EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville High School cross country runner Roland Prenzler had been one of the area’s top cross-country/track runners for the last few years, and he recently made a decision that’ll keep him close to home.
Prenzler recently committed to run for Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where he will start beginning in the fall of 2019.
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In a recent interview, Prenzler had many reasons why he committed to the Cougars’ program.
“There were a lot of different reasons,” Prenzler said. “First, it was closer to home. I’m tight-knit with my family, and I didn’t really feel like I was ready to go halfway across the country. I feel like staying at home was the better option.”
And also staying in touch with people that he knows well was also a factor in his decision.
“I wanted to keep the connection with the people who have helped develop me into the person I’ve become today,” Prenzler said.
Another reason is that he’ll be working with Head Coach Scott Block and assistant coach Kayla Brown, who have helped develop great runners for the team.
“Coach Brown, I know, is in her fourth year,” Prenzler said, “and she’s helped develop Keith Meyer, who was an all-(Ohio Valley) conference runner, and I can do that. She’s shown that she’s been able to develop an average runner into a very good runner, and I feel like that she could do the same for me as well.”
And a third reason is the team’s success academically, which was very important to Prenzler.
“I saw that the SIUE team has maintained a very high GPA,” Prenzler said. “Having a team that’s very focused on academics is important to you, and I feel like that it’s a group of guys that are focused on it. It’s good who are committed to getting things done in the classroom as well.”
Prenzler and the Tigers are getting ready to run in the IHSA Class 3A state meet on Saturday morning at Detweiler Park in Peoria. Prenzler finished second in last week’s sectional meet at Quincy, running the course in 15:12, while his teammate, Max Hartmann, finished third with a time of 15:20. The Tigers, as a team finished second behind O’Fallon to advance to the meet, and Prenzler is committed to a high finish at state.
“I’m just looking at planning out the race, and see if I can finish in the top ten,” Prenzler said. “I’ll shoot for the top five, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
Prenzler will try to set the race up in order to achieve his goal and also touted Hartmann as a potential top-25 finisher. If that happens, it would give the Tigers two all-state runners for the first time in the program’s history.
“I think Max Hartmann can get a top-25 finish,” Prenzler said. “This could be the first year that two athletes achieve all-state in cross country.”
This year’s state meet is different from the 2017 race, where Prenzler finished 52nd, which he thought was a great accomplishment at that time. Prenzler, however, is focused on a fast time as well as a high finish in this year’s race.
“I think that I could run a 14:20 or better,” Prenzler said. “Looking at last year, I know that I can improve on that, and at the same time, it was something for me to realize where I am, improve upon that, and move forward.”
Prenzler is very happy and comfortable with his choice to run at SIUE and feels very relaxed and confident heading into the state meet this weekend.
“With committing to SIUE, I feel very comfortable with my choice,” Prenzler said. “There’s really not a lot of pressure at state. I just want to relax, stay focused and have fun with it.
And Prenzler also wants to show people that there’s plenty of running talent and good runners outside of Chicagoland as well.
“I want to show people that not all of the talent is in Chicago,” Prenzler said. “We have great runners in Southern Illinois, and it’s not something that people should count out.”
And he also invoked a Higher Power into helping him develop into the runner and person he’s become.
“All glory to God for giving me the opportunity to be where I am today,” Prenzler said.
And you can surely believe that Roland Prenzler will become a top runner for the Cougars starting next fall and in the years ahead as well.
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