By FRED KRONER
Whatever the distance, Spencer Wilson can cover it quickly.
“I don’t know if his best event is the 200 (meters), the mile or something in-between,” St. Joseph-Ogden track and field coach Jason Retz said.
The running versatility of Wilson – a recent St. Joseph-Ogden High School graduate – made him an attractive recruit for college coaches.
He will soon start his collegiate career at Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston. Wilson will participate in cross-country in the fall as well as track and field in the spring.
“I have always had a dream of running track at the next level after the state meet my seventh-grade year,” Wilson said. “After battling through a few injuries during my high school career, I entered my senior year wanting to prove to myself what I was truly capable of doing.”
Wilson not only proved to himself – but to others as well – that his potential was great.
“As a senior, he started training for track in the fall and saw that pay dividends,” Retz said. “At the (Illini Prairie) Conference meet (late April) , he ran a 1:55 to anchor the 4-by-8 to victory.
“In the next event (the 4-by-1), he ran 11-flat (as the Spartans placed third).”
Shortly later, Wilson ran an all-time personal-best of 50.56 and took third in the 400 meters. His split was even faster (50.00) in the meet-ending 4-by-4 relay.
“It was the most amazing day I’ve ever had one athlete have,” Retz said. “He saw what he could do moving forward.”
A two-time all-stater in track, Wilson was part of three relays that qualified for the Class 2A state meet in 2024.
He had the team’s fastest 800-meter split (1:56.73) at state for the 3,200-meter relay, which ended in 14th place.
“After this meet, dreams started to become a reality and (EIU) Coach (Erin) Howarth’s conversations with me started to become more serious,” Wilson said. “I did not know how to feel except very blessed for the opportunity and thankful for the talent God had blessed me with.”
Ironically, Wilson only ran cross-country one year at SJ-O. As a freshman (when sports returned from a COVID-induced break, cross-country did not conflict with soccer.
A standout on the pitch, Wilson scored 12 goals and had a team-best 23 assists as a senior for the Spartans.
There was no slowing him down for his final track season either.
“After soccer season was over, I got straight to work hitting the weight room six days a week and trained the way Coach Retz had advised me to do,” Wilson said. “I was able to perform at a higher level than normal throughout my indoor season and workouts seemed to become easier over the course of time.
“This really boosted my confidence in wanting to compete at the next level. After a few sit-down conversations with Coach Retz, I knew that he believed in me and knew what I was capable of accomplishing. I had to believe in myself and do what was needed throughout the rest of my senior season to get to the next level.”
Until then, Wilson would have predicted that his collegiate future would come in soccer.
“I found my love for track and field in November of 2023 when my friends and I started training together,” he said. “The hard work started paying off in the indoor season.”
Retz never doubted what was possible for Wilson.
“There was something special about him,” Retz said. “It was a matter of getting him to believe in himself.
“He continued to progress and soared with his performances senior year. He’s a very coachable kid.”
Wilson and three teammates from SJ-O – Lance Retz, Aden Armstrong and Carson Maroon – placed fourth in the 3,200-meter relay (8:04.26) in the Emerging Elite division at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June at Eugene, Ore.
They participated as the Spartan Running Club.
Wilson considered several universities before he settled on EIU, where an assistant coach is former SJ-O athlete Rylie Baker.
“I was able to narrow my decision down very easily after a college visit with Coach Baker a few days after my senior track season ended (in May),” Wilson said. “When I got on campus, I was very happy with the facilities and the layout of the campus. I was also very pleased with the business building and how nice the faculty and staff were to me.”
Though he also had contact from coaches about playing soccer in college as well, Wilson was confident in the direction he was going.
“Eastern Illinois felt like home to me because it is close to home,” he said. “I wanted to stay close to my family and friends when attending college.
“I was also very happy with the training facilities and the coaching staff that will be there every step of the way in my career.”
Wilson called the recruiting process “very stressful,” and added, “There was a point in my season where I decided to enjoy what was left of my senior season and let my remaining race times prove that I could compete at the next level.”
Jason Retz believes there is an opportunity for him to be a key contributor for the Panthers.
“He wanted to go somewhere and help and not go somewhere and participate,” Retz said.
Wilson is anxious to get started.
“I am looking forward to meeting all of my new teammates, making new friends, and connections,” he said. “I am also looking forward to new beginnings with Coach Howarth and Coach Baker leading the way.
“I see myself fitting in with my teammates right away with my ability to make friends and connections easily throughout team bonding time.
“When talking with Coach Howarth and Coach Baker, they have not set any goals for me to reach and/or tell me what they expect out of me.”
The EIU staff wants to see Wilson progress at a natural rate.
“They do not want to put any pressure on me as a freshman athlete,” Wilson said. “With hard work and training, they know the results will come and then goals will be set and hopefully broken.
“After talking with both Coach Howarth and Coach Baker, they want me to focus on the middle distance events and potentially move into the longer distance events and/or develop more speed to do some sprints.
“They feel right now I am in the middle and do not have an exact plan for me, but it will come once the training and lifting start to show.”
