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In Austyn Whitlatch's case it is sometimes good to listen and believe.
The recently graduated Dodgeville high school senior got a good piece of advice at the WIAA state track meet from someone who knows.
That person would be Kurt VanDynHoven who won a state hurdles title in 1984 for Kimberly and briefly competed for the University of Wisconsin track team. VanDynHoven has been Austyn's coach and mentor since he joined the squad.
"He said he's never seen anybody with the form like I had over the hurdles in practice," Whitlatch said of the pep talk. "He said as long as I kept working hard, with my start the way I had it, he could see me on podium at state."
And that is where he ended up.
"I was able to pull it off," Austyn said about the championship. He set a new Dodgeville-Mineral Point record when he completed the event in 14.93.
Austyn then finished off the state meet with a second place in the 4x100 relay, a race he ran with teammates TJ Bramlett, TC Smith and Payton Hanson.
He also had state meet experience his sophomore and junior years when he was part of the 4x200 relay team. Those two years the relay team finished 10th and eighth.
Not bad for someone who lists football as his favorite sport.
Austyn has accepted an invitation from the coaching staff at St. Norbert College, DePere, WI to compete for the quarterback position for the Green Knights. He feels he has a shot at playing right away.
"There are a lot of quarterbacks coming in but the coaches liked what they saw on my tapes," he said. "They also liked the way I introduced myself."
Austyn moved to Dodgeville five years ago from Fargo, ND with his family. His father, Tim, is a planning director at Lands' End and his mother, Tami, is a stay at home mom. The family includes 16 year old brother Chance, four year old brother Skylar and six month old sister, Shyann.
Austyn was seeded second going into the state meet and was second in time trials going into the finals. Then he had a breakout day in the last race of his senior year.
Track will take a second place to football but it will still be part of Austyn's life. He plans to run the hurdles at Saint Norbert.
For Austyn, besides the state title, the best part of his track career has been the relationships with coaches and teammates.
"I like the relationships," he said. "We are close. Our relay team and our coaches are like a family."