FEATURED SENIOR ATHLETE: Charlie Menzel, Greencastle

Charlie is a senior at Greencastle and participates in three sports, cross country, swimming and track.

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Banner Graphic: How important are sports to you, and what have you learned from them?

Charlie Menzel: “Sports are everything to me. We have Friday morning practice for swimming and cross country; I notice, when we get out of school at 3:15, just how much everything revolves around them. Anything that means that much to you is going to teach a lot of stuff. The thing I’ve noticed most this year is how sports makes you into a leader. It sounds cliche and everyone talks about becoming a leader, but it is a cliche for a reason. Sports also give me a natural home. My closest friends have been in my teams and friends from other schools are those I’ve competed against. I spend a lot of time with the Northview cross country team on the weekends, for instance.”

BG: Talk about your sports.

CM: “I’ve been a three-sport athlete since middle school. Swimming was always a non-negotiable sport as my father is the swim coach, my sisters all swam and they were pretty darn good at it. Cross country I started in fifth grade. We had a running loop at recess and, in fourth grade, I started running two miles with my friends each day. Come fifth grade, I said I would give cross country a try and it turned out I was good at it. I added track in sixth grade, so it’s been those three sports non-stop. I had to take two months off for injury last summer, which was the first break I’ve had since I started doing all three sports.”

BG: What’s the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you in sports?

CM: “In cross country, I tripped sophomore year at Cascade and nearly broke three ribs. Treyten Clark’s dad sprinted some 400 yards to make sure I was OK.”

BG: What does your game day routine look like?

CM: “It’s different for all three sports but I’d say the most important thing I do is, before a race or meet, is to try to center myself. I’m not great at it ahead of cross country or track meets but in swimming, before each meet, we take a little time to sit down, let go of any negative thoughts and stress. Outside of that, every morning, I have minute rice cups, which I heat up, and add salmon to it. It does the trick.”

BG: Do you have any favorite college/pro sports teams or athletes you follow?

CM: “There’s a professional runner, Elise Cranny, who went to the same high school as my dad in Colorado, Niwot, who is an Olympian, a National Champion and ran at Stanford. Her and I have a text chain that we communicate with every once and a while. I’ll ask her for advice before races; she’ll respond and ask how races went. I follow several athletes but she is the only one I really look up to and idolize.”

BG: As you mentioned, your family has a lengthy and successful track record in swimming. What have you done in your sports to carve your own sporting identity

CM: “It was pretty easy. My sisters were wicked good at swimming and I wasn’t. That did most of it for me. I could never remotely could come close to what my sisters could do in the pool, so I had to find something else and that was cross country in a big way. There were other things, like racing the Little 500 last year; they took classes as well but was something they never got to do. That became part of my sporting identity.”

BG: What else do you do at school besides things involving sports?

CM: “I’ve been in band most of high school. I’m also in NHS and the Ambassador program, so I’m usually found in a purple polo at basketball games.”

BG: What do you like to do outside of school and sports?

CM: “I play the drums. One of my favorite things to do with friends is go bowling and hang out there. A couple of my older friends, when they’re in town, and I go driving or for bike rides at the nature park, listen to music and hang out.”

BG: What are your favorites in reading, movies, TV and music?

CM: “My two favorite movies are ‘Goodwill Hunting’ and ‘Dead Poet’s Society.’ ‘Phineas and Ferb’ is my all-time favorite TV show; I watched the entire series seven times before I was 10 years-old; I also like ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘Friends.’ Music-wise, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Justin Townes Earle and Tate McRae are top of my playlist; I’ve been banned from playing McRae at practice because I played it so much. I’ve also been reading ‘East of Eden’ by John Steinbeck, which is one of my favorite books. It was one of my sister’s favorite books and she recommended I read it.”

BG: Are you a person who wants to watch TV shows and movies or stream something from YouTube, Twitch, TikTok etc.?

CM: “If it’s been cold for a few days and the pond at the nature park is frozen, I’d go ice skating. If not that, a couple of my friends and I have gotten into chess lately, so we’ll hang out and play that while watching football.”

BG: What is something you have never done before that you would like to do someday?

CM: “I’d love to do a ridealong in an Indy Car or F1 car. Either that or see the Northern Lights.”

BG: What is your biggest fear?

CM: “Snakes. I hate snakes and have had nightmares about them.”

BG: You’ve been placed in charge of making dinner. What’s on the menu?

CM: “Mac and cheese from the box, orange juice and either brats or venison burgers, which ever is quick, easy and comes out first.”

BG: Do you have any pets?

