Linn-Mar senior Josh Evans is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Evans is the premier distance runner in Iowa with major titles at the Drake Relays, the Class 4A state track meet and the Class 4A state cross country meet in the past 12 months.

Evans has the fastest times in the state in the 1600 meter run (4:22.06) and the 3200 meter run (9:14.95). He broke a 27-year-old record at the John Ask Relays on March 29 at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids when he clocked his 9:14.95 in the 3200.

Evans set a meet record at the Drake Relays last year in the 1600. He won the 3200 at the state track meet, anchored the victorious distance medley and helped Linn-Mar capture the Class 4A team championship.

Evans is the first high school boy to become a repeat winner of the Metro Spotlight Award. He also won the award last fall after winning the state cross country title.

Evans plans to run on the cross country and track teams at Iowa State.

Here is our Question-&-Answer session with Josh Evans:

MSR: When and how did you get started as a runner?

JOSH: I started running in the spring of my sixth grade year. I ran track for Isaac Newton Christian Academy, a small private school in Cedar Rapids. I only ran two meets, and in one of them I finished dead last, but I was hooked. I liked the competitive nature of the sport from the start.

MSR: What do you like about being a long-distance runner?

JOSH: I like the camaraderie that us distance guys share. Over the years, I can honestly say they have become like family to me. We do almost everything together, like playing basketball or Frisbee after practice, or just hanging out and spending time with them practically every weekend. I just feel like we are closer than most other sports teams out there, and I really enjoy that aspect of distance running.

MSR: What do you think your best event might be in college?

JOSH: Honestly at this point, I don't know. Personally, I've always seen myself as more of a true distance runner, like a 5k-10k guy. I have enjoyed a surprising amount of success in the mile though, so I have no clue. It probably depends on how I handle the increased mileage and intensity of college workouts next year!

MSR: Why did you pick Iowa State?

JOSH: It was super close between Oklahoma State and Iowa State. I liked both coaches, and both teams were super fun to be around and super focused on success. It came down to a gut feeling I had that ISU was the place to go.

On my visit there, I spent a lot of time talking with former Cedar Rapids Prairie runner Jacob Aune, and just the way he talked about the program they had there and how excited he was to run under the new program had me so fired up that I almost committed right there.

MSR: What do you want to study in college?

JOSH: Right now, I am declared as a chemical engineering major. I loved the math and chemistry classes I have taken at Linn-Mar, so I figured it was a pretty logical choice. With my ChemE undergrad major, I am hoping to continue on to physical therapy school and become a professional physical therapist. I have spent a ton of time working with physical therapists during all my injuries, and it seems like such a cool profession.

MSR: What are your individual goals this season?

JOSH: I found an interesting quote that Alberto Salazar, coach of the Oregon Project, said in some video on Flotrack over the winter. He said, "If you don't go for records, you have no chance of breaking them." That kind of sparked my thinking about goals for this season, and now I am aiming for an 8:55 in the 3200. In the mile, I want to break 4 minutes.

It has been a goal ever since I became serious about running to run a mile under four minutes. My coach and I talked it over and we both think that time is a reasonable goal for me to shoot for. It is a long goal, but it motivates me every day in my training.