University of Minnesota Athletics
Dulian's High Aspirations Continue in Senior Season
2/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Story by Rachel Timmerman, Minnesota Athletic Communications Student Intern
Like most athletes, senior Blayne Dulian isn't one to easily accept defeat. And with only a few weeks left in the indoor track & field season, he won't be giving up that attitude just yet.
"He defines himself a lot by how he does," Men's track & field and cross-country director Steve Plasencia said. "He doesn't like to not do well. His passion runs deep."
Over his four years as a Gopher, Dulian has set high aspirations for himself, even if it sets him up for failure once in a while.
"I set some expectations for myself, sometimes maybe a little too high," Dulian said. "But I think it's good for people to set goals."
Through Dulian's intensity, his coaches can see that he is committed to the sport and wants to get better - something Plasencia appreciates.
"If someone gets over a bad performance too easily, that scares me because I don't know how invested they really are," Plasencia said. "I don't worry about that with Blayne."
Dulian is a member of the track & field team as well as the cross-country team, and was voted captain for both teams this year, making him the second-straight track & field captain from Coon Rapids after Jon Lehman last year.
"Blayne must have paid off a lot of people," Plasencia joked.
Plasencia said Dulian is a great communicator as well as a teammate, and is able to form strong relationships with the younger members of the team.
"I try really hard to set the right example for the guys," Dulian said. "I think if I'm someone that they look up to and I do those things, and I put my words to action, that will help them make those decisions and realize some of the things they need to do to improve as well."
In the last few weeks of his final indoor season, Dulian admits there are still some things he can work on, too.
"There's always something you can learn," Dulian said. "There's always something to take away from a race or an experience with the team."
And what he's particularly working on is perfecting the little things before the Big Ten Indoor Championship.
"Just doing the little things right, I think that's really important because everyone else is training just as hard or harder than you," Dulian said. "Everyone is trying to do the little things and just be the absolute best they can be.
And as for how this season has gone thus far for him, Dulian says "so far, so good."
"His preliminary results in early races have been good," Plasencia said. "Now that we head into more important races as the season goes on, I think he's put himself in a good position to do some very good things for us."
At the upcoming championships, Dulian said team effort will be a large factor.
"Indoors revolves pretty strongly around the team and the team performance," Dulian said. "As long as I can go into the Big Ten Championships indoors and contribute and do the best I can do to score points for the team, I'd be really happy."
Although the end of the indoor season is right around the corner, so is the beginning of the outdoor season.
"The thing about the indoor season, the day it's over, we forget about that and move onto the next season," Plasencia said.
After the coming championship, Dulian hopes to make it back to the NCAA regional qualifying meet and then onto the national meet for the outdoor season.
"That's a goal out there, but that's a long way out," Dulian said.
Players Mentioned
