School: Pennridge
Cross Country, Track
Favorite athlete: Kevin Durant
Favorite team: Philadelphia 76ers
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning a state medal at Indoor Track States this past February.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: A couple of years ago, in the middle of a workout, somebody on the team stopped to ask our coach where the start of the track was. Our coach just yelled, “Just keep running. It’s a circle!”
Music on iPod: Mostly hip/hop and alternative
Future plans: Attend the University of Richmond for business
Words to live by: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is who you really are, while your reputation is merely who others think you are.” John Wooden
One goal before turning 30: Travel around the world a little
One thing people don’t know about me: Although I’m skinny, I really never stop eating.
By Alex Frazier
Running is not Nick Olindo’s “favorite thing.”
Yet he logs 600-700 miles a year on his young legs. Can you imagine what those numbers would be if he actually liked it?
Growing up Olindo played soccer and basketball, which was his favorite sport.
When he entered Pennridge as a freshman, he decided to go out for cross country to get in shape for basketball.
A funny thing happened.
He never made it to the basketball court. After running No. 1 and No. 2 on the jayvee team and placing in his races, he decided that maybe he was good at it.
“I thought I may have a better chance to do better in running than I ever would in basketball,” he said. “It’s been a pretty good decision.”
It also helped that there were nine other freshmen on the team.
“I got close with a lot of them and that made it easier,” he said. “They helped me get through it.”
As a freshman, his best time was 18:30. This year at districts he clocked his personal best of 16:39.
“It wasn’t where I wanted, but I improved,” said Olindo. “I was happy to go out with a PR at least.”
Having become acclimated to the team concept in cross country, he was a bit surprised about the individuality of winter track.
“Winter track is even more individual than spring track,” he said. “There’s no team concept. The relays are the closest thing you get. There’s no team score or anything.”
He didn’t much like the running conditions. While the girls practiced mostly indoors, his team ran outside, even in pouring rain and falling snow.
“It’s all about getting through it just so you can be pretty good for spring,” he said. “It’s a necessity. It definitely toughens you up.”
That first year he ran the mile and two-mile.
In spring track he shifted away from the longer distances to the 800 because of stomach problems he was having.
“Whenever I go a certain pace over a mile, my whole stomach starts to hurt,” he said.
His doctor never did diagnose the problem, which he lived with for three more years in cross country.
After ninth grade, he pretty much stuck with the 800 and the 4x800 relay.
He calls the 800 a “hybrid” race.
“I like the 800,” he said. “I’m not a sprinter, but I can keep it up. You can find it in the sprint medley and the distance medley. It’s in between. You find distance runners like me doing it, and you find sprinters doing it.”
Olindo has been to districts for four years in track, the first two as a member of the 4x800 relay and the last two as part of the relay as well as the open 800.
His favorite event is the relay.
“It’s more of a team concept,” he said. “There’s a lot more pressure because there are three guys relying on you, but there’s more reward. I like winning as a team as opposed to by myself.”
Last winter his 4x800 relay placed fifth in the state.
Olindo takes very little time off from running, maybe a week or two after spring track before he starts his summer regimen, and maybe another week or two between cross country and winter track.
You’d think it would be easy to burn out mentally or physically under such a regimen.
“In past years in spring track, I go through a period when my body breaks a little bit and I have a couple of bad weeks, but the past couple years I’ve done better with that,” he said. “Our coaches do a good job of not breaking our bodies down at any point, but we get pretty close.”
Olindo has been captain of the cross country the past two years and a captain of winter track this year.
“I like being able to have the young people look up to me, and I like to be a good example for them and show them what to do and how hard work pays off,” he said. “I’m a good mentor to them, and I know they can talk to me about anything.”
For a guy who runs year round, Olindo still manages to diversify.
He has been a member of the Future Business Leaders of America Club for the past three years and president the past two.
Besides engaging in local and state competitions, he has also been part of fundraising initiatives and donating gifts to the needy of the community.
He is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Despite being a three-sport athlete, he carries a 4.29 average and is ranked 20th of 500 in his class.
“Doing three sports can sometimes be challenging,” he said. “I don’t have time off to concentrate on my studies. It’s been tough sometimes.”
He is also a member of the Ambassadors’ Program, which welcomes new students to the school and gives them tours.
One time he was asked to show a prospective student from Guatemala around the school.
Of course the kid didn’t speak English, but Olindo managed with his smattering of Spanish.
“I tried my best to speak in Spanish to this kid, and sometimes he was just shaking his head because he knew I wasn’t that great,” said Olindo.
But of all his extracurricular activities, Olindo probably likes being a member of the Gang Green cheering section best. Students don special tie-dyed T-shirts, paint their faces and spray their hair to cheer on the Pennridge basketball team, which for the first time in a while was pretty good this year, as in undefeated at home.
“It’s one of the things I’ll remember from high school because we did really well as a team and it was fun getting dressed up every game and cheering as loud as you can,” he said.
Just to round out his week, Olindo works as a busboy at O’Grady’s Restaurant on Sundays.
God forbid he have a day off.
He doesn’t even have time for a girlfriend.
“It would be kind of hard,” he said. “Besides when would you ever see her?”
Next year he will attend the University of Richmond.
With his abhorrence of cold weather, it’s not surprising he looked south for colleges. He had always liked North Carolina, but when that didn’t pan out, he visited Richmond and knew he’d found his home for the next four years.
“I never even heard of it,” he said. “One of my friends went on a trip after his sophomore year to visit some schools. He was going to visit North Carolina because we both love North Carolina. When he came back, he told me he liked Richmond more. I researched it and found it was a really good school.”
He was also attracted to it because a lot of the students are from the North. The fact that it was smaller than UNC was a plus.
“It’s pretty small but there’s still Division One athletics,” he said. “That was high on my list. I like cheering for my school team. Their basketball team is on the rise. I’m excited to be cheering for them.”
Olindo is considering a major in business. He had considered sports management, but knows it’s a difficult profession to break into. With a broader major, he will have more options in his job search, which could still include sports.
Running at Richmond isn’t in the picture right now. Olindo plans to take some time off.
“I don’t want to say I definitely won’t run,” he said. “I might get the itch to go run again. I might try to walk on in the fall.”
Because running - even though it’s not his ‘favorite thing’ - is definitely in Olindo’s blood.
