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Cross country and basketball don’t have much in common. However, Durango’s Paul Knight and basketball legend Michael Jordan share one thing: A last dance with the opportunity to defend a title.
Knight is preparing for his final season to cap off an exceptional running career at Colorado School of Mines that includes being part of two national championship-winning cross country teams. The Orediggers will try to keep the Division II title in Golden this fall, just as Jordan and his Chicago Bulls tried to keep the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 1998.
“It's sad that the chapter will be ending, but maybe that's part of what makes it special,” Knight said.
Knight has come a long way to get to this point. He began as a typical, outdoors-loving Durango kid. Running quickly became the best way for him to enjoy nature in Durango.
Entering middle school, Knight was introduced to Durango Trail Runners, a middle school program put on by Durango Running Club.
“I was able to build a love of running because we would play capture the flag and bandanna tag and stuff like that,” Knight said. “Even though we were only running a few miles a day and playing a lot of games, it really helped me build that love for it.”
Knight performed well in high school, earning individual 11th and 10th place finishes at the Colorado state cross country championships his junior and senior years, respectively. He credits the group of DHS upperclassmen with helping him immediately feel welcome and like a part of the family. Team bus rides and hotel stays are some of his favorite moments from high school, not any specific race or accomplishment.
Those upperclassmen continued to be role models for Knight after they graduated. Runners like Aidan Fitzgerald (University of Portland), Marcus Flint (Pepperdine University) and Noah Bodewes (Colorado State) had successful college careers after graduating from DHS. During his junior and senior years, Knight decided he would run in college.
Knight reached out to several coaches, including Colorado School of Mines’ Chris Siemers. He received a very positive response from Siemers, but was still on the fence, as he wanted the experience of being out-of-state. On his second campus visit, however, Knight was convinced.
“One of the seniors (Luke Julian) took probably 45 minutes to sit down with me and we had a really great conversation,” Knight said. “He just told me about what life at Mines was like and what his experience on the team had been … That's honestly what really sold me on it, on top of the passion that I could see Chris had for being a coach.”
Knight redshirted his first year of cross country, meaning he could train with the team and gain experience without losing a year of eligibility, as long as he did not travel to compete with the Mines team.
“Almost with no exceptions, every person here redshirts their freshman year because it gives you that opportunity to develop,” Knight said. “The biggest benefit was being able to have that chance to get accustomed to what it's like going to school at Mines. There’s a lot less pressure on you if you’re not in uniform.”
Redshirting paid off for Knight the following year when he suited up for the 2022 season. He took second out of 131 runners in his debut race, the Roadrunners Invitational, hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver. It was a sign of things to come, as he earned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Freshman of the Year honors.
Mines won the RMAC championships, took a close second in the NCAA South Central regionals to Adams State and dominated the 2022 NCAA Division II cross country national championships. Knight finished 24th in the 257-strong nationals field as teammate Dillon Powell won the individual title, the first in Mines history to do so.
“The team that year was so incredibly strong and I was equally hungry to prove myself,” Knight said. “A big part of it was that I had role models like (Powell), having role models … who wanted to show me how to develop and grow into that role where I could perform. I didn't go into that season planning on being on the nationals team by any means. But I did go in knowing that I wanted to help that team in whatever way I could.”
Knight’s redshirt sophomore year went almost as well. He improved his placements at all three 2023 postseason meets (conference, regionals and nationals). Knight went from eighth at conference as a freshman to fifth as a sophomore, seventh to sixth at regionals and 24th to 23rd at nationals.
“To see improvement just requires a lot of hard work and total consistency,” said Knight. “Across all aspects, whether it's mileage or just focusing on consistent workouts or consistently getting nine hours of sleep a night.”
The Orediggers defended their conference title and even took the regional crown from powerhouse Adams State. However, North Carolina’s Wingate University barely won 2023 nationals after Mines had been ranked number one the entire year in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association poll.
“That left us all with a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” Knight said about getting second to Wingate. “From the beginning of the summer (the following season) we knew that there was one day that mattered and it was Nov. 23 (the day of nationals). That was our only focus. And we did everything we could to focus on ourselves and what we could control.”
Knight described his junior season as “magical.” Mines came into nationals undefeated, winning conference and regionals. However, the Orediggers were still underdogs. Knight and the rest of the Mines team had been hearing all season about how Wingate was possibly the best team in Division II history. Knight and his teammates had trained the whole season focusing on what they could control, preparing to give the Bulldogs as much of a run for their money as possible.
It turned out to be enough. Mines won the 2024 NCAA Division II cross country title by only three points, 63-66, with Knight finishing 21st (the other four scorers for Mines finished seventh, eighth, ninth and 25th. Cross country scoring involves adding every team member’s finishing place together.)
Knight said it was the cross country equivalent of a buzzer beater. Over a 30-minute race, three points equates to about half a second per person on a team, according to Knight.
“If each person had finished half a second slower, we would have lost,” Knight said. “The only reason that was able to happen was because we were running for each other.”
Entering his final season, Knight wants to continue to develop as a runner and a leader. Knight knows Mines is a program that believes in and excels at developing runners. He credits consistency and hard work with getting him to this point, which is a theme across the Mines program and something Knight wants to continue as a senior role model.
“Especially after seeing the really positive precedent that people like Luke Julian set, it made me realize the importance of trying to … have a positive impact on anyone who could really benefit from it,” Knight said.
Knight believes that Mines has a very real shot at capturing its first back-to-back national titles. He knows it won’t be easy, but he believes the key will be the Orediggers focusing on themselves and what they can control, just as they did last season.
While Knight is singularly focused on the upcoming season, he has a very clear goal for what he wants to do after he graduates.
“Part of what makes this sport so special is that you can you can keep doing it,” said Knight. “It really is a lifelong sport and that’s part of what's kept me in it. I would love to get back to the reason I fell in love with the sport with running on trails. There's a really unique professional scene in trail running. It's just a really unique community and it's super supportive. It would be an exciting way to continue competing in the sport and pushing myself to see what I'm capable of.”
ajbonanno@durangoherald.com
