Once thought of as an underdog because he competed for Division III Willamette, the seven-time NCAA outdoor champ has showed everyone that he can compete with the best; finishing second in the 800m at the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships and winning the event at the ’07 Reebok Indoor Games and the USA Indoor Champs.

In high school and college Nick says that he always looked up to and wanted to emulate runners like Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenheim and Alan Webb. Although Nick still holds them in high regard and knows that he has a lot to learn from their accomplishments on the world stage, he also jokes that he might now even be able to “teach them a thing or two” (or at least when it comes to the 800m).