Summer Interview Series: Installment Seven

This time WXC caught up with Kanwar Dhaliwal, returning sophomore, and graduate of Pitman High School.

WXC: What were you doing when WXC called you for the interview?

KD: Playing Fifa World Cup, Argentina vs. Portugal. And two seconds before you called, I scored with Leonel Messier, the greatest soccer player in the world.

WXC: A little bird told me that you were pretty into the World Cup this year.

KD: Yes. I was not only into the world cup. I lived the world cup.

WXC: What did you think of the outcome?

KD: I was really emotional after the US lost to Ghana. But it's nice to see someone other than Brazil or Germany come out on top.

WXC: In other sporting news, how has summer training been?

KD: It's been great. I have been running a lot, I haven't been running with the guys because they run in the AM and I run in the PM, but it's been good, sticking to coach's plan.

WXC: What are you looking forward to this season?

KD: Regionals. Because it's in Washington, and the stakes are higher since I'm a returning runner. It's not my freshman year, so there's no excuses.

WXC: What do you see as your role on the team this year?

KD: My role on the team is to show the Freshmen that anything is possible. Last year I had a great year, trusting coach and trusting teammates, and I feel like that is my duty to show the new runners that if it can happen to me it can happen to them.

WXC: What was your favorite race of your freshman year, both XC and track?

KD: Regionals for cross. Because I placed 5th on the team, pr'd in the 10k, and I just really enjoyed that race. Track, my favorite race was the 5k very early in the season when I outkicked Dawson Vorderbruegge.

WXC: Warrior XC Distance would like to make it known that Dawson Vorderbruegge was sick and injured in that race. Regardless, how was college distance different than what you expected coming out of high school?

KD: After graduation, I was the top dog in our conference, and I felt as though I was the going to be the top dog on our team. It was definitely a wake-up call. After our first workout, the logging trail in Tahoe, my first word after getting to the top of the hill was "High School cross country is a joke." That's when I realized that college running was a whole new level.

WXC: What's your best memory with the team off the track?

KD: LA Road Trip. And camping trip. Uhhhh, I guess camping, because that's more of a team thing.

WXC: Dun Duh Dun...

KD: Dun nuh nuh nuh!

WXC: What are your goals for this season?

KD: For cross, top 20 at CCAA's, and top 50 at Regionals. Time-wise, hopefully break 26 in the 8k, low 33's in the 10k. In track, break 4 in the 1500, and break 15:20 in the 5k.

WXC: One final question: If you were to assign an animal to each of the men's team runners, what would their animal be:

KD:
Palmer Thiele: Eagle
Tyler Thiele: Butterfly
Dawson Vorderbruegge: Giraffe
Terrance Ellis: Cheetah
Jaydeep Bhatia: Camel
Stephen Lenz: Ant
Joey Nunes: Hyena
Shane Brookshire: Rattlesnake
Ivan Bojorquez: Horse
Jose Morales: Flamingo
Kanwar Dhaliwal: Simba, the Lion King