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Erik Grumstrup Took One For the Team, Now is His Time to Shine
One definition of a leader involves doing everything within your power to help the team succeed. For the University of
Minnesota men's cross country team, perhaps the greatest act of leadership in 2004 came when Erik Grumstrup, one of the team's
top returning individuals, decided to sacrifice himself, taking the entire year off from competition and allowing his team
to race without him.
While a redshirt year is often taken by young runners to catch up to their more experienced competitors or to recover
from an injury, this situation was much different. With three years of collegiate experience under his belt, Grumstrup and
head coach Steve Plasencia saw an opportunity for him to take a redshirt last year and maintain a year of eligibility to compete
in 2005.
The advantages were obvious. With a strong group of seniors anchoring an experienced team in 2004, Grumstrup's leadership
would be more valuable to the young team coming in this season. Grumstrup would also have the benefit of competing during
a year in which the Big Ten Championships would be held on his home course.
We had a pretty strong team last year and we knew we would be coming in fairly young this year, so Coach and I just decided
we could sort of get away with it last year, Grumstrup said. I was just trying to the best thing possible for everybody involved.
A leader by example, Grumstrup has always been focused on doing whatever is best for the program. Plasencia witnessed
this commitment early on in Grumstrup's career when he competed in all seven meets as a true freshman, a rarity in distance
running. With so much success early on, Plasencia only expected Grumstrup to get better every year. I always look at it as
if we can get a guy a redshirt back and allow him to compete in his fifth year when he should be the strongest, then we will
try to accommodate that, Plasencia said. He was happy to take the year off because our guys want to be as good as they can
be. We thought he could be better in the fifth year than he could in the fourth. I don't think it is an issue of character,
I think he just wants to be good.
Entering the 2005 season Grumstrup was naturally anxious to get back on the race course, but he faced a huge setback during
training camp when he developed a leg injury that prevented him from participating in virtually all of the team's workouts.
Grumstrup admitted it was tough to deal with the injury, and it would be understandable had his frustration been multiplied
as a result of already missing an entire season of competition. However, he also stated it would not have been worthwhile
to sit around feeling sorry for himself and regret the decision he had made a year earlier. Grumstrup simply worked as hard
as he could to return to the course as soon as possible. He simply looked at the situation and said, This is the way it is
and this is what I have to do, Plasencia stated, and then he went about doing it.
While the injury forced Grumstrup to miss the first half of his senior season, he has returned at the opportune time,
with Minnesota preparing to host the Big Ten Championships and the Gophers poised for a ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA
meet. Plasencia agreed that a season is not judged by how a team performs early on but rather how strong they finish the year
during championship time.
While Wisconsin is the clear favorite to win the Big Ten Championship, the rest of the field is wide open. A quantitative
effort by an entire team will most likely determine who claims the second spot. With Grumstrup and fellow senior Ryan Malmin
leading Minnesota on its home course, the Gophers could be one of the most exciting teams to watch.
After a full season and a half away from competition, Grumstrup is especially motivated to finish the final season of
his career on a high note. It's about all I think about, he stated. Hopefully we can put together three more great races,
and we'll see what happens. Even though we do not necessarily have the top front-runner like Andrew Carlson, we have six guys
in there who can all run very solidly and who are all very consistent. So I think as far as cross country team placing, we
have a very good group.
In a sport where athletes are measured by their individual performances, Erik Grumstrup has always put the team first.
It is a testament to his commitment and the respect he has for the program. Erik Grumstrup is a true leader and an example
that should be followed.
Written by Tory Kukowski, Minnesota Athletic Communications
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