John Dressel carries on rich family tradition ahead of XC finale

His father, Alex, ran at Arkansas. His aunt, Lisa, ran at Auburn. His uncle, Vincent, ran at the University of Tennessee. His great-grandfather was the Klickitat county 400-meter champion in the 1940’s. It should come as no surprise that Mt. Spokane senior John Dressel is the another success story for his family.

“We saw from from early on that John and Hayden liked to move around and run,” Alex said. “When John was in fourth grade, I saw potential as a runner. Same for Hayden. I never brought it up or talked about it.”

John was initially a soccer player from kindergarten all the way through eighth grade. He asked his father to join the cross-country team as a seventh grader, but they agreed to hold off on those plans until his freshman year of high school. 

“It was a hard decision,” Dressel said. “At the same time I thought running was a better fit for me and would open up more opportunities. It has, because I think it’s harder to get a Division-I scholarship since soccer is more a team sport. Running is more individualized and so coaches can examine you more.”

Coaches are watching and interested. Dressel’s mailbox filled with recruiting letters, but he recently cut down his shortlist of schools to Colorado, Gonzaga, Oregon with interest from Stanford before selecting Mark Wetmore’s squad in Boulder. 

Dressel looks to continue the long line of success of athletes from The Evergreen State. He admired Andrew Gardner (University of Washington) and Nathan Weitz (Northern Arizona) as runners with success at the national championship stage. 

“Andrew was a three-time Footlocker national qualifier, so I thought it would be cool to be that one sophomore in nation to do the same,” Dressel said. “It was just a broad goal in the back of my mind to make it in my sophomore year.”

Dressel accomplished that by finishing sixth at his regional and then went on to place 14th in 15:34.9 at the 2012 Footlocker National Championship. Sights were set high for his junior year as he looked towards making history.

“Dathan Ritzenhein, Lukas Verzbicas and Edward Cheserek won Footlocker titles as juniors and then came back to win their senior year,” Dressel said. “I thought to be a two-time national champion would be really cool, but I just fell short in the race.

Dressel was among the favorites in the race based on his performance from the previous year and he ran 15:05.36 to finish third at the Washington State championship. Momentum was on his side, but he fell short to Grant Fisher. The two battled over the last 1,000-meters as Dressel pushed the pace with short surges to break the Michigan star. With 150-meters left Dressel’s last surge fell short and a kick from Fisher broke the tape first. 

“Those events make you learn about yourself,” Dressel recalled. 

In the modern age of social media, it is near impossible for Dressel not to keep tabs on Fisher’s own progression during senior year. Fisher was making U.S. Olympian and former 5,000-meter American Record holder Dathan Ritzenhein nervous by threatening his state and course records in Michigan. Having defended his state title, Fisher is now preparing to match the Footlocker feat by Ritzenhein. 

“When I see what (Fisher) does, I don’t really think to much of it,” Dressel said. “I think ‘Well, if he can do it, I’m capable of doing the same thing.‘ Having that inner belief within myself is great and knowing that these top athletes can do it, I can too. I think I’m right up there, especially because of how I performed last season.”

Dressel will head to San Diego having survived battles against Tanner Anderson. Dressel emerged victorious at the GSL/MCC Regional Championship, while Anderson repeated as state champion a week later. 

“We make each other better and push each other,” Dressel said. “It’s good to have a rival here in the same city to compete with before the postseason. I haven’t been doing it too much, so I’m not as tired mentally.”

Passing those tests allows Dressel to back up the belief that he is faster and stronger heading to Footlocker this year than last year, so he will definitely be among those to watch on Dec. 13 in Balboa Park. 

Runs in the family

John is not the latest Dressel to find success in his running career. His younger brother Hayden also chose to leave behind soccer when John made the move to cross-country. 

“Seeing what John went through and what I could be a part of really urged me into the sport,” Hayden said. “Putting in the work and seeing it unfold the way it has is just awesome.”

Hayden dropped his personal best over 5,000-meters from 16:46.89 to 15:35 from freshman to sophomore year. His 15:39.75 performance on Nov. 8 was another breakout as he cracked the top 10 for the state championship. 

There is a chance that two Dressels run at the upcoming Footlocker National Championship as Hayden hopes to run well at the regional meet. 

“I’m taking advantage of having my brother on the team still and using him to integrate his training methods, so that when he’s gone I can make my own path.” Hayden said. 

Whether it’s at practice or at the dinner table, Alex Dressel is proud of what he’s been able to accomplish in the development of his sons up until this point. 

“It’s pretty remarkable,” their father said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled for both of them in their own right and I’m really thankful of this opportunity in my life to be a part of their life and watch them blossom.”