By Mike Beas
Brownsburg basketball player Trevor Nolan recently suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand bracing himself for a fall in practice.
It might have been the only way to slow the senior — albeit temporarily.
Nolan is a three-sport athlete in an era in which his kind are becoming less and less common. He runs cross country in the fall, utilizes his 6-foot 3-inch frame in hoops for the Bulldogs in the winter and is part of the track and field program when temperatures begin to warm.
In October, Nolan capped off a memorable cross country campaign by placing 10th at the state meet in Terre Haute in a time of 15:55.7. His accomplishments in the weeks leading up to the finals was first at the Brownsburg sectional, third at the Ben Davis regional and ninth at the Shelbyville semistate.
As a junior, he helped lead Brownsburg to a fifth-place team finish at the state meet, placing 32nd individually after posting a time of 16:19.8.
“When you look at Trevor’s resume, we really believed he could finish in the top 10 (this season),” said Bulldogs cross country coach Nick Balbach. “He always runs well on that Terre Haute course, and it’s a tough course, too. Trevor always wants to learn more about what we’re doing and is curious about how to get better.
“He has a lot of natural talent, but to see the progress he’s made in his four years has been great.”
Nolan carries a 3.75 grade point average and is leaning toward majoring in education once in college. He’s received scholarship offers to run at Indiana State and the University of Indianapolis, while Xavier and Cincinnati are two more cross country/track possibilities that have shown interest.
He’s hoping to return to the court for basketball when Brownsburg celebrates senior night on Dec. 19 against Ben Davis. At the latest, Nolan plans on being a factor when the annual Hendricks County Tournament is played from Jan. 6-9.
Nolan did a Q&A with ICON:
Q: What is the most difficult part of being a three-sport athlete?
A: Some of the biggest challenges include my diet. As far as training goes, I have basketball practices and am also running and training for the track season. I definitely enjoy always having something to do.
Q: With it now being basketball season, what are the strengths you feel you bring to the Bulldogs’ program?
A: Definitely playing power forward, but when it comes to game situations, I could play any position except point guard. One of my favorite parts of playing basketball is my teammates and all the fun we have in practice.
Q: How did you become interested in wanting to run competitively?
A: I’ll say I started in sixth grade, but my love for the sport began to blossom during my freshman track season. There’s always someone out there who is better than me, some time, some record. It’s just the desire to always want to get better.
Athlete of the Week
