June 9, 2008
On May 31, four grueling years of military training and rigorous academics were celebrated with the annual graduation ceremony at West Point's famed Michie Stadium. As the cadets accepted their respective degrees, were pinned with the bars of a second lieutenant in the United States Army and were sworn into commission as officers, John Mickowski was busy making another sacrifice.
At 10:00 a.m. on that Saturday, as the commencement ceremonies began on the banks of the Hudson River, Mickowski was comfortably resting in his hotel room in Tallahassee, Fla., preparing for what would prove to be the biggest race of his career.
A senior standout from the rural town of Mukwonago, Wis., John led the Army distance runners all season long. A miler by nature, he bumped his mileage over the summer last year and came into the fall cross country season committed to lead the squad, even if it meant running 10,000-meters instead of 1,500-meters.
Leading the team was an understatement for what Mickowski accomplished this fall. He led the team in each of his first three meets, before suffering an injury that would sideline him for the Notre Dame Invitational.
"I was so mad," says Mickowski now that the race has long since passed. "That was one of the biggest meets of the year for us and I couldn't run."
A lower leg injury suffered in combative class, a course in which cadets learn hand-to-hand combat, sidelined Mickowski for just one meet.
He returned for the Army-Navy meet despite having missed time and training. On the challenging course at the West Point Golf Club, it looked as if Navy's John Kress was going to run away with the title as he opened a lengthy lead on Mickowski with just over a mile to go.
As the leaders disappeared into the woods in the midst of the challenging climb up the ski slope, spectators huddled near the finish waiting to see who would emerge at the top of the hill. It wasn't Kress.
Mickowski had planned his race perfect and taken control within the final half mile, outkicking the Navy runner to comfortably win his first Army-Navy cross country title. Winning the Navy meet was just the beginning for Mickowski as he prepped for the Patriot League and NCAA Regional Championships.
First came the conference meet. On a rainy and miserable day, Mickowski led the Army squad again, placing third and earning first team All-League honors for his effort.
Next up, the difficult challenge of increasing the distance from 8,000-meters at the conference meet to 10,000-meters at the NCAA Regional meet. Mickowski answered the challenge by attacking the distance and posting the fastest 10,000m time of his career.
"He took off with the Kenyans from Iona," says head coach Jerry Quiller. "He came around the first mile in the lead pack with those guys and I got worried."
John wasn't worried. Knowing his limits, he pushed on with the lead pack of Kenyan born runners. Two miles. Three miles. Four miles. Still leading the way.
"I started thinking he was going to hang on right around four miles," says Quiller. "That's when I really started to get excited."
Mickowski did hold on. He came home in seventh-place, in 30:07, an average of 4:50 per mile for 6.2 miles. Along with his first team All-Region honor, he earned the right to compete in the NCAA National Championships, becoming the first Army runner in the last nine years to earn a trip.
There he was, a miler toeing the line with guys that were bred to run the 10k, at the National Championships. Still, there was no shaking his confidence.
The rest of his team gathered with community members in West Point to watch the race live on the television, joking about how "Mick" was going to be easy to find in the pack because of his lengthy stride. As the pack came through the mile, there he was, sitting perfectly on the inside right around 15th, just like the plan.
As the field came through two miles, no one spotted John. Again at three miles, no sign of the Army standout.
As the leaders crossed the line, the team counted finishers, naming off the All-Americans as they poured in. 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th. No John. No All-America.
The phone rang and Lt. Col. John Nelson told me the news.
Right after the first mile, Mickowski was tripped while tangling legs with another runner and fell to the ground. As he tried to get up and rejoin the race, he caught a knee to the back, forcing him facedown into the ground again as fellow athletes fell around him. The course official stepped in and advised the men to stay on the ground until the pack had passed. Along with the pack, Mickowski's chances at All-America honors passed by.
He could have stopped. He could have pulled out of the race like some of the other athletes. But that's not the way things work when you're a senior at the U.S. Military Academy. John got up and finished the last five miles of the race, crossing the line over two minutes slower than his performance at the NCAA Regional meet.
That race would set the tone for the indoor season.
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Entering the winter, all eyes were on Mickowski to lay down a sub-four minute mile, becoming just the third cadet to ever do so. He had run 4:05 the previous year and there were no doubts that he was stronger and in better condition as a senior.
Things opened slowly for Mickowski, who flirted with other distances while waiting for a prime opportunity to debut in the mile. Penn State would provide that opportunity, with a stellar field of athletes scheduled to compete, including two men that had already broken the 4:00 barrier.
The race held true to form, with the winner crossing the line just under 4:00, dazzling the crowd that had anxiously waited to see a mile time that started with the number three. But, John wasn't with the leaders. He struggled to a disappointing 4:12, never looking like his true self.
The season rollercoastered, peaking with a promising 4:09 win in the Army-Navy meet and dipping back to a 4:20 the next week at the Valentine Invite. He finished fifth at the league meet in 4:15 and then bounced back to place second in the prelims at the IC4A meet before struggling to place seventh in the finals.
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Injuries and fatigue dotted a disappointing indoor season for Mickowski, who vowed to shake himself out of the rut for one more run at the National Championships.
He went home, briefly, after the indoor season and spent time with his family and with his father, a standout half-miler back in his college years. He gathered his focus and returned to West Point with one goal: to right the ship and qualify for the NCAA meet. He never looked back, charging into the season and leaving a trail of competition and old personal bests in his wake.
