter race at 31:46.91. He finished just short of his career-best time of 31:46.78, which he earned at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Conference Championships.
“After the A-10 race had ended, it was the first time in the track season where I wasn’t held back,” Holdmeyer said. “I didn’t have to think about anything besides doing well at the USA Juniors.”
With A-10s out of the way and only six weeks to prepare, Holdmeyer’s workouts became longer and harder than any he had seen all year.
Even though Holdmeyer came up just short of his personal best at Ohio State University, he finished four places higher than his initial seed. It was only the third time ever that he had run the 10K race.
Head track and field coach Jon Bell described Holdmeyer’s race as “beautifully executed.” He was one of only a few runners to match his qualifying time, which is why he placed higher than expected.
“[Holdmeyer] consistently moved up throughout the race, and, most importantly, he stuck to his race plan,” Bell said.
The weekend in Ohio was different than anything he had experienced all year, Holdmeyer said.
“Up until the end of the regular season, I had been going with the whole team to meets, and then I get to Ohio, and it was just me there with the coaches,” he said. “The atmosphere around the track and going on runs throughout the [OSU] campus, you just got the feeling that this was a really important meet and that everyone was going to be fast.”
Bell said that the whole experience was intimidating, even down to waiting in line for credentials with “the biggest and brightest names in track and field.”
Holdmeyer, though, did not seem phased by the big names. Bell said, if anything, the sophomore standout felt as though he belonged in the same arena as his prominent competitors.
It was an emotional experience for not only Holdmeyer, but also the coaches.
“You just get overwhelmed when you see someone put that kind of effort and energy into what he loves,” Bell said.
