Distance Runner Regimbal Reflects on First Year as a Willamette Student-Athlete

"There are multiple reasons why I chose to attend Willamette, but the things that stand out to me after being a student at the University for almost two years are the relationships students are able to build with their professors," Regimbal said. "I went to an average-sized high school, about 1,300 students, and most classes had around 20+ students. I would say I had to put some effort into building relationships with my teachers but I found it to be a very rewarding thing. When applying to colleges, I knew I wanted to be able to have the opportunity to build relationships with my professors. Another reason why I chose to attend Willamette was because the school accepted my AP credits from high school, something that has saved me time and hopefully money. Finally, this reason you probably hear a lot, but I chose to attend the University because I was offered a very good (academic) scholarship."

In addition, to building relationships with his professors, Regimbal has focused on being involved in a variety of activities available at Willamette, including cross country and track and field.

"I've enjoyed becoming a part of the Willamette community," Regimbal commented. "There are so many things that Willamette students are involved in."

Regimbal competed in six cross country meets last fall, including the Northwest Conference Championships and the NCAA West Regional. His top 6-kilometer time was 19:53.0 at the Ash Creek Invitational to open the season and his top 8-kilometer time was 26:58.6 at the 45th Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational.

Gabriel Regimbal (So., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS)

"I think the biggest challenge I have faced is time management, something that almost everyone struggles with. College allows you to have more freedom with your schedule than in high school and you have more time outside of the classroom. For me, I realized that on days I have practice I won't have a lot of time or energy to do work so I try and get work done on days I don't have practice. Another thing I realized is that I like early classes, but I'm not an 8 a.m. person. I like to be able to wake up and get ready at a reasonable time."

As he begins his second year at Willamette, Regimbal has decided to major in Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics. In addition to focusing on classwork and athletics, Regimbal works at Willamette's Writing Center as a writing consultant. All of his commitments have become easier to fulfill as he has improved his time management.

"My schedule in college is different than in high school, but I have always tried to make sure I have my classwork done before practice," Regimbal said.

Regimall also has adapted to competing at the college level in cross country and track and field.

"My first season of cross country was a learning experience," Regimbal recalled. "There were a lot of firsts, the most obvious being the fact that I had never flown across the country for a race (at the Carleton Invitational in Minnesota). One of the main takeaways from my first season was that in college you race less frequently than in high school, so each race is very important. You spend more time training for each race than you did in high school.

"The way I improved throughout the season was learning to be confident in my training," Regimbal added. "Other ways I improved were keeping up with all my schoolwork, eating healthy, recovering, and getting lots of sleep. How you perform in competition can be impacted by other things like school and stress, so I tried to minimize those."

Although there's a lot of planning needed to balance a busy schedule, Regimbal has been able to have fun while competing in athletics at Willamette. He's also been able to develop his skills as a runner.

"One thing that I enjoy about distance running is that running is a sport where you can greatly improve through training," Regimbal said. "Talent is important in running, but with distance running, you can greatly improve if you are willing to put in the work. Despite running being an individual sport, there is a lot of teamwork involved. You spend hours with your team running, and your teammates are very important, especially during workouts and races. Like any other sport, running teaches you to value hard work ... you spend months training for a few races and the work you put in during the offseason can greatly impact how you perform."