Shutdown didn’t stop Hochanadel from workouts

Don’t be surprised to see Genoa graduate Brock Hochanadel running through Clay Center or Genoa. It’s what he likes to do.
Hochanadel did get to participate his senior year with the track team because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that will not stop him from continuing to run, even competitively.
“My favorite part about running is the satisfaction you get after a workout. You get to see yourself progress and get better,” Hochanadel said. “Running is something I definitely want to keep doing. It’s just a hobby and pastime that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Right now, I’m just running now and again for fun, but I’ll probably do a couple 5Ks here and there.”
That’s what Genoa track coach Luke Hodulik likes to see.
“That’s one of those things I like to do with all of them,” Hodulik said. “I want to promote a healthy lifestyle for life once they graduate, so I love to see the guys who go on to compete in 5Ks or whatever it is. That’s awesome and I’m sure he’ll be one of those guys who does that.”
As a junior, Hochanadel helped Genoa score points in middle distance events, although he didn’t set any school records. He did place in various events, including at the Northern Buckeye Conference meet. His senior year, who knows what he might have achieved.
“Brock is a guy who in the past was a middle distance guy, but he ended up being pretty good in the longer sprints,” Hodulik said. “So, he was doing the 200 and 400 for us and the 4x200 and 4x400 relays. He’s got some good speed, but he also enjoys distance, so he was really trying to focus on the 800 this year. He was probably still going to be in the mix for the 200, 400 and 800 — somewhere in that range.
“He’s one of those guys who you love having on your team. Even though he wanted to be a middle distance guy, we wanted him to be in the longer sprints the last couple years and he did it. He didn’t even ask any questions about it. He said whatever the team needs, and we put him there and he was exactly what we needed,” Hodulik continued.
“We had him on a training program to focus on the middle distance and the 4x800, and he was just knocking it out. That is a really tough training program to be on. Even once the shutdown started, he was just going at it, gangbusters. When we got word that the season was canceled, he actually was just getting ready to go out and run and he went and did it anyways. It’s in his mindset.”
Hodulik says Hochanadel got good enough over the offseason that he might be able to run at the NCAA Division III level. However, that is not in Hochanadel’s plans, although college is. He has had to overcome other issues, too, which made the senior season shutdown even harder.
“He is a senior who has battled some injuries in his career. He is finally healthy and has been training extremely hard. We have been providing the entire team with workouts since our season was suspended, and Brock has not missed a beat since we last saw the team in person. He is very mature,” Hodulik said.
“He was injured — that was the thing,” Hodulik continued. “He had a nagging injury as a sophomore and junior. That’s the thing that was so bad about it is he was finally healthy, and he was as focused as he could possibly be. He was going to have a great year. He is one of those guys who really put in everything he could put in for three-plus years and he was ready to finally take off and just didn’t get the chance.”
Hochanadel added, “It’s a real bummer being that you worked so hard to try and go out with a bang. You know, there is really nothing you can do about it so it’s a pill you kind of have to swallow and move forward.”
Hochanadel did participate in sports over the winter, rejoining the Genoa wrestling program. That’s how far he was going to go just to keep in shape away from the track season.
“The offseason I actually joined the wrestling team to try and get an extra level of athleticism,” Hochanadel said. “I wrestled biddy a couple years, but I took a hiatus from that, so I came back for one year. It was a lot of fun, lot of hard work and a lot of hours, but I’d say it was worth it.