Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Thursday, April 24, 2008
Cotter’s Wasinger heading to Kansas
 Cotter's Donny Wasinger runs the Jim Flim Cross Country Invitational meet at Saint Mary's University last September 22 in Winona. Wasinger placed first with a time of 15:58. (Photo by Paul Solberg/Winona Daily News) |
Donny Wasinger recently made a bold move. He went against the family.
Wasinger, a Cotter High School senior, accepted a three-quarters athletic scholarship to compete in cross country and track at the University of Kansas.
Wasinger’s two uncles and his dad Tony aren’t very happy with the decision. Those three graduated from rival Kansas State — a school that was also interested in having Donny run.
“He’s a traitor,” Tony joked. “He’s on the other side of the fence now.
“It’s all in good fun,” he added. “We’re all really proud of him. We’re happy he’s found a spot where he’s going to be comfortable.”
Kansas first started taking interest in Donny last spring at the Class 1A state meet, where he came away the state champion in both the 3,200- and 1,600-meter runs.
Donny had offers from a few different Division I colleges, including Minnesota and St. Louis, but he liked what Kansas had to offer.
“At first, it was like, ‘Why Kansas?’” Donny said. “Both my uncles and dad went to Kansas State. But I just liked the town and campus.
“The U of M was pushing really hard, and I liked it, but I just liked Kansas more, I guess. They contacted me a lot. I think a change of scenery will be nice.”
But not a change of scenery to Kansas State — perhaps just to stick it to Dad.
“Maybe a little bit,” Donny joked.
Right now, Donny is in the midst of defending his state titles in track and he’s coming off a state title in cross country last fall.
Despite the high expectations, it’s hard for him to put aside the thoughts about next season.
“I think about it plenty,” he said. “But it’s all about attitude. You have to look at it as an opportunity.
“I just hope to go down there and put some trust into the staff and let them turn me into a great runner.”
Before that comes, however, Wasinger hopes to defend his track titles. He doesn’t see that as a cake walk.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “There have already been some great times this year. The goal is to make a state appearance and get some blue ribbons.”
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