Blue-eyed Patrick Casey sits his 5 feet 6 inches in a humble posture, exposing his warm smile through conversation in the bustling SUB cafeteria. The Exponent was able to catch up with the young man turned track star for a quick conversation about his accomplishments over this past season, what made him the runner he is today and what the future may hold for the athlete. He spoke with a manner of grace while retaining the charm you would expect from a successful young athlete of his caliber.

From the age of six years old 6, Casey demonstrated signs of the potential we have come to use to define him today. As many children do, Casey played multiple sports from a young age and learned to thrive in a competitive atmosphere. He was born in Seattle and moved to Laurel, Mont., at the same age he began giving hints about his prowess. He started running and competing heavily in seventh grade.

Once the developing star hit his sophomore year of high school, the realization of his true talents in the sport began to emerge more fully. After playing basketball and football, Casey found that the relaxed atmosphere and attitude of his coaches, as well as the amount of participation involved with track, were a better fit for him.

“It was so uptight, with everyone yelling,” Casey said. “In track, the coaches were a lot more laid-back, and it made it a lot more fun. Initially I did it just to hang out with friends.”

After finding his passion for the excitement and fun he felt when running track, Casey went on to win state cross-country in his senior year. It was at this same point that he came to the realization that track could carry him farther than he thought.

“I just started to focus on it a lot more, started setting higher goals. Schools were calling me, bigger schools like Colorado State. I was like ‘wow’ I could really do something with this.”

Once Casey settled on MSU, his success continued. He raced one season indoor and decided that, based on the rate at which he was progressing, he should redshirt the next outdoor season.

“Since I got to college, I've been upping my miles, upping my intensity; my times have been slowly coming down,” said Casey. The process of redshirting requires athletes not to compete in meets for a season in exchange for allowing them to compete at the university for five years as opposed to just four. Casey's decision to redshirt factored in greatly to the huge success and record times Casey had this past season.

With a list of past season accomplishments ranging from MSU Fieldhouse records to All-American honors, Casey's performance is nothing short of a huge accomplishment. After pushing himself so much and seeing his work pay off, he felt good going into the outdoor season, his preference in competition.

“I have three seasons of outdoor left. I like indoor because you can run the full mile while outdoor is just the 1600, but in outdoor the atmosphere is a little bit better and we get to travel.”

He also explained the shortcomings of the team's third place finish in the indoor championships.
“We wanted to win but things just didn't quite go our way. A lot of people stepped up. I think by the time outdoor comes around, which is our main focus, we should be able to win conference easily. It was a good building block for outdoor.”

Casey's recent mile time of 3:59.17, the fastest in the world for this year, created quite a stir in the world of running. Casey has been approached by multiple magazines in this past month wishing to take a moment with the athlete to reflect on his accomplishment.

Casey was recently named the Mountain Region Athlete of the Year, after his performances in the nationals in Texas before break, adding to the list of accomplishments he can attribute to his efforts this past season. With the great things we've seen and the great things on the way, it doesn’t seem as though there is any threat of anyone taking Patrick Casey's stride any time soon.