Having a chance to run cross country at Iowa State may not seem like a dream come true to all of us, but for senior Kevin Born, that’s exactly what it was.

Born attended basketball camps at Iowa State during high school and always wondered what it would be like to be an athlete for the Cyclones.

“When I was a kid, I would always say, ‘How crazy would it be to come to Iowa State and play a sport?’” Born said. “I thought it would never happen, so it was amazing that I was able to transfer here.”

Born started his collegiate career at Missouri State University but had to transfer after the school was forced to cut its cross country program following the 2005 season.

He was a Missouri Valley All-Conference runner at Missouri State and was named to the All-State team twice in high school.

“When I transferred, it was almost like starting over again,” Born said. “I came here as a junior, but it was almost like I was a freshman again. Before I had established friends and I had my own team, but then here I had to get to know the guys.”

Head coach Corey Ihmels brought Born to Iowa State before the 2006 cross country season and has been very happy with the adition.

“Kevin came from a difficult situation at Missouri State,” Ihmels said. “He brings a lot of intensity and toughness that we’re going to miss from him next season.”

Throughout his senior season, Born has played a number of different roles for the Cyclones. At the Bradley Open in October, Born was the headline guy for the team and led the Cyclones to a dominating win in the meet.

But at the NCAA Regional race, he was the No. 4 runner for the Cyclones as they earned an NCAA Championship berth.

“He was struggling, trying to find his place, and it wasn’t going well for him early,” Ihmels said of Born’s season. “He got back on track at Bradley, but then struggled a little bit at conference.”

Born’s status was up in the air before the NCAA Regional meet due to his struggles early in the season, but Ihmels looked at his experience when making up the final roster.

“On paper, he probably didn’t deserve to run the Regional meet,” Ihmels said. “He’s a guy that’s been All-Region the last two years, and sure enough, he came through for us. He was probably the difference for us getting that at-large bid [to the Championship].”

The journey through this season hasn’t been the easiest for Born, and he attributed his success to the help of his coach and teammates, which got him through to the end.

“In the middle of the season I was having trouble getting through a 70-minute run and debated whether to continue on or not,” Born said.

“I had a buddy that helped me out, and things started to get better. And Corey was very, very supportive, especially this semester. He definitely cared about my personal life, which helped me a lot to continue to run and compete.”

The struggles Born experienced in his transfer and senior season have empowered his faith and taught him discipline, skills he said he will use beyond cross country.

“In cross country you definitely have a lot of highs and lows, and God has definitely helped me to stick with things,” Born said. “I know there are going to be days I’m going to hate what I do, but cross country has showed me that through adversity, things always get better.”

Ihmels didn’t skip a beat when asked about Born’s future and relished the opportunity to talk about what lies ahead for the senior.

“This young man is going to go on and make an impact in the world today, and that’s all you can ask for,” Ihmels said.