In a few weeks, Kiko Mendoza, the only male athlete in South Dakota prep history to win four successive cross country titles, will take his running skills to the collegiate level as he begins his freshman year at the University of South Dakota.

"I like challenges," Mendoza said. "And going to USD is just another opportunity for me to show what I am capable of doing. I'm kind of used to that."

Mendoza won his fourth straight title last year running for Class A Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, after winning his first three at Takini, a Class B school.

"A lot of people didn't expect me to win and were saying that I was just a Class B runner," Mendoza said. "I used that underdog role as a motivation to win, and I did. I like challenges and that certainly was, and I proved myself capable of meeting it."

Going to college and competing in college athletics has not been so much a goal as an expectation for Mendoza. His father, Larry, is a long-time high school administrator and activities director at Eagle Butte this year, and his mother, Wendy, is a teacher, writer and director with the Gear Up organization. The only unanswered question was finding the college that best met his athletic and academic needs.

"I was planning on going to (Black Hills State). But I felt like maybe I would prefer a school a little farther from home and maybe even a little bigger. I had known (USD cross country coach Dan) Fitzsimmons since my sophomore year at the state golf tournament in Yankton," Mendoza said. "He was coaching at Yankton High School then, and I got to run with his team. I liked him right away and thought he was a cool guy. When I found out that he was going to USD, I thought more and more about USD and he was one of the first people to call and recruit me."

Mendoza said seeing former Hill City runners Andy Coy and Clint Lewis sign with USD didn't hurt either.

"That helped convince me," he said.

Fitzsimmons said he is excited about having Mendoza in Vermillion, not only for what he can accomplish on a course, but what he brings away from the competitions as well.

"All the athletes in South Dakota seem to know Kiko regardless of the class they competed in. That presence and influence are amazing qualities for a young man to have coming out of the high school ranks," Fitzsimmons said. "We are very fortunate to have Kiko coming here. He and the other kids coming in with him all seem to be best friends before they even come to USD."

Mendoza has spent the summer in Spearfish preparing for college life, both in the classroom and on the course. Mendoza has been working with Gear Up, a federally-funded program designed to help middle and high school students better prepare themselves for college, while also training for the season.

"I've been running off and on," he said. "But I've never been the kind of kid that ran all summer long. When I've done that in the past, I've had some knee problems when cross country season comes around. So while I'm running now, it's not big mileage. I'm starting to get back to where I'm putting in 6-12 miles a day. That will get me back to where I want to be."