Minnetonka (MN) High School senior Sean Fries kept his perfect season intact earlier this month in Sioux Falls, claiming the NXR Heartland individual title. It was Fries’ fifth appearance at the meet, first racing as an eighth-grader in 2021, but the first time he’s successfully qualified to NXN. In this interview, Fries breaks down that frigid day in South Dakota, reflects on his progression throughout his career, and gives insight on how he balances being one of the best runners in the nation with his duties as team captain for the Minnetonka Swim and Dive team.

CITIUS MAG: I'm here with Sean Fries, a senior from Minnetonka High School in Minnesota, and most recently, the NXR Heartland champion for 2025. Sean, I know this is a race you've been in five times now, and you finally get the win here in your senior season. How’s that feel?

Sean Fries: Oh, it feels extra special. My fifth year running that race, being able win it was extremely special for me. In my eighth grade year, I've kind of erased from my memory what place I got that year, but I can tell you, it was nowhere close to what I was this year. And obviously, just year after year, I've placed a little bit higher. It feels extremely rewarding and kind of fulfilling to be able to see all my hard work kind of pay off in that big of a way.

CM: The progression from just the last three years, 35th as a sophomore to ninth last year, and then you take the win this year. NXR is always such a big meet, what has this meet meant to you throughout your high school career?

SF: For me, it's always kind of been like the premier, like after state, the premier competition where all the different athletes from all the states come together. And where I'm from, Foot Locker Midwest is a little bit less popular of an option just because of how much later it is down the season into like the end of November. So for where I am from, NXR Heartland has always been a much more attended meet, and because of that, it's just always kind of been the focus, especially on my team of where all of us are trying to go. It's a really flat course, so usually we're trying to run super fast times. Obviously this year that wasn't really quite realistic, but years past, that's kind of the focus. And also it’s just a fun trip to go on as a team and really get a little bit closer.

CM: You mentioned a little bit about the conditions this year in Sioux Falls, it was a cold one. I think they had like feels-like temperatures in the mid-teens on race day afternoon. For a lot of you guys in the Heartland region, it's not anything that you aren't necessarily used to, but what's it like running sub-15 in those kinds of conditions?

SF: Honestly, I mean, I kind of enjoy running in the really cold weather. It's definitely something that you have to get used to. But for me, I felt that I've always had some of my best races and those sub-freezing temperatures. I'd say the main thing that I feel usually is just my face gets ridiculously cold. Everything else on me is fine. I'm fine wearing shorts in the teens, I don't think that really affects me that much. But my face, it just feels like everything goes numb. I'm the kind of guy where I spit a bunch during races, and my face gets so cold that it gets difficult to do that. So it's a little bit of an interesting and unique experience.

CM: It was kind of in that second mile where you really made the move, the top guys were all pretty bunched up coming through the one mile split. When you decided to go, was that the plan going in?

SF: In the days leading up to the race, I was kind of talking with my coach. Obviously the Heartland region has a ton of great 1600m talent with guys like Quentin Nauman and Grady Lenn, obviously two amazing 1600m runners. So basically all the contenders besides me and a couple of other guys have really potent kicks that are obviously really dangerous towards the end of the race. So my coach wanted me to try and go out a little bit more aggressive and try to make my move quite early on in the race. And he did specifically say, ‘Don't lead at all that first mile, but after that mile mark, start pushing and try just to string things out as much as possible to make everybody hurt.’ And so that is what I ended up doing and executing pretty well.

CM: Was there any part after you made that race where you were the one that was hurting? What was the hardest part of those last couple of miles for you?

SF: I try to silence, as much as possible, any doubts that I have. But those thoughts do, I think this happens to all racers, they eventually do kind of sneak into your mind of like, ‘Did I go too early? Am I going to get absolutely just clobbered this last 400 meters?’ I felt pretty good throughout the duration of the race. I'd say definitely though those last 400 meters, I was hurting quite a bit, but obviously at that point, it was just everybody giving it their all. So I just held on.

CM: In the girls individual race, another Minnesota athlete, Maddie Gullickson, took the win there. How much is there a real battle for state pride in these NXR meets, and how significant is it to have Minnesota sweep the individual wins there?

