AUBURN, Ala. – When it was time to choose a college, Ryan Kinnane wanted to check two boxes.
"I was looking for flight schools that had a good track and cross country program," he said.
The son of an Auburn graduate, Kinnane traveled 870 miles to the Plains from his hometown of Andover, Kansas, a 14-hour drive.
"I was always an Auburn fan growing up," he said. "I already had that connection in my mind."
Based on his running times early in high school career, Kinnane targeted several Division-II opportunities.
Then two things happened. He started running faster and he visited his dad's alma mater.
"I didn't really have Auburn as an option until late in my high school cross country career I started running faster and got a few more looks," he said. "I visited Auburn and it just felt right. The flight program was great and I love the team. It just seemed like a good fit."
Kinnane's quest to become a pilot began in 11th grade.
"I love the idea of traveling and seeing new places," he said. "Flying itself is really cool. I like the view from the sky. There's a lot more to it than that. I took my first intro flight when I was a junior in high school and loved it. I felt like that was the right thing for me and I went from there."
One of the country's best distance runners, Ryan does not restrict his flying to piloting airplanes.
Ryan Kinnane finished 11th at the 2022 SEC cross country championship
Running the 1,5000-meters at the 2022 SEC outdoor championships in a blistering 3 minutes and 42 seconds – less than two seconds shy of the Auburn record – Kinnane does plenty of flying on land as well.
He's continued to progress this fall, athletically and academically, earning SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors thanks to a 3.92 GPA in professional flight while pacing the Tigers and finishing in the top 15 in all five meets.
"I think I'm more built for cross country than anything in track, honestly," he said. "I can turn my mind off in cross country and focus on racing the people around me more than running a time. I don't put any limits on myself that way. I just run to the best of my abilities. I think I do better in that scenario."
For his race strategy, Kinnane keeps it simple.
"Try to get to the front pack and hold on as long as I possibly can," he said. "I try to lock on to one or two people I think I can run with, and I run behind them the whole time.
"When I get to 5 or 6K, when it starts feeling like my legs are about to fall off, I just tell myself, 'You've got five more minutes.' Get to the 1,000-mark and you can start pushing, and you'll be done.
"It's getting through that three-quarters of the way mark where you feel like you're almost there, and you can mentally push through the rest of the way."
Kinnane came to Auburn to fly, in the air and on land. On Saturday, he'll represent Auburn at the NCAA Cross Country Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the first Tiger men's runner to compete at NCAAs in eight years.
"It's been pretty amazing," said Kinnane of his first two and a half years at Auburn. "It hasn't been easy. I miss a lot of flights for running and it's hard to keep up with school but I think it's worth it.
"It's been a dream come true to run here and chase the career I want to pursue."
"We're a gritty team. I think we can surprise a lot of people."@SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year @kinnanenball leads @AuburnTFXC into Friday's SEC Championships on @SECNetwork
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 28, 2022
Ryan has a 3.92 GPA in professional flight. ✈️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/usDkUpGGaa
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer