Andrew Hauser already proving to be one of nation’s best cross country runners
COLUMBIA, Mo. (BVM) – Andrew Hauser may only be a sophomore in high school and is still in the beginning stages of his competitive running career. Yet, he has already proven to be an elite talent, and could end up being the best cross country runner to ever come out of Missouri.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Hauser family, as both of his parents ran collegiately at the Division I level with Southern Illinois University. Now, Hauser’s older brother, Matthew, has also become a DI cross country athlete at Kansas State.
“They were definitely a big influence,” Andrew said. “They did a really good job of not forcing it on me but also helping me and persuading me to do some of the things which I’m glad they did. And definitely Matthew, just watching him do his thing during middle school and early high school, I was definitely intrigued and wanted to do that.”
Matthew was indeed one of the main influences and reasons for Andrew’s current stardom. Although he was playing other sports, Andrew did realize he had a strong talent with running. By the end of his middle school years, he began getting more and more serious with the sport. Part of that came from his eighth grade track season being canceled in the spring of 2020, allowing he and Matthew to workout and train together.
“When Covid hit, we didn’t get our track season,” Andrew said. “I started working out with my brother more. Matthew helped a lot, just being there through Covid and I know he was frustrated because that was the biggest track season for him that he didn’t get to compete at. Then it just got really serious freshman year.”
In his freshman year at Rock Bridge, Andrew concluded his basketball career, focusing solely on cross country and track. During that first cross country season with the Bruins, the freshman got to compete alongside his brother, looking up to him again just as he has for most of his athletic career.
“That’s probably the reason why all this stuff is happening, he’s probably one of my biggest inspirations,” Andrew added about Matthew. “He’s definitely helped me an insane amount … It was really inspirational to see him just go out there and give it all he had every weekend.”
As a senior, Matthew earned an individual state championship in cross country, also leading Rock Bridge to a team state title. He capped his prep career by being named the Gatorade Missouri Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.
Although he has had to deal with some injuries throughout his freshman campaign at Kansas State, the future remains very bright for Matthew.
“He had a really good freshman year,” Andrew said. “I’m excited to see what he does.”
While Matthew continues to run in college, Andrew is quickly becoming one of the top high school runners in the nation. Although his older brother garnered a lot of the headlines in his freshman year, Andrew still had a good season himself, contributing to the Bruins’ team state title.
“It was definitely a big learning experience,” Andrew noted. “Matthew definitely helped a lot. It was a lot just about creating new friends and new memories … Winning that state title with my brother is a memory that I’m never going to forget.”
Running a sub-16 minute 4K during the cross country season, Andrew was at one point ranked as the No. 1 freshman runner in the country. He had plenty of strong meets throughout the campaign, one of which was a third-place finish at districts.
A sub-par finish at state in his spring track season later that year served as a sense of motivation as Andrew entered his sophomore cross country season last fall. The season would end up being one of the best the state of Missouri has seen.
“I said I wanted to be a state champion,” Andrew said. “I just knew that I’m going to push as hard as I can everyday and if you want to beat me, it’s going to take a lot more than you think. That was my mindset going into it and that mindset every day in practice separated me a little more.”
Andrew gives credit to one of his teammates whose goal was to also win state for helping drive him to that level, as well as his coach at Rock Bridge, Neal Blackburn.
From the first meet of the season on, Andrew was dominant, but remained winless until October. After that meet, the sophomore continued to up his training, making him mentally stronger as he entered the state meet.
“Going into the state meet, the goal was to win it, 100%,” Andrew said. “I think I had a lot of confidence going into that meet.”
During the state run, Andrew was near the top of the pack, and began separating with a few competitors towards the final stages of the race. With over a kilometer to go, Andrew found an extra gear, finishing the race in 14 minutes, 52.70 seconds, setting a course record while winning a state title.
Perhaps making the meet bittersweet is that Rock Bridge came up just four points short of winning a team title once again. Still, it was an incredible cap to an incredible season for Andrew.
Although his high school season in Missouri was done, his fall season as a whole was not. In November, Andrew competed in the NXR Midwest Regional Championships against some of the best competition the Midwest has to offer in guys such as Hunter Jones and Izaiah Steury. Going into the cold, snowy and wet meet, Andrew didn’t have a whole lot of expectations.
