The Long Game: Trusting the Process Pays off for Andrew Casey

By: Jacob Infald

17 year old high school prodigy Cooper Lutkenhaus dominated the headlines as he won his first USATF Championship in the 800 meters back on July 26th. However, it was a relatively unknown runner from the University of Wisconsin, Andrew Casey, who took the race out, getting to the rail first from his lane nine start position before ultimately taking fifth in the race.

At just 21 years old, Casey solidified himself as a national threat in the 800 meters this past summer, running a 1:44.90 on July 11 at the Sound Running Sunset Tour in Los Angeles before his breakthrough performance on the national stage at USAs. Through a simple consistent approach to his training and a competitive edge, Casey looks to continue to take advantage of the opportunities presented to him over his final two seasons at Wisconsin while helping to establish his team as a premier middle distance program in the NCAA.

Andrew Casey was in the biggest slump of his career this past indoor season. After qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships his first two seasons at Wisconsin and entering his junior season with a personal best of 1:47.30, Casey hoped to take a jump to the next level and both qualify and be competitive at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships. However, Casey struggled, only running under 1:49 once and missed out on qualifying for nationals.

Casey said the plan for the outdoor season was to redshirt and train for some unattached summer races. He said he knew he wanted to stay at Wisconsin for five years to both compete and pursue a master’s degree. However, about midway through the season it became clear that the NCAA was going to move forward with its new age-based eligibility model that would allow all student-athletes five seasons of eligibility, regardless of red-shirts or injury status. 

Casey said his coaches encouraged him to take the redshirt off and compete in the postseason to attempt to qualify for his third consecutive Outdoor Championship. However, after careful consideration, Casey made the difficult decision to think about his future goals, so he held his redshirt and continued his plan of training for unattached summer racing. 

“It was hard initially to make that call,” Casey told The Extra Mile. “I knew that I [could] compete at Big 10s, regionals, and maybe even make the national meet, and I’d be going three-for-three for that national meet and it was hard to say no.” “I was thinking about how in the future I’ll have more opportunities in the same exact position when I’m ready for that pressure and I’m just older and more mature.”

Casey’s maturity to delay short-term gratification for long-term results ended up paying off just the way he hoped. He ran his first 800 of the summer on June 5 at the Adrian Martinez Classic, winning his heat in a 1:45.08 to qualify for the USATF Championship. He then ran that 1:44.90 at the Sound Running Sunset Tour a month later, before running two more 1:45s at USAs, in both the prelims and the final. 

That same belief that Casey had in his decision to delay racing until the summer is also evident in how he approaches his training. Casey said he always believed in the training he was doing at Wisconsin, and despite his results from the indoor season, he always knew that if he just got in the right race he could have the breakthrough he was looking for. 

“When you do just consistent training where not every workout is a home run, but instead they’re single and doubles like in baseball, where you just keep stacking those little base hits, it really helps in the long run to stay healthy and keep stacking those days to make a jump like I made this summer,” Casey said. 

Casey was not alone in this belief. While Wisconsin may fly under the radar in the middle distance events compared to other schools in the Big 10 such as Penn State, and Michigan’s “800 meter University rivalry”, they have quietly been building a solid program. Casey is joined by his roommate and close friend Patrick Hilby. Hilby, who was only a sophomore this past season, did not redshirt this season, but he continued to train with Casey through the summer, running a personal best of 1:45.95 at the Portland Track Festival this past June to qualify for the USATF Championship.

On top of Casey and Hilby, there was true freshman Henry Risser who ran a 1:47.33 at the Big 10 Championship this past spring. While Hilby narrowly missed the final at USAs by one spot, Wisconsin was still able to demonstrate their strength in the 800 going forward. Both Casey and Hilby believe that their group’s struggles on the NCAA level are in the past and they are ready to deliver for Wisconsin on the national stage this upcoming season. 

“What we wanted to do at the USA meet was set the tone for next year and I think we did that,” Hilby told The Extra Mile. “I didn’t make the final, but I was pretty close and just Andrew having the season he had, I think puts [Wisconsin] on the map for sure in the NCAA.”

With this confidence also comes a competitive edge. Hilby said the two of them are constantly pushing each other in workouts, jokingly adding that sometimes it gets to be a bit much. At the end of the day though, Hilby said these intense workouts have helped him improve as a runner and he appreciates Casey being a great training partner. 

Casey said he wants to bring that competitive spirit to races in the upcoming season. In a sport that seemingly avoids and rejects intense rivalries, Casey said as he enters his final two years at Wisconsin and then hopefully a professional career, he hopes to feed into things such as the Penn State and Michigan “beef” to both help his performance and make the sport more engaging for fans. 

“One thing I think running lacks is a little more competitive drive,” Casey said. “Now, I’m friends with a ton of my competitors, but also at the same time I do kind of wish that there’s a little more beef in a sense where we try to compete against each other and hate each other for those whatever amount of minutes that we’re running against each other.”

Hilby said he knew that despite it being Casey’s first U.S 800 final, he would be able to be competitive because of his aggressive mentality.

“You’re not what you are until you actually do it,” Hilby said. “You can say you’re in shape, and then Andrew [gets] in those pro-level races, and he just puts his nose in there and gets it done.”

Casey said while there were uncertainties these past few months with the changes in NCAA rules, and the decision of whether to redshirt or not, he is grateful for the experiences and now knows he has the ability to compete for an NCAA Championship.

“I definitely surprised myself making it to USAs in the first place, running 1:45 and then 1:44,” Casey said. “It was definitely a wild ride, but it shows that I think my floor has been raised and that I can now mix it up with some of the best guys in the country, not just on the NCAA level, but on the pro-level too.”

If you want to get in contact with Jacob, email either:

jinfald919@gmail.com / jinfald@ithaca.edu