Here at De Pere High School when you think of cross country, you automatically think of senior Grady Lenn, a hard-working athlete who doesn’t give up.
Lenn is looking for the state cross country title after finishing second last year against Onalaska senior Manny Putz by two seconds.
Then last spring, Lenn won the WIAA Division 1 1600 meters, beating Putz and the state record with 4:01:79 in track. He is training hard to make sure he wins the cross country title this year.
“I wasn’t too upset with second last year,” Lenn said. “I knew Manny who beat me was really good, but I beat him in track, and I gained a lot of confidence from that.”
Now that Putz has graduated, “I feel like I have the same amount of confidence either way,” Lenn said.
After running against Putz, it only pushed him further. Putz is already at the University of Wisconsin and Lenn has committed to Wisconsin as well. After Lenn beat Putz during the track season, he went up to Lenn and congratulated on how well he had done.
Asked how often he is training and if he is training harder this year, Lenn said “1-2 times a day. Volume and training load has gradually increased season to season.”
Lenn started his track career because everyone else was doing it; at the time it had seemed fun and to try something new.
“Middle school track is a good spot to start out,” said Lenn. He wasn’t trying super hard when he first started, so his freshman year he went out for cross country just to see what it was like and he felt like he found a lot of success in it early on.
“Since it is my last year, I want to soak in every last moment and enjoy the little things,” he said.
Lenn was asked how he felt about all the fame and attention he was getting and said, “I don’t really feel that famous, I like getting some recognition. It’s cool. It is fun.”
He has been brought so many opportunities like getting to travel all over or just meet new coaches or new brands.
“My coaches, my De Pere coaches, Coach Hendricks, Coach Joseph, the person who writes all my training and my family – they have been there all 4 years,” he said.
Teammate Richmond Gyamfi, a sophomore, said, “Being on the same team as Grady motivates us to perform at our best, especially to see his success.”
