ESCANABA — Prior to this season, Escanaba’s Zach Rose had never ran in a competitive race of any kind. On Saturday, he will represent Bay College in the NJCAA Division 2 National Championship Meet in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

At the year’s first meet at Kirkland Coommunity College in Grayling, Zach finished the 6K course in 22:35.4, just 15 seconds behind the leader. Despite the early success, he found out quickly that he had work to do.

“I had to learn a lot, but it was pretty cool … I didn’t know what to expect, but I learned really fast how to pace myself and what the sport was like. I didn’t know how tough it really is,” Rose said in a Bay College press release. “It’s hard because half way through your legs start to burn, and you have to be mentally tough.”

Rose won an event, his first victory, hosted by Bay College later in the season. He finished the course that day in 30:02, two-minutes and thirteen-seconds ahead of second. The win helped the Norse claim a team victory at the meet, as well.

Rose will be the third Cross Country Runner to represent Bay College at the National Championship in school history. In 2018 Zoie Berg (Gladstone) and James Young (Gladstone) competed in the event held in Garden City, Kansas.