“I wasn’t even planning on winning that thing, I went there and it was super cold and sleeting,” Andrew said. “But I was like, ‘If everyone is here cold, why can’t I win the race?’”
Again turning it on during the final portion of the race, Andrew would go on to win the event of 225 runners with a time of 15:44.30, giving him one of the biggest wins of his career to this point.
Congrats to all of our kids on their performances at Nike Midwest in Indiana. Specifically, two of our own cracked the All Region (5 states) team. Ian (12) & Andrew (1). Andrew’s win is the first of its kind for males in the state of Missouri. pic.twitter.com/v6ofn0P8SS
— Rock Bridge Cross Country/Track&Field “RBXC” (@rb_xc) November 15, 2021
“I realized when we had 1K left that I still felt really good,” Andrew said. “So I was like, ‘Alright, I’m just going to go and see what happens. That’s probably one of the best experiences of my life as well.”
However, things didn’t stop there for the sophomore. In early December, Andrew competed at the Garmin Running Lane Cross Country Championships. Yet again, he made his name known.
This time, the Rock Bridge runner broke the Missouri boys prep record for time in a 5K, running in 14:38.15. Impressively, he finished 25th in the meet with some of the nation’s best.
🚨STATE RECORD ALERT🚨
Sophomore Andrew Hauser of Rock Bridge just broke the Missouri State Cross Country record with a time of 14:38 at Running Lane Nationals in Alabama.
— MileSplit Missouri (@MoMileSplit) December 4, 2021
“At Running Lane, I wanted to break the Missouri record, that was the goal,” Andrew said. “Getting 25th in the country is pretty good. I felt like I was right there. I have goals for next year, but my sophomore year was pretty spectacular for sure. It’s something that I’m proud of and gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”
The tremendous year saw a lot of special achievements, but Andrew earned one more accolade recently when he followed his brother by being named Gatorade Missouri Boys Cross Country Player of the Year.
Congratulations to Andrew Hauser for being selected as Missouri’s Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year for 2021-22. Andrew joins his brother Matthew, teammate Carolyn Ford, and current University of Texas track and field athlete, Tyra Wilson as other program recipients. pic.twitter.com/S57BR2VDu3
— Rock Bridge Cross Country/Track&Field “RBXC” (@rb_xc) January 31, 2022
“It’s cool,” Andrew said. “It’s kind of just the byproduct of all the other stuff. It wasn’t something I was even thinking about. I think it’s just another award or listing of all the stuff I’ve put in. And it’s a banner right next to Matthew’s so it’s just cool to see. There’s a lot of other people who could’ve gotten it and it was me so I’m grateful and blessed.”
Despite the terrific sophomore year, Andrew is already thinking about what lies ahead. As he gets into the spring and summer, the Rock Bridge standout is looking to set the sophomore national record for a two-mile run, and also run a mile under four minutes. As he continues his high school career next season and beyond, Andrew also wants to leave his school as a multi-time state champion.
“I try not to think too much about it, but obviously, you win state as a sophomore, you have to win state in your junior and senior year,” Andrew said. “I just want to lower my times as much as possible and be in a good spot to make that life decision to go onto the next level.”
Competing at the next level in college is something Andrew may do in the future, but he hasn’t had any direct conversations with college coaches yet being just a sophomore. However, whether out of high school or after college, becoming a pro is one of the runner’s top goals.
“I definitely want to be in a spot to be a professional,” Andrew explained. “I don’t really know yet, it just depends where I’m at speed wise and where I’m nationally ranked … That’s kind of a dream of mine. Right now I’m just taking it one step at a time. Whatever happens is cool and I know God knows where I’m going to land.”
Winning a national championship, running in the Olympic trials and making the Olympic games at some point are all future aspirations of the sophomore runner. His career has been astonishing thus far, but to keep it up and achieve those future goals, Andrew knows it will require the mindset he takes to each event he competes in.
“I think it’s really important to not be satisfied,” Andrew said. “It’s really easy to get complacent when you have the Missouri cross country record or you’ve won all these meets. But that just puts more of a target on your back. I think it’s really important to stay hungry. Now, it just helps that I’ve done those things and have that experience. I know what I’m capable of. I think just performing to the best of my ability and making sure that I give it all I got, I know that I should win in those situations if I’m giving it all I got.”
