How I Walked On to a Division 1 College Team (NCAA Champions) | My Story + Tips

I hope you enjoy the story! Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments 👇.
Keep in mind this walk on process was from 2013-2017, and the process at BYU is definitely different now and will probably look different at other schools. But my tips here are very applicable no matter the process!
Happy running!
Follow me on Instagram and tik tok ​⁠with the handle ‪@mottesen_runs‬ !

[@tortoisewhisperer1580]

That is a great story. I was able to walk-on to a D-1 team back in the mid 70's, I was nowhere as fast as you but I think the running scene has since gotten so really competitive now. Good luck to you in the marathon !

[@mottesen_runs]

That’s awesome, walking on to a team takes some serious determination. Thank you!

[@spencergambrell7819]

That seems like a much more telling tryout than just a time trial. Watch the kids and see their body language. See how hard it is for them to run the times. And if they look like they have potential to help the team, let them stick around for a couple weeks. Then you have a lot more data. Makes a lot of sense to me

[@devinbowen2046]

Loved watching this man, I will still never forget those times we got to train together in the summer of 2017 before I left on my mission.

[@mottesen_runs]

Oh hey Devin! Good times for sure. That was a great summer

[@nberkel]

I know nothing about college sports and what it takes to make a team, but I have great respect for the perseverance to get yourself there!

[@mottesen_runs]

Thank you, I appreciate that!

[@chrisalthoff3286]

It’s been fun watching your journey from the days of that little walk on group we formed. I’m glad that one of us made it! You’ve been an inspiration! Keep up the hard work!

[@mottesen_runs]

Chris what’s up! I miss that group we had. Those were good times

[@chrisalthoff3286]

@@mottesen_runs They were good times! We had a lot of fun on those runs!

[@Becoming_Better_Today]

Awesome video, my goal is to also make he BYU team someday. I love your videos they really motivated me. They give me hope that it is possible to achieve my goals, even if it may take a long time!

[@mottesen_runs]

It’s possible! Difficult, but possible! Keep at it

[@dawson9736]

Michael I've been watching your vids for some time and I'm up late thinking about this again man. I'm a senior in high school and I have been dreaming to be on a D1 team since my freshman year. Well, I trained really really hard putting in the miles and consistency, but sometimes your best is not good enough to be recruited. I'm at a 2:01 800 & 4:30 full mile rn. I start college in january at BU and I reached out the coach, but I got a little way to go. I'm gonna train hard these next 8 months to try and make it, I just hope it's gonna be enough.

[@mottesen_runs]

And all you can do is your best, Good luck to you man. and if for some reason it doesn’t pan out on the timeline you hoped, you don’t have to give up. Keep at it!

[@matthewmah3745]

Im a non elite average joe. But I am inspired 😁.

[@CapitulationTrader]

Michael, I’ve been watching you try to make $10,000 running for ‘fun’. I just watched this story, made me like you even more. Runner or not, your lessons learned are good for all endeavors. You’re going to continue to be great! Cheers

[@thor5204]

Very inspirational! One day I’ll be a d1 runner

[@mottesen_runs]

Love that, get it!

[@cierabartholomew4058]

Awesome video! So inspiring hearing your story!

[@mottesen_runs]

Glad you liked it!

[@Davbaldwin1]

I enjoyed your story. Thanks for sharing.

[@mottesen_runs]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

If Washington is " Miler U", BYU is Marathon U. Great vid.

[@mottesen_runs]

Seems pretty accurate to me 😅

[@jonahmays]

I’m a member of the church and plan to serve a mission, obviously you were able to stay somewhat in shape and not completely lose fitness which is reassuring for me. Did you have the time and energy to train while you were there or did you just work extra hard when you got home?

[@mottesen_runs]

I did get lucky with several companions who were willing to go for slow runs with me. That being said, the most I was running was 12 miles a week and I gained 30 lbs by the end😅. The bigger factor is that your body remembers what you did BEFORE, and it will get back to that level relatively quickly. It probably took around ~4 months of training when I got home to get back to where I was before, and I quickly surpassed it

[@jonahmays]

@@mottesen_runs gotcha, thanks

[@GotDamBoi]

small world. this video randomly popped up in my recommended. i also attended PHS

[@mottesen_runs]

Small world! I didn’t even say Puyallup or type it anywhere in the video haha. Go Viks

[@curtbentley]

Uh, I graduated from Puyallup High School and went to BYU, too. Nice.

[@mottesen_runs]

Great combo 🙌 not too many people who do that honestly

[@samcollins4544]

Puyallup!? Need to come back up to the PNW let’s get a LR in 🤙🏽

[@mottesen_runs]

HMU thanksgiving, I’ll be there for the weekend!

[@samcollins4544]

@@mottesen_runs yessir!

[@samcollins4544]

@@mottesen_runs I’m still down for this weekend if you are. DM’d your insta.

[@mottesen_runs]

I’m not seeing your message.. I’m here through Monday. Message me again on Insta if you wanna link up on Monday. I’ll be doing a 10 miler

[@carltonthedirector]

inspiring

[@businessdoubt]

This might seem like a silly question, but if a school has an open spot and you can run faster than the current team members, shouldn't they want you on the team? Maybe the team is full, and they can’t just kick someone off. If you have better times, it makes sense to want the best runners. For example, to get a scholarship at Arizona State, you need to run 14:55 for a 5k, but a walk-on can join at around 15:20. So if you're close to those times, you should be able to make the team, right? I'm just curious because my goal for the 5k is 15:00, and I wonder if sometimes politics or favoritism keep better runners from getting on the team, especially if they have good grades and a positive attitude.

[@fonzo157]

why didn’t you go d2 or d3?

[@mottesen_runs]

Sometimes I wonder the same thing lol. I address this a little here 3:35. And other points I didn’t mention: I had 2 brothers at BYU already as well, I wasn’t eager to leave. And I liked the school

[@lucaspookus]

So how did you go on a two year mission and go right back to tryouts? Did you have to re-train your body to get to the level you were at before?

[@mottesen_runs]

I got home with about 2.5 months before tryouts. I got straight back to training as soon as I was home! I was in worse shape even at tryouts though than before my mission. I would guess it took about 6 months to get back to where I was before

[@mottesen_runs]

I got home with about 2.5 months before tryouts. I got straight back to training as soon as I was home! I was in worse shape even at tryouts though than before my mission. I would guess it took about 6 months to get back to where I was before

[@lucaspookus]

OK, cool. thank you I was wondering because I am an aspiring cross country runner who wants to go to byu and serve a mission

[@dillonwoodland9170]

Hopefully your major wasn’t very demanding ;)

[@mottesen_runs]

Lol hi Dillon! Long time no see. Yeah remember math 303? what a cake walk, I had so much time;)

[@jamesromano3288]

Insane story,,,,papi. You need to get a job.....TARGET or HOME DEPOT........great advice....

[@mottesen_runs]

lol I’m gonna keep my engineering job over target or Home Depot ;)

[@jamesromano3288]

@@mottesen_runs ...If u say so papi.....

[@tacit5057]

What was your 5k time in high school?

[@mottesen_runs]

15:53 for XC! But I never did very well at state (around 40th in WA)