Michael Banks
A runner for the Cowboys cross-country team from Auckland, New Zealand, is UW’s Athlete of the Week. Michael Banks says he misses the beaches and food, but misses his friends and family back home the most.
The senior marketing major came to UW two years ago. The altitude of 7,220 feet made him feel like he was starting to get in shape all over again during the first few months, but he got his stride back, Banks said.
Before Banks came to Wyoming, he was at the University of Auckland and decided to transfer. The main differences between the two are the weather and the population, he said. He said the weather was the biggest change. When he first ran here it started to snow and all he was wearing was shorts and a thin long sleeve t-shirt.
The population was the other difference between Laramie and Auckland. Moving from a population of 1.3 million in Auckland to 500,000 in the entire state was a big change. He said, though, that he likes Laramie. It is a cute, small, college town with lots of friendly people.
As one of the team leaders for the men’s cross country team, Banks says he likes to keep the team in a positive and happy vibe. He enjoys keeping in touch and having a relationship with the younger runners outside of practice. They go to other sporting events together to bond, he said.
Banks also talked about his goals for this cross-country season. He hopes to make top-10 in the conference, qualify for nationals and, of course, have fun with the guys.
Banks says he likes the way the coach trains the team and said it will help with the big races, such as conference and regionals. The coach has a very positive and competitive attitude and is committed to the cross-country team, he said.
After he graduates, Banks plans to work in sports marketing.
