As the end of a season draws to a close, most athletes will have heard, time and time again, "End on a good note." Junior Brent Des Roches of the Marquette men's cross country team took those five little words quite literally.

Despite being the top finisher in almost every meet last season and a third place finish at the Conference USA Championship, last fall's MVP traded in his running shoes and barely-there shorts for a pair of Allen-Edmonds and slacks.

Des Roches redshirted last spring and this cross country season because of an

engineering co-op. He now works for Facilities Planning, Design and Construction on the Marquette campus.

"In the back of my mind, I knew there was a chance I'd do something like this," Des Roches said. "I didn't want to work 40 hours a week and then train at such a high level. (Redshirting) was just easier, pressure-wise."

Neither head coach David Uhrich nor his teammates can deny the sting felt by their lead runner's absence.

"We are missing his ability," Uhrich said. "He's shown he can run with top level competitors, and I'm looking forward to him returning and the spark he will bring to track season."

"We miss him at the front of the pack," said senior David Henderson. "Brent leads by example, he's very level-headed, and he shares his knowledge of

running with all of us."

Now, instead of running against Big East competitors, Des Roches is surveying rooms, drawing plans, coordinating schedules with contractors and carrying out designs.

"I miss competing, but it's manageable," Des Roches said. "It's not enjoyable to sit out but it's going to benefit me in the long run."

Run. Work. Run. Sleep. Repeat.

So went Des Roches' life for the past two semesters. Despite a 40-hour work week, Des Roches still makes the effort to run two times a day and up to 100 miles a week. While the Golden Eagles miss him during competitions, Des Roches has not been a stranger to the team for the past two semesters. After running in the morning and an eight-hour work day, Des Roches trains with the team almost every afternoon.

"Brent's been so successful and has worked so hard," Uhrich said. "He impresses me with how consistent he is. He never runs tough one week and then not the next. He's just a gusty, hard-working runner."

After leaving high school as a record-breaking senior, Des Roches took little

time in getting his feet wet with the Golden Eagles — he was the team's top

finisher in his first college race.

"Brent had fast times coming out of high school," Uhrich said. "But I liked his work ethic and attitude about running. He's self-motivated and brings a lot of passion to the sport."

As a freshman, Des Roches was the first Golden Eagle to cross the finish line at the Bradley Open, with his sixth place finish of 25:09. Three years later that race, and Des Roches' finish, is still fresh in the mind of coach Uhrich.

"Around the two-and-a-half-mile mark Brent had a surge and took the lead for a while," Uhrich said. "Right from get-go I realized, 'Wow, this kid is tough.' It was his first college race and he wasn't intimidated by the competition. Even though he didn't win, I was more impressed with his attitude."

With his co-op almost over, Des Roches is once again ready to swap his suit for the uniform with Marquette emblazened on the chest.

"I want to reach the podium in the Big East," Des Roches said. "I've seen the times, and I know some of the people. With the training that I've been doing, I know I can be that much better."

And apparently, coach Uhrich knows it too.

"We're a better team with him," he said. "I've been reminding myself that next year we'll be better, because Brent's back."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 20, 2005.