The RoundHouse | 9/7/2019 12:45:00 PM

 
Ben Flowers ate chicken parmesan, pasta and lasagna on Friday, the night before the JK Gold Classic.
 
"I ate a lot," he said.
 
That sounds like a typical load of carbs before a cross country race. For Flowers, the meal represents more than that. A year ago, he said performance anxiety hampered his running. The anxiety often made it difficult for him to sleep and eat properly in the days before a race.
 
"I would have tried, but I just couldn't get (food) down," he said. "My stomach would be churning."
 
On Saturday, Flowers won the 6-kilometer race with a time of 18 minutes, 38.32 seconds at 4 Mile Creek Resort near Augusta. It is the first college win for the junior from Jerseyville, Ill. He points to changes he made after dropping out of an October race during last season because he didn't eat properly.
 
He talked with Wichita State's athletic training staff and told them he knew he needed help. With the help of doctors, he started a routine of meditation and visualization that calmed and focused him.
 
"I think everybody has this one thing that really helps them get to that next level," Shockers cross country coach Kirk Hunter said. "For Ben, right now, it's meditation."
 
Flowers set his personal best in the 5-kilometer last April in the KT Woodman Classic, one of the first meets after he started the meditation. 
 
"I've really improved since then, both workouts and racing, especially," he said. "The biggest thing for me was meditation. Especially before races, I really try to have as much fun as I can and realize this is a sport and I'm supposed to be doing it for fun."
 
Each morning, Flowers, a psychology major, finds a quiet place to relax. Before races, he focuses on visualizing the run.
 
"I kind of zone out and it's helped me so much find a balance during the race, and not worry about place or time, just worry about working as hard as I can and having fun," he said. "Understanding how I'm going to move through the race and actually picturing the race in my mind."
 
That preparation allows him to eat and sleep properly and take a good feeling into the race and focus on the running.
 
"Long-distance running is an extremely mental sport, said junior Cory Landon. "Ben's always been super-talented and he took the next step toward being a successful Division I athlete, which is it's more than running. When he's firing on all cylinders, he's a super-tough guy to beat."
 
Flowers encourages others on the team to try meditation to deal with their nerves. Taking on the spirit of the American Athletic Conference's Powerful Minds program, he is eager to share his story.
 
"I want people to know, because people are also struggling," he said. "I'm hopefully a spark of confidence for people that there's a way out and everyone can find some type of balance. I try to tell as many people as I can to encourage people to open up. They're probably getting tired of me talking about it all the time. But I can't express how much it's helped me."
 
Flowers, his teammates know, isn't alone in dealing with nerves. Landon appreciates his willingness to talk.
 
"Ben's one of those guys, he'll let loose with anything," Landon said. "The people that will come out and talk about it . . . then it (helps) these newcomers, who are getting into the sport and they think they're the only ones. I think it's awesome he's sharing this information."
 
Flowers' victory helped the Shockers win both team titles on Saturday. The men claimed four of the top five spots and six of the top eight to total 16 points. Kansas State finished second with 47 points. 
 
The WSU women won with 18 points, topping second-place Missouri State (39). Winny Koskei placed first in the 4-kilometer race with a time of 13:48.5. Rebekah Topham, who had won four previous JK Gold races (one running unattached) placed second at 13:53.2.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.