Joplin High School sophomore Noe Fischer, like many runners, sort of stumbled onto the sport. It seems that most cross-country runners have a similar story about how they started running. Fischer’s story sounds very familiar, “In seventh grade I joined middle school cross country because most of my friends were in it, I had done the fun runs, but this was my first time to run competitively. I liked it a ton and decided to focus on it as a sport.”
It seems that Fischer made a wise decision to continue running. He has already proven, as a freshman last year, that he is quite good at it. This year, he is looking to progress to more elite levels, “I’m looking forward to my growth, both mentally and physically, through the races I run and through my training. My goal is to qualify for state this year because it’s the last year for the top two guys on my team (seniors Chance Tindall and Grey Edwards) and racing state with them at state would be extremely fun.”
Fischer may be young, but he has embraced responsibility and work ethic. “I see myself as a leader. In the off-season, I’ve worked really hard on my start, my grit, and my training. I’m fixing my start through strides and working on being more explosive. Whenever I race or run a harder workout than the shape I’m in, I try to hold as long as I can. Finally, I’m working on building up in mileage and listening completely to my coach on training instead of doing something they wouldn’t recommend.
Fischer ran a personal best of 17:31 in the 5k at the Southern Stampede last year. His goal for this season is to reduce that time by over a minute – to at least 16.25.
Noe is also a great example of a student athlete, recording a perfect 4.0 GPA as a freshman. He runs track for the Eagles and is also a member of Joplin High’s Fellowship of Christian Students (FCS).
While graduation is still two years off, Fischer already has a clear vision of what he would like his future to look like. “I pray to go to a college for running and to study to become a nutritionist / dietician.”
