GREEN BAY – Green Bay native and UW-Green Bay Phoenix Junior Noah Jahnke has had a breakthrough season for Phoenix cross country, shattering several school and personal records throughout the season.
“So far, every race he’s run, he’s won. He won the first race, which was the Saint Robert’s Invite, which we host here. The next week, he won our Phoenix Open. And then, two weeks later, we ran at Notre Dame, and he won the Gold Division race. Two weeks after that, we ran at Bradley University and he won that one. And then, two weeks after that was the Horizon League Championships, and Purdue Fort Wayne was hosting that. He won that race as well,” said Phoenix Cross Country Head Coach Mike Kline.
“We’ve never had a runner that’s done that, and he’s running some extremely, extremely fast times, right now.”
Jahnke said that he has been a little surprised by how much success he has seen this season given performance prior to college.
“Honestly, I’m very surprised. My best performance in high school was placing 9th at the Division 1 State meet in cross country — a result I’m still proud of — but now my average 5K split during an 8K is more than a minute faster than my all-out 5K in high school. To me, that speaks volumes about the people around me, the culture we’ve built and the work we’re putting in here,” said Jahnke.
At the NCAA Regionals on Friday, Nov. 14, Jahnke broke his own 10k school record with a time of 30:29.14 earning himself a 24th place finish.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the growth and progression I’ve experienced over the past few years. Success in an endurance sport like cross-country doesn’t happen overnight — it’s the result of years of consistent work that gradually builds the adaptations for which we are aiming. I’m most looking forward to continuing to put in steady, intentional training alongside my teammates and closest friends as we work to elevate our fitness even further for next season,” said Jahnke.
Being only in his junior season at UW-Green Bay, Jahnke has a lot of time left in his athletic career to continue to grow as a runner.
Kline said that he is thrilled to have Jahnke returning next season to continue to lead the Phoenix as a high-level competitor.
“I feel very, very blessed. He’s only a junior, he’ll be coming back to Phoenix Country next year. So it is, it’s a win-win. It’s really great for us,” said Kline.
“I know he’s only a junior this year, but he’s very, very humble. He’s a team player. His work ethic and dedication to his sport and academics is definitely second to none. He’s one guy that dots every ‘I’ and crosses every ‘T’ every day. I mean, when it gets down to the stretching, the band work, the little things that sometimes, maybe others are overlook, I think. He does it all the time. He is a very, very talented runner and a talented person, but he does all the little extra things that can sometimes make somebody go from very good to great. He’s just a great kid, very genuine, and he cares a lot about his team. The team definitely cares a lot about him as well. He’d be a good role model or a mentor for any young man or young woman that’s thinking of becoming a collegiate student athlete.”
According to Jahnke, seeing the growth of the Phoenix cross country program has been one of the most impactful developments of his collegiate career.
“The most rewarding part of the season has been seeing both my own development and our team’s growth as we reach places we’ve never been before. It’s an incredible honor to be part of such a rapidly rising program, and it means a great deal to contribute to that progress,” said Jahnke.
“I’ve also had the privilege of mentoring some of the up-and-coming young runners in the community, which has been extremely rewarding. It still feels crazy when people recognize me or ask for advice, because I don’t really see myself as someone who deserves that kind of attention.”
Despite his team-player attitude, Jahke said that he does have a few personal accomplishments that he is proud of.
“I think my win at the Bradley Pink Classic is the accomplishment I’m most proud of. I’ve always had tremendous respect for that meet — it’s the biggest and most competitive regular-season race we attend. Last year, I took a photo with the winner and remember thinking his 23:31 was a time I’d never come close to. This year, I ran 23:30, which definitely surprised me,” said Jahnke. “What made it even more meaningful were the moments I shared with my teammates and coaches afterward. Their support and excitement really helped the accomplishment sink in.”
With Jahnke being one of only six runners on the team to hail from the Green Bay area, Kline said that it means a lot to him and to the team to see Jahnke’s success bolster support for the program.
“It’s awesome having that with him staying close to home, and it helps with recruiting, on campus as far as academics, just having a local person, a lot of people do know him. When you can keep those recruits close to home, that means a lot, keeping them here at Green Bay if possible. I feel very blessed that he decided Green Bay was going to be his home for the next four years, and I think it’s been a great opportunity for him, but it’s been awesome having him here on our cross-country team as a student athlete,” said Kline.
Jahnke, a West De Pere High School graduate, returned the sentiment, stating that remaining in the Green Bay area for his collegiate career has been a wonderful experience for him.
“It’s incredibly meaningful to have stayed local throughout both my high school and college running careers. I work at the local running shop, and it’s always surreal when people recognize me. One customer recently said, ‘Noah! You’re a household name now — we don’t even have to use your last name; everyone knows who you are!’ Moments like that still catch me off guard,” said Jahnke.
Support system
Jahnke said that despite all of the success he’s had throughout his athletic career, he would not be where he is today without the unwavering support of his family.
“I’m an only child, and I owe so much to my parents for the support they’ve given me throughout my life,” said Jahnke.
Even as someone who is no stranger to success, Jahnke said that he definitely still has moments in his career where he feels the pressure of competing at such a high level.
“I think the pressure I felt going into conference was unlike anything I had experienced before. Based on the online projections, I was predicted to win, and it felt as though anything less would be a failure. That was a lot to sit with.
To make things harder, I pulled my hamstring about a week before the race during a sprint. Thankfully it healed quickly and was nearly back to full strength by race day, but the uncertainty added to the nerves,” said Jahnke.
“I’ve always tried to give 100% to everything I do, and running is no different. The science behind training quickly became just as interesting to me as the training itself, which led me to pursue human biology and exercise science academically. Now, I’m living a version of the life I used to only imagine: training with my best friends every day, then spending the afternoon studying the physiology behind what we’re doing before heading out for another session.
At the end of the day, I believe a genuine love for the process is what brings success. You simply can’t commit to this much training and learning without truly enjoying the journey.”
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