EIU has won back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference titles in cross-country and opens the 2024 season with its only home meet on Friday (Aug. 30) in the Walt Crawford Invitational.
Wilson is viewing his upcoming running career on a step-by-step basis.
“Once I get to college, it is going to be something very new to me and I will have to settle into over time,” he said. “Once I get there and get into a routine, the weight room, pool, recovery room, and the track will all be huge parts of my track and field career.
“These things can help me to grow, not just as an athlete, but also as a person. I love the feeling that I am going to have to give it my all every day to be successful on my team and contribute at a high level.
“The biggest goal is to contribute to the team as soon as possible and take home hardware when it is earned.
“Nothing is given to you, everything is earned through hard work and dedication. Every day is going to be a different challenge to get to where I would like to be as a student-athlete.”
He is no stranger to hard work and making a commitment to achieve goals.
“The biggest key to my development has been the miles of training and the abundant hours of lifting in the weight room,” Wilson said. “Another huge factor in my training was swimming in the pool and riding a bike to relieve some of the stress on my body.”
He has worked with numerous coaches and mentors, who all made an impact on his development.
“Throughout my journey, I have had an amazing support system and lots of great coaches along the way that have helped me get where I am today,” Wilson said. “During my years in middle school, I was coached by Corey Plotner, Michele Guido, and Zach Steele.
“These three coaches had a big impact on setting a foundation for the future of my running career and always motivating me to do well in every race. They have also supported me throughout my high school career.”
In high school, Wilson was primarily under the tutelage of Jason Retz and Matt Umbarger.
“Throughout high school, these coaches were always there for me helping me after practice was over, getting a few extra reps in and helping me with block work,” Wilson said. “These coaches also continued to build my confidence when competing and set a very structured training program for me to follow to compete at a higher level.
“Coach Retz also put in numerous hours helping me recover after practices were over and provided lots of help with my recruiting process. Retz has always helped me with race strategies and helped me to understand the sport of track and field more and more.
“He would send me videos, articles, and would occasionally watch my own race with me.”
Another coach who played a prominent role as Wilson was getting introduced to running was his next-door neighbor.
“Thad Trimble helped me get started in the weight room,” Wilson said. “We did a lot of off-season speed work along with explosive exercises to help me in my high school career.
“He has also given me a lot of advice and encourages me to do my best every time I toe the line. I also give a lot of credit to my family and friends who support me in everything I do.
“These people show up to all of my sporting events no matter the conditions. They always have my back. They will always be the first ones after the meet to give me a hug and the first ones to tell me how proud they are.”
Wilson said his spiritual beliefs have helped him along the path to success.
“I am thankful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Wilson said. “He has blessed me with this opportunity to run at the next level and without him I would not be in this position today.
“He has given me the gift of being able to run. He has also given me all of these amazing people who are my support system and the reason I train and do my best every day I wake up.
“All in all, these people have helped me get to the point where I am today and without their support and dedication to me and the sport I love, I would not be in this position today.”
Wilson is especially appreciative for the strong support network that surrounds him.
“I know this did not happen because of what I have done,” he said. “It was done because of a lot of different people.
“I would like to first thank my parents (Darci Wilson and Shannon Wilson), who have always supported me in everything I have done.
“They have made sacrifices time and time again ensuring I was getting to practice on time and performing at the highest level I was capable of. They ensured I had everything I needed and would put me above themselves at all times.”
Wilson doesn’t need to be pushed to do his running workouts.
“The appeal of running for me is the competitive nature it brings out of me,” he said. “While running, I always want to be better than the person next to me and that is my motivation to keep going every day.
“I also love competing and meeting new people in races. I enjoy traveling to different places, which is also a huge reason why running is enjoyable to me.”
He has also always been known as a finisher.
“In track and field, my biggest strength is having a strong mindset and staying positive when times get tough,” Wilson said. “I also feel that having a solid kick in the last couple hundred meters before the finish line gives me something to rely on.”
Wilson plans to major in Business Management because, he said, “of how broad the degree is.
“I feel I can get a good understanding of the business world and then narrow down what I plan on either double-majoring in and/or minoring in.
“Once I graduate, I would love to go into the business world and meet a lot of new people to help me succeed and give back to the ones close to me.
“In 10 years, I hope to have a steady job, hopefully in marketing where I meet new people, and find success for myself and the company I am working for.”
Helping Wilson solidify his decision to attend EIU is the distance from his home (approximately 50 miles).
“I think that living close to home is going to make the transition to Eastern a lot easier than if I picked an out-of-state university,” Wilson said. “An easy commute along with abundant support, the transition to Eastern should be a lot less stressful and will make me feel more comfortable when living on campus.
“I am very close not just with my immediate family, but also grandparents along with aunts and uncles.
“We all live very close to each other, which is another reason why I wanted to stay close to home. Our family likes to come together especially around the holidays and we always have a good time.
“Being close and being able to still do those things is a blessing to me. Living close to home will make the move to Eastern a lot easier and knowing that my family is just under an hour away makes me very comfortable.”
