Highland cross country product Rosen turns in productive freshman year at Heartland CC
Going from running high school cross country races to competing at the junior college level was definitely a big change for former Highland High School standout Easton Rosen.
All things considered, however, the 2021 Bulldog alum did pretty well for himself as a freshman at Heartland Community College in Normal as Rosen helped the Hawks men’s cross country team enjoy a strong 2021 season.
“I think, overall, it was a good, productive year,” Rosen said. “It definitely is a difficult transition going from 3 miles in high school to 5 miles (8K) in college. But, over time, once I got a few races under my belt, I think I started to figure it out and I think I’ve set myself up to have a good sophomore year. Because I’ll know what to expect with races and energy management with 5 miles as opposed to 3 (miles).”
Overall, the distance change was the most daunting change and challenge for Rosen, going from a 3-mile race in high school to a 5-mile one in JUCO.
“It was equally a mental thing and just a physical thing in having to train a little longer and going a little further and doing a little more mileage each week,” Rosen said. “But it’s very much a mental (challenge) as well.”
On Aug. 27, Rosen began his season with a 32nd place finish in the JUCO Relays at Maxwell Park in Normal. Rosen combined with teammate Briar Nevills to lead the Hawks with a 41:12, good for a second-place finish.
“I felt like it was an OK start with the JUCO Relays,” Rosen said. “My teammate ended up being one of the top runners on the team. He was always in one of the top three (finishers) so whenever he and a few others had significantly faster averages than me those first couple of meets, that was kind of a wake-up call that okay, this is JUCO, you’re not in Highland anymore and you’ve gotta put in the work if you want to be in the top seven (runners).”
Rosen stepped up his performance Oct. 5 with a strong 15th place finish running his first 5-mile/8K race in a time of 28:38 at the Heartland JUCO Invite at Maxwell Park.
“That was a good race and that was my first taste of the 5-mile, true 8K race, so it was definitely an adjustment. But I got to see what it was all about and I thought for my first 5-mile, I did relatively well and I was happy with my time,” Rosen said.
Thanks to a successful regular season, the Hawks finished the postseason at the NJCAA Nationals meet in Richmond, Virginia, on Nov. 13.
In just their second season as a program, the Hawks ended with a flourish as they finished third in nationals behind Cowley College and Daytona State.
More on postseason, academic success
Being a part of a such special postseason run was a great experience for Rosen.
“That felt great,” Rosen said. “That whole experience of the season and just our team chemistry and culture is just so close and we’re all good friends ... we’re tight with each other,” Rosen said.
Academically, Rosen finished up his associate degree work in business prep and is planning this fall to get his certification in small business management and Microsoft word and Excel.
“I’m looking to hopefully transfer to the U of I (Illinois) after my sophomore year and I want to study either supply chain or operations management,” he said.
Ready for sophomore season
After spending most of the summer in Highland, Rosen recently moved back to Normal.
Moving forward, as he starts practice, Rosen knows what he needs to improve on in order to have a big sophomore season. He is setting his sights on being a top seven runner when the Hawks go back to nationals this fall.
“I would like to be under 27 minutes in the first half of the season and then get as close to 26 (minutes) flat by the end of the season as possible. Then, because I sat out last year at nationals, my goal this year is to for sure be in the top seven going into it without a doubt and then to be a scorer, too (there), would be great,” Rosen said.
