Oldenburg Academy senior captures cross country state championship

Curt Eckstein, a senior at the Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception, won the 2016 boys’ Indiana high school cross country championship on Oct. 29 in Terre Haute. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

Curt Eckstein felt “a little pressure” as he lined up to run in the 2016 boys’ Indiana high school cross country championship.

After all, the senior at the Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg finished third in last year’s race, and both runners who finished ahead of him had graduated.

And then there was the huge contingent of family, friends and people from his school who traveled from Oldenburg to Terre Haute to watch him compete for the individual state championship on Oct. 29.

“I feel like a lot of people were expecting me to win,” says Curt, a member of Holy Family Parish in Oldenburg. “When I did, it was great and very relieving. It feels nice that all the hard work paid off.”

Curt not only finished first in the 3.1-mile race, he finished 27.4 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher—the second largest winning margin since 1968.

He also became the first cross-country state champion in the school’s history, much to the delight of the Oldenburg Academy cheering section.

“The turnout was really nice. It was great to have them come out and give me moral support,” says Curt, who also sings in the school’s choir, serves as a school ambassador and is involved in campus ministry. “They were really excited. It shows we have a good community.”

Following the race, the son of Dave and Judy Eckstein was also named the winner of the Charles

F. Maas Mental Attitude Award for the state cross-country tournament.

“I don’t like to brag or be cocky,” he says. “So this proved to myself that I was good at staying humble.” †

The Criterion

December 16, 2016

Oldenburg Academy senior captures cross country state championship

By John Shaughnessy

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