Norman North's Kalen Sixkiller – Academic Athlete Presented by Republic Bank & Trust

By John Tranchina

Kalen Sixkiller is committed to track and field but he places even more emphasis on doing well in the classroom.

The Norman North junior has set some lofty goals in track this season but is also passionate about his classes, where he has compiled a 4.0 unweighted GPA.

“It means great importance,” Sixkiller said of his academics. “This year, I’m taking calculus and physics and those are two areas of interest of mine that I’ve pursued and am looking forward to pursue. I’d definitely say schoolwork is more important. I love just exploring and learning new things about the world, and physics is my new favorite class that I’m in.”

The distance runner, who placed 52nd at this season’s Class 6A state cross country meet in 17:17.01 as the Timberwolves finished seventh, has set some lofty but achievable goals for this track season and he is making progress.

“My main goal with my coach coming into this season has been to break 10 minutes in the two-mile and try to approach 4:30 in the mile,” Sixkiller said. “So far, I’ve ran 10:20 in the two-mile, but that was in a pretty windy meet. And then, 4:30 is kind of end of season, and so far, the fastest I’ve run is 4:39.”

Norman North coach Jeremy Walker has nothing but positive things to say about Sixkiller.

“Simply put, Kalen is the type of young man I went into coaching for – hard-working, disciplined, goal-driven, polite,” said Norman North coach Jeremy Walker. “A true gentleman off the track, true grit on the track. And academically, there’s no one better.”