Athlete of the Week: 10 questions with Caden Pfister, New Trier track and field

Caden Pfister is a recent New Trier graduate and All-State mid-distance runner. He will compete with Grinnell College next season.

1. Do you have any prerace rituals or superstitions?

I don’t have a ton; though recently before I get going I use a roller or Theragun. It really loosens me up and gets me ready to run. I listen to music and gets me pumped up and in the mood to race.

2. Why is Grinnell a good fit for you?

It was a very close decision between three colleges, and I chose Grinnell mostly because of the track coach (Jeff Pedersen), the feel of the campus. I visited last summer and got a really good idea of what it was like. I talked with a couple kids on the track team and a couple regular students and realized I really enjoy it.

3. What did you start racing competitively?

It really started with high school. I ran track and cross country in middle school but really didn’t focus on it. It was more for fun.

4. What do you enjoy about the sport?

I enjoy the team aspect of it. I both swam and ran track in high school. … For track, it’s more of a team supporting you during your race. In track, everyone is going side to side (of the track) cheering you on. It makes it a lot more fun to race.

5. What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not competing?

I enjoy playing (video) games with my friends. I like to read sometimes. I watch movies at night when eating dinner. I find that pretty enjoyable. I also just enjoy running. I do a lot of running outside of track as well.

6. What is your dream job?

I’m very interested in biology/chemistry. My main experience in that is my dad works for Emergex vaccines and gets to oversee a lab and I think that would be a really awesome job to get to know what is going on and get to see the final product of that experience. Bio chemistry is my intended major.

7. If you played another sport, what would it be?

I think it would either be football or basketball. Probably football because a lot of track stuff relates to football and a lot of football players are on the track team. I didn’t end up doing it, mostly because I am a swimmer as well. I think I would enjoy paying it a lot. I used to enjoy playing.

8. If you are in Walgreens with a couple bucks, what are you buying?

It’s this chocolate-coated popcorn of a specific brand. I always love eating it. It’s salty and sweet. It’s nice. Probably my favorite thing to get.

9. What is something people don’t know about you?

Something most people don’t know is I play cello. I’m in the orchestra at New Trier. I like to learn pop songs. I’m learning Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be.”

10. How was your senior season, which ended with a fourth-place state finish in the 4-by-400 relay?

The season as a whole ended a lot better than I thought it would. We really went in thinking it would be a cool experience and we wouldn’t make it too far. We went in seeded (12th) and made the finals by less than a tenth and somehow ended up going from ninth to fourth. I was super happy, and it was better than anybody on the team expected.

I think the crowd made a huge difference. We hadn’t run this exact relay team many times before. We knew it was our technical best through seed time, but we hadn’t run it a lot. The last time .. wasn’t a very good showing. Being at state with good weather and a huge crowd and think it made us all perform out of our minds.

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