Texas A&M University has one of the largest university systems in the world- not to mention they have the fourth largest chain in the United States and #1 in the state of Texas. Also, taking center stage is the Aggies athletics program. College Station is a wonderful college town in which student-athletes not only learn and receive a great education, but they have access to great weather, training facilities, and competition.
Alex Riba, formerly of O’Fallon HS, near the St. Louis metro area has cemented his name among the increasing number of great runners who are now trekking in from southern Illinois. Riba overcame some hardship at the start of his senior season, but quickly rebounded to enjoy a sensational outdoor campaign.
Check out Riba’s senior year of high school: 800m- 1:52.43/IL#1; 1600m- 4:10.41/US#30/IL#2- 3200m- 8:59.37/US#32/IL#2.
Riba is one of three recent former Illinois prep athletes who ventured southwest to join the “Aggie Nation” with the hope of one day obtaining some lofty goals. Riba took some during his winter back home in O’Fallon to share a few things since graduating from high school last spring.
You had a pretty solid high school career overall, but your senior year was pretty awesome in that you ranked in the top three in the 800, 1600, and 3200. How do you attribute your efforts in finishing your final track campaign off well?
My senior year was a really weird season because I was battling a bad Achilles Heel injury from January through late March. It was a time in which I could only do a select amount of mileage for two months. But I was able to cross train and work out in the pool doing aqua jogging workouts. I ran the Brooks PR Invitational (Seattle, WA) in February under no mileage for the three weeks leading up to it and everything was cross training. The injury turned my outdoor season into a short one, so even though I didn't have a lot of base going into the second half of the season, I was extremely fresh and was able to hammer some of the speed and more anaerobic work outs. It allowed me to reach a peak form quickly and hold it for a short amount of time, but long enough for most of the post-season. Also, Coach [Jon] Burnett had some great workouts and worked with me well to get the max out of the season along with a team full of guys like Patrick [Perrier].
Your former high school O'Fallon has built a solid program in that it is producing some great talent like you and now Patrick Perrier. Can you explain how your school's program has evolved since you were in high school?
Entering my freshman year, our best ever finish at state was 13th, and that was in the 1980's. However, we were able to finish 18th after my first season. The turnaround came from a solid core of motivated guys that we thought could compete and beat the schools up North. That was to be the senior class the following year. Those guys set the standard for the team and nothing was taken for granted as we trained with a goal in mind. That was the mindset that carried the team through the past few years. We changed from a team that would skip runs to play soccer there for fun, to one that was driven to compete (which was even more fun). The training changed to incorporate our goals, and harder workouts were developed by Coach Burnett. The expectations changed and we were able to pull in some good talent from other sports like Perrier, Dorrian Gordon, and myself.
Let's discuss how you picked Texas A&M of all schools to attend college and continue your running career. Why did you pick the Aggies over say like Arkansas which has a much richer history of distance running in the Southwest?
I went with the school that I felt was the best fit for me, the atmosphere, the team, the coach, and the school. It was something I prayerfully considered and felt led to A&M. The academics are phenomenal, the team is a great group of guys, and I liked the coaches and the atmosphere in general.
There were a lot of kids asked why they chose to leave their home state as opposed to staying in state like other outstanding runners from their respective states (Indiana, Michigan, etc.). Were you turned off by the lack of prominence of some instate schools?
I wouldn't say I was turned off by the prominence of instate schools. Illinois for instance is a very prominent school in both athletics and academics. I was never opposed to staying home. Not much really came up with any instate schools. Most of the out of state schools showed interest long before any of the instate ones so I didn't think too much about it.
Your transition to college running had to come sooner than for a track runner because of cross country being in the fall. Can you tell us about the immediate transition (summer training mileage, fall training, racing)?
The transition was gradual. After the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, I took two weeks off so I didn't have a huge base going into the start of the fall semester. Summer mileage was more than high school per week, but it was close to the same summer mileage progression that I was doing in high school. When I got to A&M, it wasn't too bad. One thing I did start doing with the team was long runs. In high school I never did long runs; many of the guys do them, but I never did anything longer than 7-8 in a single run.
I developed a hip flexor injury that set me back a little bit, and I ran my first race in Louisville, which was a little too soon fitness wise, but no harm was done except for a bad race. The following week I raced again, this time only 5k and it went much better, but I hurt some of the bones in my feet. It was kind of a freak injury, and that put me out for the rest of the season. I only raced twice, and the second race was past the first half of the season, so I used a year of eligibility. But we may be looking into options for getting a red shirt for the season. Ever since then I've just been building back quite slowly getting ready for indoor. Volume wise the training is a lot more demanding, but intensity wise it's about the same as high school.
You made an immediate impact when you earned SEC Men's Freshman Runner of the week during one week in October. What was that feeling like?
Well I was quite surprised when I received that honor that was the race where I hurt my foot and put myself out for the season. It would have been nice to have been able to run well and make an impact at big meets like the SEC Championship and Regionals. But that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Maybe if I get a redshirt there is a possibility I could get it two years in a row- which I would find quite humorous.
Can you sum up what your first semester in the classroom has been like? What are you studying?
Luckily, my time in the class room has gone much better than the running side of things. I'm a general business major right now and will probably go into management. I got into a special entrepreneurship program that's opened a lot of doors within the academic side of things. This semester has been a blast.
Distance runners tend to band together like fraternity brothers. Can you describe how your social life has been like in College Station?
Saying that we band together is almost an understatement. Fraternity brothers don’t have anything on us! We have a really solid group of freshmen guys and we pretty much do everything together. We have a reputation for walking everywhere together in packs. A lot of good stories and times have come out of it, and I'm looking forward to spending the next few years with those guys to see what we can accomplish.
What events are you going to concentrate in? What are your goals for the year?
My coach said the plan for this year is to do a little bit of everything from the 800-5,000 but I think I'll end up as a miler/1500 guy this year. Depending how things go, I'd like to be around 4:03/4:04 in the mile and around 3:46/3:47 for the 1500.
Finally, the question that everyone has been waiting for: What junk food have you refused to give up?
I've never been huge on junk food. But the one thing that I haven't given up is Tang. They still sell it but you just have to look for it. I have a pitcher and a stash of Tang powder in my dorm that I like to drink.
-We would like to thank Alex for participating in the interview... best wishes for Alex in the upcoming semester in the classroom and on the track.