Free State’s Donley ready for state track meet

Free State's Ethan Donley (133) runs in a group while competing in the 2013 Sunflower League Championship at Rim Rock.

Free State junior Ethan Donley had a breakout race at the 6A state cross country meet with a sixth-place finish, and that success had carried over into track season.

Donley was a regional champ Friday in the 800 with a time of 1:56.86 and will be competing in three different events for the Firebirds at the 6A state meet Friday and Saturday in Wichita.

“I’ve seen him really put stuff together in this last month basically since we kind of opened up in May. He’s buying into our program,” FSHS coach Jordan Rose said. “He’s putting things together. I see him excited and being successful, and that’s really all you can ask for from an athlete.”

Along with the 800, Donley will be running the 1600 and a leg of the 4×400 relay, but there is no secret as to his favorite distance to run in track and cross country.

“By far the 800. I get to run fast,” Donley said. “I just love it. It’s so much fun.”

Donley has been part of a three-headed FSHS distance-running beast, joined by junior Tanner Hockenbury and senior Ryan Liston. While Liston doubled as a regional champ in the 1600 and 3200, he’s envious of Donley’s speed in the mid-distance events.

“It always blows my mind because I’m always watching him and I ask everyone around me, ‘why is he so fast?’ Because you look at him and his legs are super skinny and he’s just in general basically a super skinny guy,” Liston said. “I feel like you need some muscle to propel you along, but I guess he doesn’t. It’s insane, but it’s always fun to watch him race.”

One possible explanation for how Donley has been so successful from any distance ranging from the 400 in track to the 5,000 in cross country might be that he has grown up around the sport. Ethan is the son of former Olympian Julie (Jenkins) Donley and Milan Donley, who is the Kansas Relays meet director and event coordinator for KU’s home cross country and track meets.

“It’s been fun because I got into running at a younger age at like first grade or so,” Ethan said. “My dad kind of coached me early on, so that was fun.”

Prior to settling into his current position, Milan dabbled in the coaching ranks at the collegiate and professional levels, including coaching Julie in the 800 at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. While Milan believes that some of Ethan’s natural ability to run the 800 has come from Julie’s genes, he also credited Rose and her coaching staff with setting up his son up for success.

“He’s showing a lot of latitude with what he’s done in cross country,” Milan said. “His 800 is showing to be his best event right now. Running on the 4×4 has given him the opportunity to develop his 400 speed, which is a necessity for 800-meter runners and milers.”

After running a personal-record 800 time of 1:56.57 to win a Sunflower League championship, Ethan overtook his mother for the fastest half-miler in the household. Julie has noticed that Ethan has run with a different tenacity during the past few meets, which has allowed him to hit another gear in his races.

“He’s being a competitor instead of being a person in the race. He’s actually hungry and going for it, and that’s fun to watch,” Julie said. “Sitting on the sidelines is kind of hard because you never know what is going to happen. You’re like, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ but he’s been making it happen.”

Ethan has all of his focus geared toward the state meet, and still has one year left at Free State, but he has decided for sure that he wants to continue his running career at the next level. Donley listed Kansas, Texas and Adams State (NCAA Division II) as some schools he expressed early interest in. Julie began her career at Adams State before finishing her career at Brigham Young, and she won national titles at both places.

“He definitely has his mother’s genes when it comes to middle-distance racing, that’s for sure,” Milan said.