CM: “We have four dogs, Radar, Rosebud, Oliver and Susann, which is Swedish for Susan, and two cats, Hemingway and Halifax,”

BG: If your house were on fire, all living things were already out and you have your keys, cell phone, wallet/purse etc., what is one thing you would go back and get?

CM: “I’ve had this blanket since I was born. When I was young, I would sleep with it and it now sits at the foot of my bed. It’s the one thing I’ve always had, so I would get that.”

BG: A family member has hit the lottery. After everything is paid off and money is set away for the future, you’ve been asked to buy something you have always wanted to get. What are you asking for?

CM: “A 1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS6, in British racing blue with white stripes, a manual, stick-shift transmission and a license plate in the front with red text and specs. I have a diecast model of that car.”

BG: If you were to describe your personality in one word, what would that word be and why?

CM: “Spontaneous. I’m a bit scatterbrained but I’m also always up for anything; no dare frightens me, as long as I don’t think about it beforehand.”

BG: What has been your favorite place to visit?

CM: “I have family in Colorado and a couple of summers ago, I spent time with them. It was a pretty special experience. I had a lot of independence, ran with a track club out there, made a lot of friends, had a lot of fun and did a lot of stupid things. It was my favorite vacation ever.”

BG: What was your favorite school field trip?

CM: “In first or second grade, we went on a trip to the apple orchard and it happened to be my birthday, so it was like having a birthday party.”

BG: How important is support from your family and classmates to your success?

CM: “Especially from my sister Tracy, her support means everything in the world to me. Even if everyone else is mad at me, if she acknowledges that I’m still a half-decent human being, I’m all right with myself. From a swimming standpoint, I’ve looked up to her but I also looked up to her academically. She’s been the standard I’ve always chased. She’s been the person I’ve trusted during my college search because she can set aside bias and personal feelings, looking at the best things for me.”

BG: Describe your overall school experience both academically and athletically.

CM: “11 out of 10 for both. Academically, I couldn’t ask for better teachers or friends. It took a while for me to finally find who I was really comfortable around; many graduated already but they all came from the same school. The teachers here are better than any small town around. I’ve been blessed with great teachers in every subject, from math to English to science to history and Mrs. Burkhalter in Latin. Athletically, having my dad as a coach is the opportunity of a lifetime and I’ve loved every minute of sharing time on the pool deck with him. My track and cross country coaches have been great, including Scott Hamilton, who has been so much fun to have around. Coach Kevin Kendall has had my back and Brian Hammett has been coaching me for six years.”

BG: If your school was to offer a class it currently doesn’t, what would you want to see taught?

CM: “An astronomy class would be cool. It’s the one thing I keep joking about taking in college.”

BG: What are your plans for after high school, and what career are you headed toward?

CM: “I’m going to run cross country and track in college; I don’t know where yet but I’m narrowing thins down. I also don’t know what I will study and what my career will be but, if I had to guess, I’d end up teaching and coaching either swimming or cross country. I have a dream of being an assistant to Tracy, who is the DePauw swimming coach, and she jokes I’d be a volunteer assistant.”

BG: Is it difficult to keep up with your school work being an athlete?

CM: “Not really. The way I describe it is that I always fly by the seat of my pants all the time but manage to get them pulled up right at the end. At the end of every grading period, I get stressed trying to make ends meet but I make them do so with exorbitant stress, a couple of late nights and a couple of gracious extensions from teachers.”

BG: Which particular classes and teachers have helped you the most in high school?

CM: “Brenda Meyer is a saint who has made my high school experience extraordinary. She’s the best counselor in the world. I took a DePauw class a couple of years ago and Amity Reading, PhD, was by far and away the best teacher I’ve ever had. I owe her a lot. Ms. Perrin means a lot to me, both Mr. Hankee and Mr. Kunhe were the best math teachers I’ve had; Mr. Wheeler is said a lot but there’s a reason for that. Mr. Kingma is a great science teacher and Dr. Hill has been pretty great. Denise Myers is my all-time favorite teacher and was a safe place for me in middle school. Mrs. Burkhalter is also the best Latin teacher on the planet and is my favorite person on the planet.”

BG: In the future, once you’ve established yourself, if you had your choice, would you want to live in the mountains, on the beach or in the neighborhood?

CM: “A rural setting. I like small town, rural, isolated areas. I love being outside and would be happiest out there.”

BG: Do you think high school has gone fast, and are you going to miss it?

CM: “I’m a live in the moment kind of person, so I feel it’s gone by the way it should. There are moments school drags and moments where you wonder how it’s already Friday. I’ll miss i for the highs, not so much the lows, and will look back fondly on Greencastle High School.”