Tyson Lambert Shares His Thoughts on His Success and the Future
Austin Cope | Sports writer | @autipopecope5
Photos courtesy of UVU Athletics and @Mster_P
Sophomore Tyson Lambert was named the Western Athletic Conference cross country runner of the week following a 19:17.3 6K finish which helped the Utah Valley University men’s cross-country team to a first place finish at the meet.
Success is nothing new to Lambert who has been running 5K races since he was fourteen years old. He, like most other high school boys, was playing football and basketball and was having some success doing so. However, after running his first 5K while in junior high school and finishing in third place behind only two high school athletes, he was invited to run races with the Stansbury High cross-country team.
He didn’t practice with the team but instead showed up for the races each week. He got hooked to the atmosphere of the pre-race bus rides as well as the intense and exciting feelings of racing and never looked back.
After arriving at UVU in 2012 and becoming a redshirt freshman, Lambert was taken under the wing of assistant coach Hugh Evans.
“Coach Evans really helped me with my form and my breathing and we were able to cut my mile time by ten seconds,” Lambert said. “I really like running at the college level because everyone seems to be at the same level, as opposed to high school where I was the fastest by thirty seconds. It really helps you grow as a runner”
Following a two-year LDS mission, Lambert returned to UVU and helped guide the team to a WAC Championship in 2014. The cross-country title was the first of a highly admirable “triple crown” that the UVU men won last year. The “triple crown” is when you win a conference title in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track in the same season and is quite an accomplishment.
When asked about being named WAC cross country Runner of the Week Lambert said “It’s a huge honor to be recognized by the WAC for the things that you are doing. The season is only about 10-12 weeks long so it’s a huge honor to be recognized by them.”
Lambert continues to enjoy running because it gives him the feeling of doing something that is hard and can’t be accomplished by just anyone.
“You get to see the reward of all the hard work that you do and the feeling afterwards is great,” Lambert said.
As the cross-country team looks for a third consecutive WAC title this year, Lambert wants to stay focused and motivated.
“You’ve got to stay motivated and you can’t give up, keep your eyes on your goals and just keep going for it,” Lambert said.
