The thought of not securing a collegiate running victory frequently crosses distance runner Lars Mitchel‘s mind.

In a five-year career with 11 top-three finishes, including a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter race at the 2024 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the engineering graduate student has one more opportunity to win a conference event. After that, it’s NCAA cross country regionals, where the likelihood of winning slims down even more.

Mitchel will run his final race, the Mountain West XC championship, Friday, Nov. 1, at the Eisenhower Golf Course. Even in this event, he’s competing against Olympian-level talent.

Whether or not Mitchel wins Friday, he says it does not matter.

“I have thought about it a lot,” Mitchel said. “There’s a website called TFRRS, and there’s a lot of seconds and thirds on there, but I guess for me it’s more about the pursuit of it. I’d rather get dead last at conference if our team won than win it and have the team not perform as well.”

Like golf, the lowest-scoring team wins in cross country. Individually, a first-place finish results in a score of one point, second place earns two points and so on. Combine the placing scores of the top-five members on a team, and the lowest total wins. Ten CSU runners compete Friday.

Mitchel holds the top spot — or a low stick — on the men’s roster. He was not sure he would return to running this semester and simply wanted to move on after the 2024 track and field season, yet in September, he placed second at the Roy Griak Invitational, one of the country’s most well-known cross country events.

This does not mean he lets it go to his head.

“He’s a great example of what to do,” teammate Chris Henry said. “He puts a good emphasis on keeping everything fun and light as well and taking stuff seriously but not having to be all down on race day. We still have fun.”

Henry is one of the 10 CSU runners competing in Friday’s men’s 8K championship.

Mitchel has two thoughts for Friday: first, to motivate the team to perform its best through his leadership and, second, to secure an individual victory. He puts more consideration into the former than the latter.

“The one thing you can rely on is your teammates and trusting each other and having each other as benchmarks,” Mitchel said. “As in, ‘OK, I should be here,’ or, ‘If Michael (Mooney is) moving up right now, that’s a good indicator that I need to be moving up with Michael.’ So it kind of helps you take your brain off how bad your legs are hurting or if you’re stressed about later parts of the race. It can take your attention and put it on something else.” 

However, the plan could go out the window when the shoes hit the course. While two teammates might be right next to each other in the standings, they are separated on course. Mitchel could find himself alone and ahead of his team, left with only his thoughts and the finish line.

Mitchel said he will treat this race like any other. Consistency is the basis of his preparation. Instead of getting overwhelmed with the possibility of winning, Mitchel plans to stay present.

“What I try to do is just focus on the moment I’m in during the race — that’s when I’ve had my best performances,” Mitchel said. “When I’ve had my worst ones is when I’m thinking about the end of a race. Bad thoughts are, ‘I still have 4 miles to go,” or, ‘Where the hell is the 3K mark?’ I did a good job of it this summer, reframing it to, ‘I only have 3 miles left to race to show off and pass people.’”

Mitchel earned his MW track and field championship team ring earlier this year. He has yet to wear a team ring that reads “cross-country,” which can only be done if the Rams perform Friday.

In 2023, the women’s team took its first MW XC championship under the leadership of coach Kelly Hart. This year could be the first for the men’s.

“Yes, you can qualify for a national meet as an individual, and you could place well there individually, and that would be cool,” Hart said. “But I think for most people on our team, it’s a sport that’s worthless without your team. It’s a sport that’s about how low of a score your five runners can be.”

Even if Mitchel is not winning every course, that is not the point. When his final in-conference stride crosses the finish line, Mitchel said he wants to look back on the legacy he left for the program.

For everything the program has given Mitchel, he looks to return the favor.

“This time, I’m actually going to finish up, and (it has) made me think about trying to leave a good legacy for the team and be a good example so that when I’m gone in a couple of years, I can watch the Rams run at nationals every year and watch some of the guys on the team now be All-Americans in track,” Mitchel said.

Runners who follow Mitchel’s pace, such as Henry, are soon to be the ones leading when he is gone. Rather than regretting not winning, Mitchel can be proud of the success the program will continue to have — but it doesn’t mean a win would not feel sweet.

“It would mean a lot,” Mitchel said. “It’s definitely what I’m working for and shooting toward, but it’s not the end all be all. I’ve been close a lot of times. But those performances I did get second or third at conference championships, I was so excited about those because of what it meant for the team pointswise.”

Reach Adam Gross at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @agrose_22.