Will Kitzhaber

Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos

Photo by: Gary Breedlove

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Watertown, Wis.
Squadron:
38 All-Stars
High School:
Watertown

- ALL-CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY, SECOND-TEAM | 2020
- ALL-CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY, FIRST-TEAM | 2019

JUNIOR YEAR | 2020: Earned second-team all-conference honors after finishing 13th at the Mountain West Championships…clocked a season-best 8K time of 24:04.2 at that meet…added a time of 24:08.6 at the Silver State Collegiate Challenge (33rd)…also competed at the NCAA Championships, finishing 166th with a 10K time of 32:23.0…academic all-conference selection…Mountain West Scholar-Athlete…named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2019: First-team all-conference honoree...clocked a career-best 8K time of 23:22.8 to finish fourth and lead the Falcons at the Mountain West Championships...youngest of the top 13 finishers and the only non-senior to earn first-team all-MW status at that meet...that time was the Falcons’ fastest 8K mark in 25 years...also scored for Air Force in 8K races at the Bill Dellinger Invitational (24:24.5, 43rd) and Nuttycombe Invitational (24:37.6, 104th)...clocked a 10K time of 31:56.6 to place 50th at the NCAA Mountain Regional...opened the season with a runner-up finish in the four-mile Air Force Open (20:49.5)...earned the team’s Most Improved Athlete award...academic all-conference selection...Mountain West Scholar-Athlete.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2018: Competed in three meets...clocked a career-best 8K time of 26:26.9 to finish 18th out of 175 runners at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open...added a 26:38.4 performance at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational (53rd)...clocked a 5K time of 16:41.6 in collegiate debut at the Wyoming Invitational (52nd)...academic all-conference selection...Mountain West Scholar-Athlete.

MAJOR TRACK AND FIELD HIGHLIGHTS: Debuted in 10th on the Academy’s all-time 10,000-meter standings as a junior, after clocking a 29:31.02 at the West Coast Relays…named to the USTFCCCCA All-Academic Team in 2021.

HIGH SCHOOL: Watertown High School...three-time conference champion (once in cross country, twice in the 3200-meter run)...four-time all-conference honoree in cross country...qualified for the state cross country championships three times...all-state selection...three-time all-area...earned cross country MVP honors three times...also qualified for the state track championships as a member of the 4x800-meter relay...four-time sectional qualifier at 3200 meters...served as president of the National Honor Society...named AP Scholar with Distinction...finalist for the state’s Scholar-Athlete award...named to the High Honor Roll all four years...earned a letter in band...Eagle Scout...member of Vigil Honor, Order of the Arrow...Wag-O-Shag Lodge, BSA Lodge Chief...named the Elks Lodge Distinguished Citizen in 2016.

PERSONAL: Full name is William James Kitzhaber...goes by Will...nickname is “Sigmund Freud”...son of Peter and Michelle Kitzhaber...father is a lieutenant colonel in the Wisconsin Army National Guard...has two brothers...older brother, Andrew, is a 2019 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy...majoring in legal studies...future plans include attending law school or becoming an agent in the Office of Special Investigations (OSI)...currently serving as the Readiness Flight Commander...named to the Superintendent’s List for excellence in military, academic and athletic performance...has been named to the Dean’s List every semester and earned Commandant’s honors in four of six semesters...earned Jump Wings in the summer of 2019...hobbies include sleeping, fishing, hunting, running, soaking in the sun and cracking jokes with “Sweets”...was a barista during high school...interned with the Air Force General Counsel’s Officer of Contractor Responsibility and Conflict Resolution over the summer, working to stop Chinese intellectual espionage…also watched Mad Men and ran “a couple times”...member of Cadet Squadron 38.