SF: I think it is kind of definitely an existing aspect. Maddie Gullickson was also the Minnesota state champion. So both of us are pretty well known in our states and I think both of try to represent Minnesota really positively and kind of show some of the talent that we have. Minnesota has lots of talent, especially on the team side as well, so I think that we definitely try to have a really positive showing at the NXR meet.

CM: Your 2025 season as a whole, you're up to 7-0 now, and you've just been consistently knocking out these A-plus performances every race. What has this season been like as you've been watching a season this excellent come to fruition every single race?

SF: The entire year I've just kind of been believing in the work that I've put in, trusting that the results will come from that work, and trusting that at the end of the season, I'm obviously capable of doing something really special, and now it's kind of just a matter of putting things together and seeing how well I can mentally and emotionally kind of prepare for that moment. There’s a whole host of people that are contenders to do that special thing, but I'm just happy to be in contention and to be one of those guys.

CM: With an NXR win, you're definitely in contention now for the next big meet on the schedule with NXN coming up. What does it mean to you to finally earn a spot at that meet and how excited are you for what's going to be an epic race?

SF: Last year, I was really bummed out to miss the qualification for NXN by just four places. So this year, I definitely wanted to kind of prove that I'm capable of that, which again made qualifying this year extra special. I'm really excited for the experience that I'll have in Portland and I am really looking forward to the opportunity.

CM: I was looking at your Instagram bio, and it says ‘swim and dive.’ It’s not often we see NXR champions that have a second sport still in their bio. What does your swim and dive career look like right now, and how does that kind of mingle with your cross country and track careers?

SF: So I'm still on the Minnetonka Boys Swim and Dive team, I'm actually a captain as well. Luckily, it's a winter sport, so I believe our practices now start in about a week and a half. Basically those first like three weeks of practice, I'll probably just be doing a warmup and then getting out of the pool to do my running workout leading up to NXN and hopefully Brooks Nationals. It's definitely something that I think has benefited me over the past couple of years, being able to have kind of like a mental break in the middle of the winter when it's really cold outside and not very many people wanna run outside when it’s that cold. Being able to kind of mentally focus on something else and then be able to redial in for the spring and have a little bit more energy going into track than going into the summer cross country buildup.

CM: I guess you hear a lot of runners where they'll be forced to swim because it'll be a form of cross-training, or they'll have to aqua jog or something, but for you it's like a fun way to get that extra aerobic capacity in.

SF: Yeah, I definitely enjoy swimming. I still believe that it's the hardest sport in the world, so it's really challenging for me. Some of the people on that team I've been friends with since like second grade, which was when I started competitive swimming. And I think it’s really important to keep up those connections and just enjoy the sport that I grew up participating in this last year.

CM: Did you start swimming before you started running?

SF: Yeah, well before. I didn't actually start running until sixth grade. That was just middle school cross country and track and field. So I personally wouldn't say that running became my main sport until either eighth or ninth year.

CM: You're committed to go to Stanford in the fall. What about that program appealed to you in the recruiting process and how excited are you to get out there?

SF: Going through the recruiting process, I was really looking for schools that I thought best balanced both academics and athletics. Obviously Stanford is one of the best in both aspects there. Their team just struck me as being extremely close, I felt like I really belonged there during my visit and I felt I was able to connect really well with a bunch of the runners on the team. It seemed like all of them enjoyed being around each other and it seemed like a great group of guys. But then obviously, Coach Santos and Coach Clark, they've coached a bunch of experienced teams, great teams and great runners. They know what they're doing and I just hope to be able to contribute to the program there and hopefully be able to keep on improving.

CM: Absolutely. Sean, thanks for taking some time to chat with me a little bit tonight. Congratulations again on the win last weekend and best of luck in the rest of your cross country postseason, and then I guess your swim and dive season before we get to track.

Thanks for reading! This interview is part of our 2025 Nike Cross Nationals Series, where we’re catching up with some of the top high school athletes in the country as they prepare for the biggest meet of the fall. Stay tuned for more Q&As with the rising stars of high school distance running.