By Spencer Anderson
Distance captain John Whelan had a pretty good idea from the beginning of high school that he wanted to run in college. The junior from Etna, Calif. literally went off the beaten path to find his way to Washington State University.
“Once I started getting more competitive in running, one of the goals I set was to compete at a major university,” Whelan said. “The top of that goal was to compete in the Pac-12. I came up here unofficially in the summer just to take a look at the campus, and I just really liked the campus and the academic opportunities here, and I really liked the major university in a small town setting because I'm from a very small town.”
It also helped that he met a Cougar runner between his junior and senior years of high school. Whelan attended Steens Mountain Running Camp, which takes place in the wilderness of Southeastern Oregon, and his counselor for his group was former WSU standout Drew Jordan. That gave Whelan a connection to talk to the Cougar coaches and to get recruited.
An only child to parents Jim and Karen Whelan, John was slightly apprehensive about having to room with someone during his first year on campus. Any fears were dissipated, though, when Whelan roomed with fellow distance runner Alex Simpson their freshman year. It helped that both of them had the same interests and similar schedules. Now, Whelan said he's closest with redshirt junior Matthew Swanson, sophomore Sam Levora, and redshirt senior Forrest Shaffer.
“The (distance) team is really close, so in our down time, we just hang out,” Whelan said. “We have a relatively small distance roster, so the whole group is pretty close.”
This past fall, Whelan was the only returning upperclassman of the top seven runners on the Cougar cross country team. He said that he kind of just fell into the captaincy, but is excited and appreciative for the opportunity to help the team in any way that he can.
But Whelan enjoys more than just running outdoors. When he has more time, like in the summer, he likes to swim in the river, and go fishing, hiking, and camping. Some favorite hikes he's been on in the past include Moscow Mountain and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and has also tried fishing in the Snake River.
“I really like the outdoor activities, so when the time and the weather allows for that, that's where I spend a lot of my down time,” Whelan said. “At one point, Drew and I had this grand vision that we were going to go down to the Snake River and catch a salmon or something… but you can't really do that from the shore!”
Academically, Whelan has always been drawn to math and sciences. Though he originally thought about studying engineering, he figured he liked chemistry and biology more than physics. Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Science and Biology, he is also looking at a one-year master's program at WSU in Elementary Education.
Whelan also said he credits his high school coach Les Helsley and past Cougar runners for helping him get to the point where he is today, and so he, in turn, wants to help his younger teammates to be successful.
He was the top runner on the Cougar cross country team last fall with his ninth place finish at the Pac-12 Championships and runner-up finish at the NCAA West Region. Whelan led the 2015 team, comprised of seven freshmen, to an NCAA Championships at-large berth.
“When I started running, I was not at a competitive level whatsoever,” Whelan said. “So just having someone who can see ahead a little bit and can believe in you more than you believe in yourself at times, but then also training me to get to that point where I could advance to running at the collegiate level (was helpful). When I got here as a freshman, all the upperclassmen really helped me along.”