Athletes and singers perform on different stages. ISU sophomore Brian Sandvig performs on both.

He’s a sprinter that specializes in the 400-meter dash and 600-yard run on the ISU men’s track and field team. He’s also a tenor in the on-campus a cappella group All in Moderation.

Before Iowa State

Sandvig, a Fort Dodge native, started running in races when he was in third grade and started singing in choir when he was in fifth grade. By the time he hit sixth grade, he had auditioned for and been accepted to the Iowa Choral Directors Association Opus Honor Choir.

“My family always encouraged singing, it was just something that I always kept up with, I always enjoyed it and I was OK at it,” Sandvig said.

Sandvig’s parents, Doug and Karen, sung along with their three children — Michael, Kristen, and Brian — to the soundtracks of musicals such as “Les Miserables” and “Miss Saigon” on road trips to Missouri, South Dakota and Florida.

“We were just always encouraged to sing a lot and we sang a lot as a family, not like the Partridge Family sitting around with guitars, but we’d go through full CDs in the car,” Sandvig said.

Sandvig attended St. Edmond Catholic High School in Fort Dodge where he was an All-State competitor in both basketball and track and field and sung in the choir and show choir all four years.

“The kids have always been involved in music and sports and it’s two totally different things but it’s a fun way for them express themselves,” Karen Sandvig said.

He ended his high school career winning six state titles in track and field and anchoring the 4-x-400 meter relay team that set and still holds the Class 2-A state record. On stage, he performed in supporting roles and in the chorus of four musicals, “GodSpell,” “High School Musical,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Guys and Dolls.”

“We all ran track and we’ve all done music so I think it’s important in all three of our lives,” Kristen Sandvig said.

While many college athletes discontinue their high school extra-curricular activities, Sandvig wanted to stay with both.

“[Running track and singing] was something I’ve been always been able to balance so I figured that I could keep doing it here,” Sandvig said.

On the track, on the stage

Scheduling snafus have become routine for Sandvig.

Take April 25 as an example. With track and field practice scheduled at 3:30 p.m., an interview with an Iowa State Daily reporter at 5 p.m., a final exam at 6 and a concert at 7:30, he needed to make a change. After contacting Professor Thomas Chacko, who was administering his Management 370 exam, he was able to reschedule the final for 4 p.m. However, before he could take the exam, Chacko requested that the sophomore in marketing and management sing him a quick excerpt from a song.

“It was just 10 seconds at best, nothing serious, I just wanted to see he could do,” Chacko said.

Just over three hours before he’d take the stage in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union, Sandvig agreed to his professor’s request and sung a snippet of Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny.”

“I’m not a music coach but it was pretty good,” Chacko said of Sandvig’s pre-exam performance.

Following his exam, he was off to the Lied Recreation Athletic Center where he spends several hours every week with his coaches and teammates training for his next race. With his first two years on the track as a Cyclone coming to a close, Sandvig has finished fifth place or higher in 14 events, highlighted by a fourth place finish as a member of the distance medley relay at the 2011 Big 12 Indoor Championships.

At practice, ISU sprints and hurdles coach Nate Wiens sees a certain focus and discipline from Sandvig as he increases his strength and sharpens his technique as a sprinter.

“When you grow up doing athletics, music and everything there’s a certain level of discipline and you see that when he comes out on the track,” Wiens said.

Along with his track spikes, Sandvig brings his upbeat personality to practice each day.

“Brian Sandvig is a fun guy to be around, I’ve never seen anybody come to practice as happy as he does.” said fellow ISU sprinter senior Amara Sama. “He’s a goofy guy but when it comes to working out, he’s going to hit the workout and when a meet comes, he’s focused.”

Once outside the doors of the Lied Recreation Athletic Center, Sandvig heads home to outfit himself in a pair of jeans and a grey buttoned up t-shirt; his attire when he performs at All in Moderation’s concert that night.

“People always say to do two extra-curriculars in college so these are my two,” Sandvig said.

