Reed City’s Gus Rohde Signs with Michigan State for Cross Country and Track

It’s Reed City High School, and senior distance star Gus Rohde, on paper, is getting to Michigan State University. Last Thursday afternoon is when he made it on paper, signing his name on his commitment to commit to the cross-country team of the Spartans to become a Spartan running student and a member of the track team.

Surrounded by a sea of noise and celebrants outside the high school, Rohde was accompanied by his parents Aaron and Laura and sister Fiona as he signed the letter declaring the beginning of his college athletics career. Coaches, friends, classmates, and teammates gathered to celebrate with him.

The house was full of pride and anticipation – not only for Rohde’s on-field skills, but for his toughness, humility, and intelligent decision-making in recruiting during college.

Prior to signing, Rohde described how he had narrowed college down to the largest college choices of his life.

“I myself had it narrowed down to just those colleges that were in my realistic considerations,” Rohde said. “That made it easier.”

It’s that no-nonsense style that worked so well for Rohde with this recruit, perhaps not as a starter but as a leader. By holding back his options, he was able to remain out of the limelight of high-profile recruiting drama and focus on what was most important: a school that would meet both his academic and athletic needs. And that school, for Gus, was Michigan State.

The Spartan program and its quality cross country program and track program and strong academic advising enable Rohde to keep challenging himself. Michigan State runs at the Big Ten’s level of competition, and running against the best the country has to offer is something that Rohde clearly enjoys.

While the ceremony of signing was concerning Gus and his future, it was also remembering how he arrived. Rohde has been a mainstay of Reed City athletic squads for years now and is revered for his toughness, grittiness, and sportsmanship. Whether Gus ran in the rain or blew up in the face of a stiff competition, Gus has always demonstrated what it takes to be great and gritty.

His coaches and teammates have all uniformly praised him for his attitude and work ethic. For younger school athletes, Rohde’s formula is now the blueprint: stay humble, stay dedicated, and just keep running the miles.

As he approaches closer to attempting to do the college level, there is no doubt that he will be taking that same drive with him to East Lansing.

His signing is also a coming-out for Reed City – an affirmation of the fact that small-town student-athletes can make it to blue-blood programs with some quality talent, quality coaching, and a work ethic. And because MSU has such rich tradition in distance running, it’s also fun to guess how Rohde will mature and develop over the next couple of years.

And meanwhile, there’s always one additional year of high school, and you can rest assured Gus will leave it all on the field. For whereas his future may be green and white, his heart remains orange and black Reed City.