The RoundHouse | 5/25/2023 1:59:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
The Outlaws did not pay attention to their coach, so they ran on the football field in Washington, Mo. Punishment, yes, but a revelation to Clayton Duchatschek's father as he watched his son's eighth-grade team practice.
 
"When those kids got tired, he didn't," said Mason Duchatschek. "People couldn't keep up."
 
Clayton remembers those wind sprints. He hoped coaches would notice his speed and move him to running back.
 
"I was still trying to get good at football," he said. "There were a couple times we had to run because we weren't listening."
 
Mason Duchatschek saw his son's future. Not running back. Distance running.
 
On Friday, Clayton competes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacramento, Calif. NCAA competition is the culmination of a Wichita State career that started in 2018 after transferring from NCAA Division II Lindenwood (Mo.) University.
 
Duchatschek, a senior exercise science major, intended to start chiropractic school in 2022. However, he loved the atmosphere on the team and the potential for the distance group. He didn't want to give up a year of eligibility when he felt capable of big things.
 
Duchatschek plans to continue training after his college days with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials. In August, his father moved to Wichita to help prepare him for the family business of human resources and management while he finished college and ran.
 
"You have plenty of time to be an adult," Clayton Duchatschek said.
 
By returning to Wichita State, he also stepped into a larger leadership role and helped newcomers in the way former Shockers such as Zack Penrod and Connor Stine helped him.
 
"I didn't leave hardly any stones unturned," Duchatschek said. "I've done everything in my control to do."
 
That includes winning the 2022 American Athletic Conference steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes, 03.52 seconds to help the Shockers grab the outdoor title. He finished second (8:52.90) this year, again helping the Shockers win the team title. He ranks in the WSU's career top 10 in the indoor 5,000 and 3,000 and the 5,000 outdoor and steeplechase.
 
"He's a brave individual," distance coach Kirk Hunter said. "That's a great quality to have in the steeplechase. You've got the barriers and with those barriers, you have to be a brave individual."
 
In cross country, he finished fifth in last fall's conference meet with a time of 24:08.4 in the 8-kilometer, the highest finish by a Shocker in a conference meet since 2002. He earned All-Midwest Regional honors by finishing 18^th with a time of 29:58.6 in the 10k.
 
"I made a lot of good memories," he said. "Not everyone gets this opportunity and I figured it would be a shame to forgo my eligibility in something I love so much."
 
He also stayed because of his belief in the track program and Hunter. When he decided to transfer from Lindenwood, his father told him find a new school and stay there for the rest of his college days. They evaluated programs by checking the roster to check for continuity and improving times.
 
"Clayton noticed that – these people stay, and they get better every single year," Mason Duchatschek said.
 
The steeplechase fits Clayton Duchatschek for several reasons. The event includes 35 36-inch barriers, seven of which are water jumps. Over the years, he focused on shaving split-seconds off his time by improving his speed clearing the barriers.
 
"You can really make up a lot of ground and see big drops just on hurdling efficiency," he said.
 
His 5-foot-11-inch height helps. He grew up doing yoga regularly because his mother, Melissa, teaches yoga. He also considers it an event that offers opportunity to a runner who might lack elite speed and can make up for that by mastering the barriers.
 
"It's kind of an event that not everyone wants to stick their nose in," he said. "I recognized that and I wanted to make it as far as a I can. I'm not quite as fast as the Stanford guys or Oregon guys in the 5 (-kilometer) and 10k. This is my chance to crack into the NCAA's elite ranks."
 
Duchatschek's best time in the event is 8:45.98 at the Drake Relays in April. That ranks him 27^th in the 95-man field. The top three finishers from each of three heats, plus the next three best times, advance to the NCAA Championships on June 7-10 in Austin, Texas.
 
Duchatschek plans on the race unfolding in favorable circumstances, much like at Drake. He figures to need to cut around five seconds off his time to qualify.
 
"I don't think that's out of reach," he said.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.