Mike Barrett, LSSULakers.com
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — As the Lake Superior State men's track & field team begins its outdoor season, the Lakers look to build upon their performance from the 2019 GLIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships when they finished in seventh place with 21 points — their most points at the GLIAC Championships since 2014.
Among the members of the team, one senior has had a strong indoor season. Jack Miles recorded two personal records during the indoor season — running a time of 2:08.75 in the 800-meter run at the Doug Hansen Open and 4:32.92 in the one-mile run at the SVSU Tune-Up.
Now Miles looks to continue his strong senior season as the competition shifts outdoors.
A dual major in forensic chemistry and biochemistry, Miles was drawn to Lake Superior State largely for the forensic chemistry major, noting that few schools offered that specific program.
"I was pretty set on what I wanted to study, and Lake State offered a unique program for that," said the native of Dryden, Michigan. "Many universities offer a minor in forensic science or general forensic science degree, but LSSU has specific forensic chemistry. I knew I wanted to focus on the chemistry aspect, so that brought the school to my attention. After researching, I found I really liked the area and I enjoyed the small-school feel."
Miles has had a fascination with the sciences from a young age — fostered in part by his father, who teaches high school science.
"I have always really liked science. My dad is a high school science teacher. After taking chemistry in high school, I found it really cool and wanted to find a way to use it to help others, and make a difference, instead of doing strictly research work."
Although he does not want to go into research following graduation, Miles is very complimentary of the tools for research made available at Lake State. "The instrumentation we have access to is pretty remarkable for undergrads, so it opens up a lot of possibilities for in-class work in specific courses," Miles said. "We also have access to those resources outside of the classroom — getting the chance to use those in our personal research for senior projects. Having those opportunities opens up a lot of doors and helps us build our resumes really well."
Following graduation, Miles wants to work in a forensic laboratory — a career path that entails using scientific methods to analyze evidence recovered from crime scenes.
Like all scholar-athletes, Miles has an impressive work load. Being a member of the cross country and track and field teams means he is in season for nearly the entire school year. It makes for a busy time, but the workload has also helped Miles become an expert time manager.
"It keeps you very busy, but I find I like being busy because it helps with the time management," said Miles. "Having something to do every day has helped me learn to schedule when I need to be doing other things related to school. The coaches are really helpful with scheduling too, which is nice."
Miles's schedule is filled out, not only by his class schedule and athletics, but also by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), of which he is the president. "The SAAC works together as a collective group of student-athletes to promote unity and recognition as a student-athlete body, volunteer in the community, and raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation," Miles said.
"Jack has been a guiding force on the team since I began coaching at LSSU," said Lakers head coach Rob Gallinger. "A smart, driven individual, who models excellent leadership qualities, Jack rallies teammates to strive for greatness and succeed in whatever they do. He is a consummate professional who will have a lasting legacy on this team and around the LSSU athletic community."
Like so many athletes, Miles discovered his passion for running at an early age. Many of the members of his family were also runners, but it was a non-runner that really got him to give it a go.
"We train the same and race most of the same distances in cross country and track, so it is the surface and the time of year that differs," Miles said. "My mom's side of the family are big runners. My mom always put that idea in my head of 'You should do it.' I was young and did not think much of it, but then my dad started doing runs, and he is not a runner — he was doing it to get in shape. I was young enough to go into running with no expectations and wound up really enjoying it. That passion continued throughout high school and here to Lake Superior State."
When asked about the differences between indoor track and outdoor track, Miles pointed out the obvious, but also went into detail about some nuances that non-competitors may not notice.
"Aside from the obvious [being indoors versus outdoors], the length of the track does play a big factor and can affect your races," Miles said. The races offered in each season vary. For instance, we run the 10,000-meter run outdoors, but not indoors. The amount of laps on the indoor tracks, which are shorter than outdoor tracks, can seem monotonous and make you feel like you are running so much farther. A thing that many people do not think about is the air quality difference. The air inside can be really dry, especially compared to the fresh air outside. Then again, the weather outdoors can be brutal, versus being consistent indoors."
Thinking back on his time running at Lake Superior State, many memories stood out in both cross country and track, including besting his own PR in the 5k — shaving 1:01 off his previous best time — as well as the performance of the cross country team this past fall. Men's cross country took eighth place at in the 2018 GLIAC Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan an improvement from the previous season.
"This past fall, the men's cross country team performed better than in recent years," Miles said. We ran really well as a group, and I had never seen our scoring runners be as strong and consistent as they were this year."
This outdoor track season, Miles hopes to improve upon his times, his 10,000-meter run in particular.
"In track, as a sophomore in the 10,000-meter run, I ran my personal record of 32:51 and then junior year, I did not have such a good race," he recollected, "but looking at my PR time, it would have been fast enough to place seventh in that 10,000-meter run. So even though that race was not a highlight, I know I am capable of hitting that range."
Miles and the Laker track and field teams begin their outdoor seasons at the Miami Blizzard Buster on March 23 in Miami, Ohio.
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