Always chasing a challenge, Gonzaga’s Wil Smith set to run 10,000 meters at U.S. Olympic Trials
Wil Smith’s rise as a runner at Gonzaga University has seen enough peaks that it’s tempting to assume there haven’t been any potholes.
Of course, the real issue with potholes is not to let the wheels come off when you hit one.
There was no better example of that than Smith’s experience a month ago at the NCAA West First Round meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Lewis and Clark grad entered the national qualifying meet with the region’s No. 4 time at 10,000 meters – 28 minutes, 4.77 seconds – and as a favorite for one of the 12 available NCAA finals spots.
“But it was the first day (of the meet) and I struggled,” he said. “It was pretty hot and I didn’t prepare super well to run in 80% humidity and air you could basically chew.”
He finished 21st and “thought my college season could potentially be over.” He was still entered in the 5,000 two days later, but his 13:47.06 season best put him just 37th among the entrants – and 72nd nationally – with again just 12 moving on to the NCAA finale.
So all Smith did was run with the leaders the entire way and finish with the day’s No. 3 time – and then turn around two weeks later and earn second-team All-American honors with a 12th-place finish at the NCAAs in Eugene.
Now’s he back in Eugene to run the 10,000 in the U.S. Olympic trials – and with another first-day challenge when the meet to pick America’s team opens Friday at Hayward Field.
And he’ll rely on some of the same faith that got him through his Fayetteville ordeal.
“There’s a little self-talk you have to do and just trust your training,” said Smith, who just finished his junior season at Gonzaga. “I went through this whole process in fall cross country where I was coming up on a new level and having good success, and then fighting to maintain that. By the end of the season,
“I was really tired physically and mentally. When we moved to track indoors, I just tried to stay fit without thinking I had to crush every workout – that I have the talent and fitness to do well without running myself into the ground.”
That talent became apparent upon his winning the State 4A cross country title as an LC senior. At Gonzaga, he’s been on three NCAA-qualifying cross country teams, set three school records indoors and out and become the fastest Spokane miler in history with the 3:58.81 he ran in Seattle over the winter. This spring, he anchored the Bulldogs’ 4x1,600-meter relay team to victory at the storied Drake Relays.
He’s certainly punched his weight, but now he’s in with the heavies.
“I’ve had the opportunity to race some pros,” he said, “but this is my first time with so many athletes of that caliber.”
His qualifying time puts him 15th among the 24 entrants, but the top three – Grant Fisher, Nico Young and Woody Kincaid – have all run under 27 minutes. Fisher – the American record holder – and Kincaid were on the U.S. team to Tokyo in 2021, and Paul Chelimo has won Olympic medals at both 5,000 and 10,000 .
“I just need to make sure I compete well,” Smith said. “I don’t see myself running in the top five or six, but I’m hoping to be in that next pack of runners by being gritty and tough. Seeded 15th, being in the top 10 or 12 would be a good day.”
While he’s shown remarkable versatility running everything from a mile up, Smith said the grind of the 10,000 has grown on him.
“I can find a rhythm and stay relaxed even when it’s a little uncomfortable out there,” he said. “I think it suits my strengths. I enjoy the mental challenge of 25 laps. As hard as it is, it’s what drew me to the sport in the first place. I try to lean into that – I want to be competitive in whatever I’m thrown into.”