First up, the 1,500m at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic in Alabama. Mickowski blazed through the line in 3:47, finishing third and posting the ninth-fastest time in Army history. His mark qualified him for the NCAA Regional Championships, taking the pressure off immediately. Finishing third, behind only two Kenyan runners, at Auburn boosted his confidence and renewed a drive that seemed to be missing during the indoor season.
Next up, the Army-Navy meet. Sitting comfortably and confidently until the last lap, Mickowski surged down the stretch to win the race in 3:50, securing him an Army-Navy title in all three seasons of his senior campaign.
Quiller dropped John down to the 800-meter run for the Larry Ellis Invite at Princeton. Mickowski answered the challenge with a personal best of 1:51.32, narrowly missing the all-time top-ten list at the Academy.
He would prove his ability at another distance in the next week as the lead leg (1,200m) of the distance medley relay at the Penn Relays. As I watched a live Web stream of the race, I laughed as the announcers tried to figure out who this kid from Army was and how he was pulling away from the field. Mickowski opened just under 3:00 and handed off in first place, shocking the field and the commentators.
"That race really showed us what he could do," said Quiller. "They got out really slow at Penn and he was still able to finish up fast. We knew he was ready."
I'm not sure I was ready for what came next.
As I stood on the track at the Patriot League Championships, waiting for the gun to fire, I joked with the distance runners that John could lay down a sub 3:45 if the race got out fast.
The race got out fast, thanks to Steve Hallinan of American pushing from the start. Hallinan came through in 1:58 for the half mile with Lyle Tolli of Colgate and Mickowski sitting in line behind. As the threesome rounded the corner towards the line, Mickowski pulled out to lane two and surged by Hallinan. Just before the line, Carlos Jameison, also of American, leaned by Mickowski to steal the win.
After one of the most exciting races of the entire meet, the crowd paused and waited for the marks to flash on the board. After an agonizing minute of waiting, 3:43.98 flashed on the screen next to John's name. The time was a four second personal best, converts to a 4:01 mile and is the third-fastest in Army history.
That wasn't enough. John was angry.
"I wanted to win," he said right after the race. "I didn't even see him out there."
To refocus the senior, Quiller followed the same plan as before, dropping John down to the 800-meters at the IC4A Championships to prepare for the NCAA Regional Championships.
Again, Mickowski answered. This time with another personal best, 1:50.31, bettering his previous mark by over a second and securing the ninth-fastest time in Army history.
Next up was the big one, the one that mattered most, the NCAA East Regional Championships. But first, John had to make a difficult decision. Regionals and graduation were the same day.
"It was a no-brainer for me," said Mickowski. "West Point means a lot to me and I'm proud of my accomplishments here, but to have a chance to represent my team and the Academy at the National Championships has been the goal all year. This was my only chance."
John, along with Janelle Jones, was honored in a small ceremony at West Point on Tuesday of graduation week before boarding a flight for Florida on Wednesday.
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The 1,500-meter prelims were Friday afternoon. The plan was just to get to the finals, so John sat and waited. He kicked in to finish second in his heat, behind the favorite to win the whole thing, advancing to the finals. No one saw what would happen next. Well, no one but John.
As the pace lagged through the opening laps of the final, it was clear that the winner was going to be the one with the best kick. Andrew Bumbalough of Georgetown was supposed to win. He had the second-fastest 1,500m time in the country. Also in the mix, Sam Bair of Pittsburgh, with a personal best below the four-minute mark in the mile.
Running on the inside, with his shins bleeding from spike wounds suffered during the race, Mickowski made his move when no one was ready for it.
"He pushed out to about lane four and just passed everyone with 500-meters left," said Quiller.
"That was my plan all along," adds Mickowski. "I knew I could hit them at 500m and they wouldn't be expecting someone to go from that far out."
He was dead on. The field panicked and strung out behind the kid who wasn't supposed to win, frantically chasing him down the back stretch and into the final corner. Mickowski showed he belonged by holding stride and sprinting through the finish line to win the event, beating Bumbalough by .60 seconds, and become the first Army track and field athlete to ever win an NCAA East Regional Championship. More importantly than his first team All-Region honor was the ticket he had punched. The top-five finishers in all four regions earn automatic bids to the National Championships.
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The day wasn't quite over yet. There was still something missing for John on that Saturday. While his classmates were already celebrating their new appointments as officers in the Army, John was still a cadet.
He had made the sacrifice of giving up the elaborate graduation service he had worked so hard to rightfully participate in, to chase his dreams. While there were no hats to be thrown and no thousands of people in attendance, Mickowski would be honored that evening for making that sacrifice.
With his parents by his side at the hotel in Florida, John stood at attention and took the oath of commission, joining his classmates as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Mickowski will move forward without regret about missing graduation, viewing it as just another sacrifice in a life committed to serving his country. You won't convince him that staying in West Point for graduation was the right thing to do. His duty on May 31, in his mind, was to represent the Army and the U.S. Military Academy in the best way he could.
Mission accomplished, John.
Second Lieutenant Mickowski will compete in the trials of the 1,500-meter run on Thursday, June 12. The finals will be televised live on CBS on Saturday, June 14.
