‘He was pretty solid for us’

Posted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi | Nov 20, 2014 | Track & Field |

Bekes switches colleges and succeeds at long-distance running

FRUITLAND, N.M.

Evan Bekes runs during the University of New Mexico Invitational in September. Bekes ran for New Mexico State University for the last two seasons and finished his last collegiate race last weekend during the 2014 NCAA Mountain Region Championships. (Courtesy photo)

Every two weeks during his physical education class in the seventh grade, Evan Bekes ran two miles.

He placed second on his first try and eventually worked his way up to first place.

His determination to place first every time he ran was a hunger he never quite grew out of.

“I never expected I’d be a runner, it kind of happened by accident,” he said.

That accident has led him to new opportunities.

Just last week, Bekes raced in his last collegiate race for New Mexico State University at the 2014 NCAA Mountain Region Championships in Albuquerque.

He placed 94th overall and third for his team in a time of 33:34.1 in the men’s 10K.

Bekes graduated from Bloomfield in 2011 and joined the cross-country team for the University of Northern Colorado in the fall of 2011.

Bekes said he enjoyed the change of scenery but the transition from high school to collegiate running wasn’t easy.

He said he improved some but didn’t feel at home in Colorado.

“It was a little rough because we started running a whole lot more miles,” he said. “In high school I was used to running 40 miles. I was up to, like, 85 a week.”