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For the five years I’ve written in Winona, we’ve had a state champion in either the 3,200 or 1,600 meters.
First it was Winona High’s Garrett Heath, then Cotter’s Kyle Brandon. Next, it was Elliott Heath, and now, Donny Wasinger.
Like the Heaths, Wasinger is back at state, ready to defend titles.
He’s competing in the Class 1A meet at 3 p.m. today at Hamline University in the 3,200. He’ll be back Saturday same time, same place to run the 1,600.
The results should be the same, too. I’m kind of curious if officials at the Minnesota State High School League will just give him the medals beforehand.
They may as well.
He’s the defending champ in both events, and he’s got the best times in the class. Not to mention he’s fresh off a cross country state championship.
Where’s the drama? He should run a lap backwards, and then see if he can catch up? OK, that’s just stupid.
No matter. Every year something happens. Elliott Heath had to borrow an opponent’s shoes once. Brandon came out of nowhere. Garrett was going for a state record.
Now it’s Wasinger’s turn again.
I’m just hoping for something. There’s always something. There had better be something.
No offense to Wasinger, but he’s not much fun to talk to at a meet.
“Donny, yeah, he’s definitely a lot different outside of track,” teammate Patrick Bowlin said. “You always think, Don’t talk to Donny, because he’s crazy, in this zone and you don’t want to mess with him. But outside of track, he’s cool, laid back and likes to have fun.”
In Wasinger’s defense, what is there to talk about? State will go something like this: Run around the track four times or eight times. Run faster at the end, so as to not get beat. Win.
I’m sure he’ll be full of great insight as to how he did it. We’ll see.
In the meantime, here are a few things you may or may not know about the Cotter High School senior.
First, he’s a great sport.
He may come across cocky, but he isn’t. He’s confident, and he should be. But watch him after his races this weekend. He’ll shake everyone’s hand and give everyone their due.
He loves this sport. He loves running. He wants everyone to stick with it.
“Running is really hard to do,” Wasinger said. “If I can keep somebody running, to not give up after a bad race, I’ll try and do it.
“There was a seventh-grader from Caledonia this year. He came up to my hip. Everyone lapped him. I think I lapped him twice. But I talked to him after the race. I tried to make sure he’d stick with running and everything. He said he would.”
Wasinger is also in a band. They call themselves Pontius Pilot and the Fuse Bos.
Yes, Bos. I don’t know either. I didn’t ask. I don’t want to know. OK, actually, I just forgot to ask. Sorry.
Wasinger is the lead guitarist, singer and he writes his own music. He’s been playing guitar about two years.
“He’s punk rocker,” Cotter senior and friend Caitlin Babenek said. “In Battle of the Bands, he had the cutoff T-shirt, the bandana. When the curtain went up, he jumped off this platform. He was hardcore.”
So, he’s a little bit of a different character when he’s on stage, but it’s not a whole lot different from the track.
“On stage, I just let it all go,” Wasinger said. “That’s what people enjoy seeing. You can’t stand up there all nervous, scared and stiff.”
Wasinger also is into reading. What a weirdo. He’s apparently obsessed with the book “Walden.”
“Donny really likes it and nobody knows why,” Bowlin said. “He’s always looking at it at track meets.”
Wasinger admits it’s his favorite book.
“I’m almost through it,” he said. “It’s hard to read. It was written a long time ago. I’ve got a lot of circled things and highlighted things just good quotes and stuff. Then I have all the page numbers written down where those quotes are.”
Now you know there’s a little more to Wasinger than this hardcore runner, who zones out on race day. He’s quite the character, and one we can all be proud of.
Rick Solem is a sports writer for the Winona Daily News. He can be reached at 507-453-3526 or by email at rick.solem@lee.net
