Oswego East Co-Student Athlete of the Week

As the season’s change and the days grow a little shorter, athletes in Illinois recognize this as a push towards the fall playoff season. Senior cross country runner Trevor Nold is no different, as he and the other running Wolves gear up for a strong finish. Having made the all-conference team on Saturday and looking to push his team forward towards a place at the state meet, Trevor is this week’s Co-Student Athlete of the Week.

With starting his cross country running career in the sixth grade and being a member of the track program, Trevor is used to running in all sorts of conditions, which has allowed him to gain a mental toughness not usually reserved for people his age. “I love to compete,” says Trevor. Reserved in his demeanor, Trevor is very serious about his goals for himself and the team. “I want to be an all-conference runner (which he succeeded at Saturday), a state qualifier, and we want to reach state as a team,” said Trevor.

Head coach Jim Milner, who Trevor describes as “hard-working, organized, and a good motivator,” has seen Trevor steadily improve over his four years in the cross country program. “[Trevor] made it from a solid freshmen/sophomore runner to one of the top runners in the conference, on his way to be one of the top guys in the state.”

Trevor’s mother, Kristen Nold, thinks Trevor’s short-term memory during competition has a lot to do with his success. “[Trevor’s] greatest strength is that he has a short term memory when things aren’t going his way, doesn’t dwell on the negative, and uses those situations as learning experiences and moves on,” said Kristen.

Trevor’s gritty determination and will to succeed helps him thrive in the classroom as well. Zac Sadek, a social studies teacher at Oswego East and a teacher that has taught Trevor in two different classes had this to say about Nold, “I can tell you that a lot of the hard work he puts into cross country is what makes him successful in class. [Trevor] always thrived in situations where he was asked to think, and showed resolve when situations arose in which he had to make adjustments on the fly.”

Although undecided on a future career, Trevor has narrowed his choices down to a few different fields, all of which require a different skill set. Choosing between a future in criminal justice, physical education, and equestrian science may seem like three completely unrelated fields, but all of them deal with helping others, and showing leadership amongst his peers and those around him.

As the leaves change color and the wind has a bit more bite, Trevor and his teammates will continue running, hoping to bring a championship back to Oswego East. As someone who has had to work tremendously hard to reach the front of the pack, Trevor understands what it means to get off on the right foot. His advice to future Wolves is indicative of his experiences by saying, “Come in freshmen year motivated and ready to go, because if you get stuck in a hole right away it’s hard to get out of.” Hopefully the boys cross country team will have nothing but smooth land as they chase their goal of making it to state.