Sept. 28, 2005

COMMERCE - Picture it. To his friends, 22-year-old Ryan Dirickson is a pleasantly odd mix of Walter Matthau and Lance Armstrong--the leisure suit and long-distance stamina.

The endurance is key for the Texas A&M University-Commerce senior on the men's cross country team. But "Old Man," as the Mesquite native's called, has distinct origins.

He asked me how he looked and I said `You're dressed like an old man.' Jessie Rodriquez

It turns out that last year when he was putting the finishing touches on his attire for an A&M-Commerce athletic dinner, he wanted a second opinion from teammate Jessie Rodriquez.

"He asked me how he looked and I said `You're dressed like an old man,' " Jessie recalled.

It didn't help that days later he suffered a hamstring injury in the Lone Star Conference Championships that kept him sidelined from competition.

"They had to help me in and out my car, so it just kind of stuck."

It was just the first of two injuries that Dirickson, who first competed in first grade when he won his age group in a Seagoville charity run, had to overcome since he has been at A&M-Commerce. He also missed most of the track and field season with a strained muscle in his lower leg. And as he describes it, the smaller the muscle, the longer the recovery time for the injury.

Even before last season's setbacks, Dirickson wasn't positive that he would run collegiately again after transferring from Texas Tech his freshman year. He bounced around to North Texas and then Eastfield Community College.

His continued friendship with high school teammates Caleb and Cameron Reynolds at Mesquite kept him in contact with the two brothers while they ran track and cross country for the Lions. He remembers being excited about competing again after meeting with Pat Ponder, cross country and track coach.

"I didn't want to get involved with any other schools [besides A&M-Commerce]," Dirickson said, "and I just wanted to run for someone I had confidence in."

For Ponder, the feeling was mutual.

"Ryan is a very solid person. I knew that the very first time I met him," he said. "He's very focused on what he's trying to accomplish."

The continued camaraderie with the brothers Reynolds and the rest of his Lion teammates have been instrumental in their success, Dirickson said. Just last week, the Lion men finished 13th overall at the Missouri Stampede out of over 30 schools in the nationally recognized race. They finished ahead of regionally ranked Pittsburg State (Kan.) and Southwest (Mo.) Baptist as Dirickson had the top team time of 26:16 on the 8,000-meter course. In light of the entire team's performance, the Lion men were ranked 10th in the South Central Region.

I figured I was better at running than at soccer. Ryan Dirickson

"Ryan ran an aggressive race very intelligently," Ponder venerated of his senior runner following the event.

And with the LSC championships approaching in late October, the Lions are going to be a major crunch preparing in the meantime. "We all want to build up for conference," Dirickson said. "That is our ultimate goal--to win conference."

He has his own goals of competing in the NCAA national championship, he said. "Now I want to be realistic in my goals, but I don't want to set the bar too low."

No matter the ultimate outcome, Dirickson says it will be a complete team effort.

"We all get along really well, and we know what it takes to win," he repeated. "When you run with fast people, you tend to train faster. And when you run in packs like we do, that encourages everyone to improve and gain confidence."

The mental strains distance runners undergo can be just as severe as the physical limitations, Dirickson said, something the Lions will be training to concur for the remainder of the season. "To be a good distance runner, you just have to be willing to do it. It does take certain physical features, but it takes as much mental work at this level of competition."

Dirickson joked that he stopped playing soccer once he got in junior high. "I figured I was better at running than at soccer." Lucky for the Lions.

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