In the Fall of 2009, Brian’s older brother Michael, who was a member of All in Moderation, convinced his younger sibling to join the a cappella group in addition to his spot on the track and field team.

“I wasn’t blessed with the athleticism that he was so it’s fun to see him succeed in [track and field] where I couldn’t necessarily upstage him but it’s more fun for me on the music stage because I can try to be better than him,” Michael Sandvig said.

Once he joined last year, Sandvig didn’t tell any of his teammates about joining the group.

“I wasn’t embarrassed by it at all, maybe it was because I’m self-conscious and I didn’t want them to see me solo,” Sandvig said.

Sandvig was able to keep most of his performances under wraps for his freshman year, but when the group started performing the national anthem at ISU sporting events, his teammates took notice. Fortunately, his teammates took to his singing better than expected.

“They’ve been really open and they’ve been asking me for a month straight when my concert is, I’m really not nervous actually,” Sandvig said before his performance.

Performing with ten other people on stage also helps Sandvig deal with some of the nervousness and allows him to develop his own stage presence.

“I couldn’t just go out there and sing in front of other people on my own but when I’m with All in Moderation there’s background music and everyone’s singing together, it just makes it a lot easier and I can be goofier,” Sandvig said.

The ninth song on the lineup at Monday’s concert brought Sandvig’s chance to sing the entire “867-5309/Jenny” as the soloist. At center stage, Sandvig showed no signs of self-worry as he opened the song kicking high into the air with his right leg and continued by swiveling his hips and coaxing the audience of more than 170 to sing along during the song’s chorus.

“He’s a whole other animal on stage, he’s just goofy,” Michael Sandvig said.

As an athlete, Sandvig isn’t able to make every performance or practice but the group enjoys the time that he is able to commit.

“Brian is gone for a few events but it’s fun because he always comes back and he’s really energetic with what he does and it’s nice to have the athletics involvement, it shows the group that we are connected with Iowa State,” said All in Moderation manager Vince Utter.

Although a track meet takes precedence over singing a national anthem, Sandvig has done his part to stay involved within the group.

“His involvement is solid,” Utter said. “If he has to be gone for track that’s fine that takes its precedence and it should but we work around it and we make sure he can sing with us in events and it’s a blast, we have a great time with him.”

To sing or to run

With the portability of music players, many athletes enjoy listening to music as they warm up and prepare for a game or meet. Sandvig isn’t one of those athletes.

“I feel like that puts me more out of the zone, I love music but music doesn’t pump me up before a race, it’s weird I guess,” Sandvig said.

Even if he had a fully functioning iPod at his disposal — his 32-gigabyte iPod Touch stopped working two weeks ago — Sandvig finds a different motivator to prepare him for a race.

“One thing I always try to think about before I run is just how I get the opportunity to do something that a lot of people don’t,” Sandvig said. “All in Moderation is one of those things where anyone can try out for it but with track it’s a higher-level opportunity.”

As long he can run and sing, Sandvig hopes to continue with both interests but if he had to choose whether to compete in the Olympics or perform in New York City at Carnegie Hall, his answer errs on the athletic side.

“The Olympics by far,” Sandvig said.

A trip to the Olympics or recording contract may not be likely for Sandvig, but running and music will continue to be two of his biggest passions. His musical interests range across a variety of genres but five of his favorite artists are Ben Folds, Modest Mouse, The Killers, Ben Queller, and Eminem.

“I find that the most enjoyable music for me is the stuff that’s not on the radio like things I don’t hear at track practice or when I’m driving around,” Sandvig said.

Regardless of which stage he finds himself on in the future, Sandvig’s versatility and determination will aid him well beyond his college career.

“The great thing about Brian is that he’s such a well-rounded young man and an absolute pleasure to coach,” Wiens said. “Everybody knows there’s one thing that you never doubt about Brian and that’s his intentionality when he hits the track and I know he carries that into all areas of life.”