Oswego East Student-Athlete of the Week-Nick Henz

To say running is in the blood for senior Nick Henz would be an understatement. His father, Brian, is the assistant women’s cross country and track and field coach at North Central College. Lynn, Nick’s mother, ran at North Central and was the 10,000-meter conference champion in 1994, and his sister Alexis was a standout runner at Oswego East before moving on to compete at North Central. Nick has continued the tradition of running, however, it is his ability to stand out from the pack as a leader for his teammates and classmates as the reason he is this week’s Oswego East student-athlete of the week.

Although running has always been a family affair for the Henz’s, Nick competed in a lot of different sports as a child. “Prior to high school, Nick played many sports including soccer, baseball, basketball, and flag football in addition to running cross country and track for Plank Junior High,” says Brian and Lynn.

Nick’s parents were sure to encourage their son to be active and play as many sports as possible. “I’ve been running since I was 5 years old, and it was something that was put into my life at an early age,” says Nick. He goes on to add, “My whole life I always knew I wanted to run, but my parents wanted me to maintain my childhood and encouraged me to play other sports.”

As a freshman at East, Nick started taking cross country and track seriously, and it became apparent to head coach Jim Milner that Nick was destined to be an important piece of the program. “Nick has a great approach,” says Jim. He goes on to add, “He understands the reasoning behind his training and is able to apply that to his racing. Over the past four years, he has become much more aggressive while still being able to calculate his move. What has impressed me most is Nick’s ability to consistently move forward.”

Nick’s demeanor and temperament have always been one of self-improvement and setting an example for others. “Nick is very driven and goal-oriented both as a student and as an athlete,” says Brian and Lynn. They add, “Once he sets his mind on a goal, there is little that can stop him from reaching it. He is also looked to as a leader by his peers, coaches, and fellow Boy Scouts.”

That leadership has left an indelible mark on both the cross country and track programs, something coach Milner hopes will be carried on by future runners. “Nick is the greatest leader we have had in our program,” says Jim. He goes on to say, “He is a great example for our younger athletes to aspire to be, and he is a steady force for our upperclassman to work with. I hope that our returning athletes have taken note and are excited to continue the leadership Nick has established.”

Nick’s leadership stems from not only his own personal goals but the relationships he has developed with his teammates. While having last year’s track season canceled was a major blow to the team, Nick and his teammates were able to find a silver lining. “I really feel like the pandemic helped us come together as a team,” says Nick. He adds, “Understanding what it felt like to have everything taken away to focus on one race as a team helped us be stronger.”

That closeness and bond Nick shares with his teammates have helped him improve individually as well. He is currently #2 all-time at East in the 1600/mile and is 3 seconds off the school record. “Right now I’m 3 seconds off the record and I want to get my name on that board and qualify for state this season,” says Nick.

Not only has Nick found success running, but he is a stellar student as well, carrying a 4.58 G.P.A., and has committed to Calvin University in Grand Rapids this fall to run cross country and track and study civil engineering.

Tony Holub, Nick’s Civil Engineering and Engineering Design teacher, believes Nick will be a standout in the field, saying, “Civil engineering requires deft analysis and evaluation skills and the ability to synthesize complex information with considerable mathematical accuracy and precision-traits Nick has in abundance.” he goes on to add, “In both of my classes, and his work with Boy Scouts, it is quite evident he has mastery of both the technical and hands-on aspects of this challenging field. Most of all, Nick is passionate about creating things on a grand scale, and whether he designs bridges, roads, buildings, or other civic structures in the future, one can be sure he will be bring a fresh vision and an unmatched work ethic to all civil engineering pursuits.”

In order to attain his Eagle Scout in 2020, Nick designed and built the trophy case that currently resides in the athletic hallway at East. This means Nick will leave a physical mark on the school, as well as the immense impact he has left on the track and cross country programs through his leadership. As a leader who has had so much success, he advises future Wolves to, “Pay attention to the process because sometimes missing that is almost like a step backward.” There is little doubt Nick will continue moving forward and hopefully putting his name atop the all-time leaderboard as he helps lead the track program.