AMBOY – Just in case you were wondering, Brock Loftus has not stopped running since he graduated from the Amboy in 2021.

In fact, he may run more.

The Heartland Community College sophomore finished the fall cross country season 17th in the nation at the NJCAA Division II level, while the Hawks took second, only trailed Lansing by five points for the win, at the NJCAA National Championship Nov. 11, 2023, at Huntsville, Ala.

“We had a great season. We finished second place as a team and I finished All-American individually,” said Loftus. “Last year as a freshman, we finished second as well at the championships in Tallahassee, Fla. It was a good race, really hot. I ran there and didn’t have the greatest race.

“Going into my sophomore year, I said, ‘This is going to be our year to do it.’ We had a lot of adversity this season. Our best runner broke his foot the first week of the season and we lost him for the rest of the year. That was a huge blow. We knew everyone had to step up big. Although the ratings didn’t have us very high, our brotherhood knew what we could do.

“When we were at nationals, we knew it was our time. We thought we were more ready than anyone. We didn’t care what anyone thought we could or couldn’t do. We went out there without our best runner and finished second by five points.”

Loftus, who finished 26th individually to lead the Amboy Clippers to a 22nd-place finish at the 2021 IHSA Class 1A State Meet as a senior, is thrilled with his first two years of college running.

Although others thought he was making a bad choice, he knows his selection of Heartland was on the money.

“I remember when I was leaving high school and people asked me why I was going to junior college or to Heartland,” Loftus said. “If you look at Heartland, it is unreal how good we are. I don’t think people understand, we beat Division I programs all the time. We raced the University of Iowa’s B-Team my freshman year and we tied them. Yes, it’s a B-Team, but they’re freshman and sophomores, and so were we. That’s a Big Ten Conference school. Yeah, we’re a junior college, but the talent here is unreal.

“I was intimidated when I first got here because I knew what kind of program Heartland is.”

Loftus added the amount of talent at Heartland and all junior college programs is mind blowing.

Like Rodney Dangerfield, Loftus feels the junior college rank doesn’t get enough respect.

“Everyone is so hungry,” Loftus said. “Everyone wants to get to the next level, so everyone is hungry and competing the best they can. It’s very competitive.”

At the NJCAA National Championship, Loftus ran a 25:44.90 for 17th place and was one of three Hawks to be named All-American as Ben Huey, sophomore, was 13th in 25:31.40, and Matt Padilla, freshman, was 14th in 25:34.

“I’m so proud of being an All-American. I have had a very eventful college experience, so to be All-American, it’s the most pride I’ve ever felt in life to be honest,” Loftus said. “I really just love the sport. Growing up, I played every sport there is. Every sport I’ve loved because I love being an athlete, but running is so much fun because there is the team aspect and the individual aspect. It’s fun to have goals and to see yourself improve. Ok, I had this time, let’s see if I can make this time.

“The thing I found with my running, the harder I work, I tend to have more success. It’s so fun for me.”

Loftus was thankful for the people who reached out to him after his All-American season including his family, friends, and two of his inspirations to continue running, former Amboy cross country coach Bob Halberg and Amboy cross country alumnus Thomas Stamberger.