Phoenix Shadden, a senior at Atlantic High School in Atlantic, committed early this week to running for the Southwestern Community College track and cross country teams during their 2017-18 campaigns.

During high school, Shadden won the individual title at the Hawkeye Ten Conference championship as a senior, was an all-state cross country selection, and placed 10th in the 2016 Iowa High School Athletic Association's 3A state cross country meet. His personal bests are 5:07 for the mile, 10:18 for the 3200m, and 16:21 for the 5k in cross country.

Nick Ekel, head coach for Southwestern's track and cross country programs, can't wait to see what Shadden will bring to Southwestern's running programs.

"Phoenix is a runner who blossomed during the past six months, as he was able to conclude his cross country career with a conference title as well as all-state honors," Ekel explained. "He is a very mentally tough and motivated student-athlete with tremendous potential in cross country and distance events at the collegiate level."

He is the son of Jennifer Muzney and Brandon Shadden.

In photo (L to R): Sitting - Jennifer Muzney, Phoenix's mother; Phoenix Shadden; and Brandon Shadden, Phoenix's father. Standing - Paul Iekel, Atlantic High School cross country coach, and Nick Ekel, Southwestern track & field and cross country coach.