Senior Jesse Cherry (Eagle River, Alaska/Chugiak) of the men's track & field team set the school record in the 5,000-meter and earned a provisional qualifier at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. on Friday. Cherry finished third in his heat and 15th overall, setting a new HPU record with 14:02.86. He broke his own record of 14:14.18 and earned Student-Athlete Feature honors. Each week throughout the athletic year a student-athlete who has done something significant or unique will be featured on highpointpanthers.com.

“It was a good race,” Cherry said. “It wasn't the best race I've ever had but I did what I needed to do and what was expected of me. I set a personal record and broke my own school record but it wasn't an amazing race. It just happened that the entire field didn't race very fast.”

Cherry may seem like he is being hard on himself after a very good performance but he said there are very few races where he doesn't think he could have done better.

“I've only had one time in my entire career when I have finished a race and been truly happy and it was last year at Stanford,” he said. “I ran about 45 seconds faster than I ever had before and I was really happy. But usually I immediately think about the things I could have done better.”

With the Husky Classic behind him, Cherry has shifted his focus to the Big South Conference Indoor Championship which will be held in Clemson, S.C. on Feb. 27 and 28.

“At this point in the indoor season I am just focusing on the conference championship. Coach Esposito and I decided not to chase a national qualifier in the 5,000-meter but to really focus on the 10,000 in the outdoor season.”

Cherry said he will have to wait and see who the competition is at the Big South Championship before he can speculate on how he will finish. With competition like Liberty's Sam Chelanga it will be hard to get a win.

“As uncompetitive and lame as it sounds I have to wait and see what he does,” Cherry said. “If he is in the same event then he is going to win. He is in a whole different league, I am good but not that good. It would be like me trying to play basketball against Dwyane Wade, there is no way I can beat him.”

When the outdoor track & field season begins Cherry will be completely focused on the 10,000-meter. The goal, he said, has always been to make it to the NCAA Championship in that event.

“I should make it to nationals in the 10K,” Cherry said. “If somehow that isn't how my season ends it will have been a disappointment. I should be there.”

Cherry will compete at the Stanford Invitational on March 26, where he hopes to get the time he needs to qualify for regionals. The NCAA Regional Qualifier will be held in Greensboro, N.C. on May 27 and Cherry will need a top-12 finish to make it to the NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Ore.

The senior said he is averaging around 100 miles a week in training right now and the key to keeping up that mileage is to be on a very strict schedule.

“To compete at a high level is all about conditioning and commitment,” Cherry said. “I get up at 6 a.m. and eat breakfast then go for my long run, usually about 12 miles at 8 a.m. I almost always take a nap, then eat lunch, then do a shorter afternoon run or workout. I have to make sure I get at least eight hours of sleep every night and when you add in class that is my whole day.”

It is the additional afternoon run that Cherry said is essential to his day.

“Everything is better when I get that second run in,” Cherry said. “Food even tastes better after it. Strawberries are sweeter. Chocolate is more rich. Everything is better.”