Sedona Red Rock senior Shota Yabuuchi has accomplished all he can at the high school level. After setting school records and winning a state championship in the 3,200 meter run as a junior, Yabuuchi is ready for a step up in competition.
Over the weekend, he signed his national letter of intent to run cross country and track on a partial scholarship for Metropolitan State University of Denver, a Division II school competing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
“When I visited the school I really liked the people there and the coaches,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. “I genuinely felt I could fit into their chemistry and environment.”
Yabuuchi came to America at the age of 10, after growing up in his native Japan. He’s lived in Sedona since and admits that he’s ready to live the big-city life for his college years.
“I’m kind of tired that everything is closed after 7 p.m.,” he joked.
Yabuuchi’s journey to the mile-high city will be an obvious challenge for the young runner. NCAA cross country events are double the distance of high school. He’ll be competing in 10k runs (6.1 miles) rather than the 5k distance he’s used to, but he says he considers himself to be a long-distance runner rather than middle-distance, so the adjustment should be swift.
The decision to take his talents to Denver simply came down to it feeling like home, Yabuuchi says. The strong emphasis on distance running was appealing.
The school has a strong history in distance running at the DII level, and Yabuuchi is excited about the prospect of being a part of that culture.
“I really liked [the coach], what she thinks about long-distance sports and that made me really want to go there,” he said.
Athletics, of course, is only part of the experience.
Like many young people in his shoes, Yabuuchi isn’t quite ready to make a decision on his post-college life. He plans to study business or marketing, but isn’t sure exactly what he wants to study in-depth yet.
“I don’t really have a big reason for it,” he laughed. “I’m not a science guy, not a music guy, not an art guy. Why not business? I could go there and spend more time in college and see more of the other opportunities and switch [my major] later anyway.”
Yabuuchi is ready for the college experience, but he’s not finished with his high-school sports career just yet.
He’s still looking forward to a potential title defense for his state championship in the 3,200 from a year ago, and wants to finish out his senior year strong.
“If I’m able to stay healthy and keep up the good workouts I’ve been putting in, I’ll be ready for state,” he said.
