THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
PAGE 3B
CROSS COUNTRY
Senior Josh Munsch prepares for final collegiate run
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
senior Josh Munsch competes in Lawrence's Rim Rock Classic on Oct. 5. Munsch will compete in his final Big 12 Championship event this weekend.
DANIEL HARMSEN
dharmsen@kansan.com
In the next few months, senior Josh Munsch, a design major and Kansas cross country runner, will be approaching his college finish line at graduation in excellent academic standing, and ready to see what the real world has in store for him.
But this Saturday he'll get to enjoy one of his childhood passions, maybe for the final time.
After he crosses the 8k finish line in Waco, Texas, at the Big 12 Championships in a few days, Munsch will close one chapter of his life that is particularly dear to the Hays native: he'll be running one of his final races in a Kansas Cross Country uniform.
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For the normal college student at Kansas, the nights likely involve copious amounts of alcohol, cheap, greasy food and rash, regrettable decisions. However, Josh Munsch is not your normal college student.
Munsch is taking ibuprofen and water early on a November morning, but for a different reason. Instead of using painkillers for hangovers, he uses them for his 3rd metatarsal, fractured on a run a few days before the 2012 season. Instead of getting ready for bed, at 5 in the morning, Munsch is getting up and ready for the Big 12 Championships.
For as long as he can remember, Munsch has had an affinity, and a unique talent for running. He remembers the small elementary school gym that sparked the passion.
"My earliest memory of running goes back to my fourth grade year," he said. "We were doing the presidential fitness testing and I broke the 4th grade record."
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It only made Munsch hungrier.
It only made Munsch. "I started taking running seriously in high school," Munsch said. "I began to realize that I could potentially run in college, so I made that my goal."
Smashing school records like pumpkins, Munsch led the Hays High Indians to 2010 WAC, regional and state championship, all the while being named a member of the National Honor Society, Academic All-State Team and is a Kansas Honor Scholar.
"It blew me away," Munsch said. "I had my mind made up before the visit was over."
It was safe to say that Munsch was going to be successful on and off the cross country course when he made it to college. So he made a trip up to Lawrence for his first visit and he kind of liked it.
Doubling on the Kansas Cross Country and Track teams, Munsch had early success in Lawrence. In cross country, he competed in five meets as a freshman and notched two top-10 finishes. And in track he competed in the mile at the Big
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12 Indoor Championships and placed ninth with a time of 4:08.86. His sophomore year was much of the same. He ran his personal best 8K time (25:10.2) at the Big 12 Championships and was named Academic All-Big 12 First Team. His mile time came down by a second at the Big 12 Indoor Championships for a seventh place finish.
During the outdoor season, he was added to the All-American Honorable Mention list after finishing 22nd in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA championship.
On a run just a few days before his junior season, Munsch planted his foot on some unstable footing and suddenly felt a stinging sensation.
"From that point, I couldn't put that foot down without feeling pain," Munsch said.
All his hard work and dedication was going to be put on hold, and his junior and senior season hinged on how well the rehab would go.
"There's really not a lot you can do but stay off it," Munsch said. "The foot is obviously a difficult area to deal with because you're always putting weight on it, especially in this sport."
With so much early success, Munsch was poised for a memorable junior and senior campaign.
Having something you worked for your whole life taken away so suddenly, so unceremoniously, would discourage most, but Munch persevered.
--an unrelenting will to compete once again, Munsch was back for four races that year. And he was faster.
Through rigorous training, and
Munsch ran last year's Big 12 Championship 8k in 24:57.4 and was part of a team that earned All-Academic status.
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Josh Munsch has had a very successful encore performance this year, running his best 8k in 24.20.30 at the Indiana State Pre-Nationals. He leads a KU Men's team that is one of the best in recent memory.
"We have good leadership with Munsch," head coach Stanley Redwine said. "When you start to put those types of people in front of your freshmen and making sure that they compete well together, then our leaders are doing well for the team."
Munsch works hard on the trails and in the classroom, and he has an uncanny knack for showing his best at the Big 12 Championships. Like that fateful gym period in the fourth grade, this Saturday will be a big day for the Kansan in so many ways.
"I have a ton of great memories from my time running cross," Munsch said. "Fortunately it's not over yet and I'm hoping to make even greater ones. I'll get back to you on that."
MLB
Edited by Ashleigh Tidwell
Red Sox win World Series, defeating Cardinals in six games
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON — David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox romped to their third World Series championship in 10 seasons, thumping October ace Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 Wednesday night in Game 6.
Shane Victorino drove in four
runs and John Lackey pitched shut- out ball into the seventh inning as the Red Sox clinched a crown on their own field for the first time since 1918.
Ortie drew three walks and scored twice. He reached base a whopping 19 times in 25 plate appearances.
Lackey gave up one run in 6 2-3 innings, becoming the first pitch
er to start and win a World Series clincher for two different teams, having led the Angels past Barry Bonds and the Giants in Game 7 in 2002 as a rookie.
Stephen Drew hit a solo home run that someone in a Red Sox jacket caught in the bullpen. Mike Napoli, back in the lineup with Ortiz returning to the DH slot, hit an
RBI single into the "B Strong" cutout in the grass that pays tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
wtn the Prudential tower lit up with "Go Sox," fans filed past increased a beefed-up security presence. Vendors outside the gates urged Red Sox rooters to buy extra programs because they could someday be valuable souvenirs. Signs on the videoboard advised
or late-night changes to the public transportation system.
The Cardinals dropped their third straight game. After winning Game 3 on an obstruction call, they couldn't seem to get out of their own way.
All around the ballpark and beyond, it was clear Boston was on the brink of something special.
Carlton Fisk, still worshipped at Fenway for that winning home run in '75, got right into the spirit that has taken over these Red Sox — before his toss, the Hall of Famer put on a playful beard.
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