Far too many times at the collegiate level do we see young, promising runners fail to reach their potentials due to not being able to handle difficult times.

Used to years of consistent success, these athletes sometimes buckle under the pressure when they don't immediately produce what the outside world expects of them.

Not too long ago, Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie was at a similar crossroads. While the senior ended his collegiate career last month on top--leading the NAU men to their first ever cross country national title--he was once staring down back-to-back years of uneven success and questions about his abilities.

So how did he turn around his career this cross country season to become my "Human of the Year" in 2016?

Let's start at the beginning.

Zienasellassie entered NAU as one of the best recruits in the nation after dominating the high school cross country scene for a few years. And right off the bat, he showed he was going to be a star at the NCAA level, finishing 31st at the NCAA cross country championships--the second-best freshman in the field behind only UTEP's Anthony Rotich (fourth overall).



Zienasellassie went on to close his first year at NAU on a strong note at the NCAA outdoor 5K final by running a new personal best in 13:50 and finishing as the top freshman in the field in 13th place. His success continued into his sophomore year when he finished fourth overall at the NCAA cross country championships.



Everything was looking great for Zienasellassie until the 2014 track season.

Sophomore Year
Indoors: 4:07 mile (176th in the NCAA), 8:22 3K (372nd in the NCAA), 14:26 5K (156th in the NCAA)
Outdoors: 13:52 5K (36th in the NCAA), shuts down season prematurely

Clearly, something was up. How does the fourth overall cross country runner run sub-elite times on the track after a promising freshman year? So, when the 2014 cross country season rolled along, I had doubts in Zienasellassie's ability to bounce back from a poor sophomore track campaign.

At the 2014 Wisconsin Invitational, Zienasellassie answered this skepticism by finishing second overall and proving me very wrong. After the race, he gave me a hard time off-camera for not believing he could bounce back. Zienasellassie went on to finish third overall at the NCAA cross country championship.



But when Zienasellassie's junior track season arrived, it was surprisingly deja vu all over again. While his times were better, they still were not on par with his abilities.

Junior Year
Indoors: 4:00 mile (34th in the NCAA), 7:57 3K (39th in the NCAA), 14:12 5K (83rd in the NCAA), failed to qualify for NCAAs
Outdoors: 13:49 5K (24th in the NCAA), 28:35 10K (fifth in the NCAA), however finished a disappointing 12th in the NCAA 10K final

Despite having two years of up-and-down struggles, Zienasellassie put it all together as a senior with three straight impressive seasons. Among his 2016 highlights, Zienasellassie placed fourth in NCAA indoor 5K final and runner-up in the NCAA outdoor 10K. He then capped off his final cross country campaign with a national team championship and a fourth-place individual finish in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Senior Year
Indoors: 3:56 mile (fifth in the NCAA), 7:53 3K (19th in the NCAA), 13:44 5K (eighth in the NCAA), finishes a strong fourth in the 5K final



Outdoors: 13:37 5K (10th in the NCAA), 27:52 10K (first in the NCAA), finishes runner-up to Oregon's Edward Cheserek in the 10K final



Cross Country: Finishes fourth overall and his team wins the national title



Zienasellassie is my "Human of the Year," because his three seasons of successful running in 2016 would never have happened if he had an ego. Instead of letting his struggles get to him, he learned to embrace his past and use it to fuel his future, which ultimately led to huge personal bests, multiple All-American performances, and most importantly, a national team title.

The moment I realized Futsum is my "Human of the Year" (2:36 in the video below)