It was a hot, sunny day during the summer of 2005. University of South Alabama cross country runner Nathan Riech – who was 10 years old at the time – was playing golf at the Glen Lakes Golf Course in Glendale, Ariz., with some of his baseball teammates when an unexpected event happened that changed his life forever.
Even at an early age the signs were there for Riech to play and excel in sports. His mother, Ardin, was a two-time national champion in the pole vault and his dad, Todd, was a three-time All-American in the javelin and participant in the 1996 Olympic Games.