Zoë Strickland | Managing Editor

David Ribich has had a good year. So good, in fact, that he was promoted from his position as a tent assistant at Steens Mountain Running Camp.

“I would be allowed to be a tent assistant last year but the camp founder said ‘you are on the verge of a professional career. We’re going to pull you out of the tent, you’re now a tent coach,’” explained Ribich. “Now, I’m up at camp as an agent for the kids to talk to.”

The camp’s founder wasn’t exaggerating Ribich’s accolades. In the past year, the track and cross country star has been named the 2016-17 GNAC Male Athlete of the Year, won the 1500-meter title at the 2017 NCAA Division II Championships and travelled to Sacramento, California to compete in the U.S.A. Track and Field Outdoor National Championships.

The latter is an honor few collegiate athletes receive. Described by Ribich as “the Olympic trials in an off-year,” the experience was one to behold.

“I raced against pro and top division athletes,” said Ribich. “I beat a lot of professional athletes signed by companies with contracts. So, this last summer really opened the door for me next year as a professional athlete.”

Ribich went into the event as the 33rd man in the nation and ultimately placed ninth in the final.  Solid stats for someone who started running for a no-frills team on a dirt track in Enterprise, Oregon.

“I didn’t come from the stellar program,” said Ribich. “I just had a good coach, a dedicated coach.”

His coach, Dan Moody, is still working after 42 years, and is currently in possession of the track star’s 1500-meter NCAA trophy — he put it on his mantle.

Ribich’s coach isn’t the only one from Enterprise rooting for him; Ribich gets letters and messages of support from citizens throughout the 2,000-person town. The letters are placed near his door in his room, serving as a constant reminder of both how he got to where he is, and what keeps him going.

“I came from such a small town that I constantly get messages and letters from people. I have them pinned up on my wall in my room right by my door, so everytime I open a door I look at a letter and read it, and that’s why I’m doing it … I’m doing this, and I’m doing it for them. Keeping me motivated is everyone counting on me back home that said ‘you’re going to be a professional athlete some day’ and putting that pressure on me, but it’s like a challenge to me. Having them support me still when I haven’t been home much is incredible.”

For Ribich, the decision to start running was made out of practicality. There were only two sports offered for men in Enterprise: football and cross country.

“I was just that super tiny skinny kid that had a big mouth,” he said. “(Cross country was) what I pretty much was only able to do and because, in cross country, it’s pretty much the only sport a 4-foot-10-inch freshman could beat a 6-foot, fully-matured man.”

Like every graduating senior on campus, Ribich’s future is on the horizon. With a major in communications and a minor in sports leadership and development, he’s paving the way for himself to continue on the path that he’s been running.

First up on his life plan: finishing out his athletic career, regardless of how long it may be. Then, the field is wide open.

“My major and minor are so broad that I know for a fact I want to be in the running community or running field,” said Ribich. “I just don’t know if it’s collegiate coaching, pro-coaching … I really enjoy public speaking. I’m actually writing a journal.”

The journal is a recent project of his — the first entry was written the night before the U.S.A. Track and Field prelims. Ribich is writing the currently untitled journal with the hope of using it in the future as a way of encouraging high school runners.

“I just want to focus on my athletic and running career and … try to travel to high schools, public speak and just say like, ‘guys, you can do whatever you set your mind to. I was an 86-pound freshman from a small school, I went to a division two school, and now — hopefully — I’m a professional athlete.’”

In the immediate future, he still has to finish out the school year. He’ll be running the Wes Cook Collegiate meet on Oct. 14, followed by the GNAC Championships on Oct. 21.

Regardless of the path that Ribich chooses, it’s bound to be great.

“You don’t do college athletics because your friends are doing it, you do it because it’s something you find fun and it’s your passion.”

Contact the author at journalmanaging@wou.edu