By Aaron Shill
aaron@du2.byu.edu
About two miles into last Saturday's race at the Autumn Classic, Matt Poulsen found himself lagging. Having missed four days of practice due to illness, Poulsen's legs were not carrying him like they usually had.
But as he neared the two and a half mile mark, Poulsen's speed started to kick in. He slid ahead of the pack to finish third overall in the 8-kilometer race with a time of 24:55. Behind Poulsen, the Cougars edged 16th ranked Montana 69-73.
What happened at Saturday's race with Poulsen was a reflection of his athletic career. Running through adversity and finishing strong has pretty much become a constant with the BYU junior.
A preseason high school All-American at Bingham High in South Jordan, Poulsen's expectations of himself were high heading into his junior year.
'I was in shape to win state,' he said.
Instead, he ended up under the knife.
Poulsen underwent surgery to remove scar tissue after pushing a knee injury too far with intense training. After being shelved his junior year, Poulsen eventually returned his senior year to take sixth in the two mile race at the state finals.
However, Poulsen had expected more. Watching his rivals finish ahead of him was less than settling on his competitive spirit.
'It just crushed me,' he said. 'It really hurt inside, but yet I knew inside that I could beat them.'
Poulsen said he was written off by coaches. People around him questioned why he continued to try to run. It seemed to everyone else that Poulsen's was lagging behind.
Poulsen, however, maintained his confidence.
'I've always known that I had the potential to be very good at a collegiate level just because I knew my ability,' he said.
With an athletic resume trimmed short by injuries, Poulsen was forced to walk on at BYU. Unfortunately, another setback followed him to Provo. Poulsen eventually had to redshirt his freshman year because of a hamstring injury.
'That was kind of frustrating seeing other freshman do really well and knowing that I could be with them if I had been training,' he said.
But Poulsen found a way to finish strong.
After serving a mission in Roseville, California, Poulsen returned to BYU and established himself as one of the team's top athletes. This season, he has placed first for the Cougars in two of the team's three meets at Montana and Stanford. Only a cramp that occurred during the Stanford Invitational kept him from potentially notching a third.
'He sets the standard of excellence for our team,' said junior Randon Richards.
According to Richards, Poulsen's dedication to training and his willingness to put in extra mileage helps the team realize its potential.
'He is the top runner on the team, and he shows us where we should and can be,' Richards said.
But Poulsen's influence is not limited to practice and competition. A husband and a pre-physical therapy major, Poulsen is also willing to make time for his running-mates.
Richards said his teammate will often stay behind after practice and help with injuries to team members. Recently, Poulsen took time to help Richards work out his sore muscles.
BYU's top runner apparently knows how important the concept of team is in cross country. According to Poulsen, a team can have the four best athletes in the country and still lose if the fifth member doesn't perform. He therefore knows that providing motivation for his teammates is part of his role.
'It's kind of that way--trying to pull the team together and say 'we're ready',' he said.
With the WAC championship being held on Oct. 31 in Houston, BYU is looking to do just that--get ready. The Cougars are currently ranked 17th in the nation, but Poulsen said BYU could compete at a top five level if the team performs to its potential.
'It depends on whether every person on this team believes that,' he said.