Feature on Andy Bosak 25

SIUC cross country runner Andy Bosak is searching for a remedy to grant him a healthy year of running after he has been plagued by injury and sickness throughout his early career.

Bosak has sat out a majority of the cross country season with a virus, which is just one of the setbacks he has had to overcome since his arrival at SIUC in fall 1996.

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Bosak said the virus started as one problem and has worked its way into another.

It started off as a bronchial virus in my chest, Bosak said. I sat out for a while and it wasn’t improving, and then I found out I had a sinus infection. It really tired me out, and I haven’t been able to train.

Bosak also suffered leg problems last season. From May 31, 1996, to Feb. 27 he went through three surgeries on his lower legs.

The muscle sheets around my calf were too tight, Bosak said. I had the sheet cut out so the muscle could expand, but too much tissue was cut out, so I was bleeding internally and had to have another operation to fix that.

Bosak said his sickness this year has been tough to deal with because of the loss of training.

It has been exceedingly frustrating this year, Bosak said. Watching how everyone does at the meets, knowing I would have been very successful with the team and as an individual is difficult. On the same token, I wasn’t improving, just watching.

Bosak still has not fully recovered from the virus because he has been out of commission for so long.

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Everything I gained from the beginning of the year, I lost, Bosak said. So, I’ve literally gained nothing since I’ve been down. It has been a lot harder to stay up in practice. Once you’ve sat on the shelf so long, you come back rusty.

Saluki coach Bill Cornell said he is ready for Bosak to get healthy and have a fresh start.

We hope his problems are solved and we can get down to some serious training and see what he can do, Cornell said.

Bosak competed in the first two meets of the season as the No. 3 man on the team. He had a sixth-place finish out of 32 runners and a time of 25 minutes and 54.2 seconds at Carbondale Sept. 6, and a seventh-place finish (25:26.54) out of a field of more than 200 runners at the Sept. 20 Eastern Illinois University Invitational.

Bosak made his return at the Missouri Valley Conference meet Saturday in Springfield, Mo., with a 36th-place finish (25:52.2) out of 78 runners to help the Salukis to a sixth-place finish.

Cornell said Bosak ran well, considering he did not train much for the conference meet.

It’s obvious he finished in the top five for us after being out for three weeks, Cornell said. Three weeks is a lot of training for a runner to miss.

Bosak said it felt good to get back to running, but has been a tough return.

It was nice to come back and race, but my overall race was a disappointment for me, Bosak said. Coach (Cornell) wanted me to come back with a dynamite race, but I had a hard time coming back. As soon as the gun went off, I was already out of it. I tried to catch as many runners as I could, but I wasn’t myself.

Bosak, a sophomore from St. Catherines, Ontario, has endured his illness without much family support.

It’s frustrating at times without my family around, Bosak said. Especially with any health problems, I could always go to my family. I miss the moral support, and I can’t share times with them. When I do good in a race or something, I can talk to them on the phone, but it’s not the same.

Bosak’s high school coach, Jerry Hinton, influenced his decision to come to SIUC over Indiana University, Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University and Iowa State University.

Jerry was a phenomenal runner here, Bosak said. He finished fifth in the NCAA cross country meet in 68. He thought I’d really like SIU, and basically what he told me has been correct.

Bosak said his relationship with Hinton is different compared to his relationship with Cornell.

Coach Cornell is more business-like, Bosak said. My high school coach was like a dad to me. Cornell is less personal than I’m used to, but he is a good man, and he knows his stuff. It’s good to have learned different forms of coaching since I’m going into coaching.

Hinton also influenced Bosak’s decision to become a dedicated runner.

I played soccer from the time I was 3 until I was 18, Bosak said. I seriously started running when I met Jerry Hinton in the ninth grade. I gave up soccer in the 11th grade and began to run all three seasons.

Running is very common in Bosak’s province of Ontario.

Ontario is the running hot-bed of the country, he said. They develop runners in high school and send them to America to get better.

Bosak, an experimental science major with a minor in coaching, plans to coach track and field and cross country at the NCAA level after graduation.

Bosak, who maintains a 4.0 grade point average at SIUC, said it can become stressful trying to run and keep a good GPA.

It’s like burning the candle at both ends, Bosak said. It’s tough, yet it’s very rewarding. We’re not professional athletes, but we train like professional athletes. And on top of that, we throw in homework.

Bosak and the Salukis will be back in action for the District V meet Nov. 15 in Ames, Iowa.