(ABC 6 News) — The flat lands of Iowa offer plenty of reasons to run and one senior has been running his way to the top for North Iowa High School.

“I think running just kind of calms me down, just gives me something to look forward to,” Gavin Grunhovd mused. “It’s just – yeah, it calms me down, gives me time to think about everything.”

Jon Potter has seen very few athletes like Grunhovd, a senior who has won all eight of his meets this season. He’s a bison herd of one and has the force of a herd too.

“He’s run 15:31 in a 5K that set our school record,” Potter mentioned. “(He)’s run sub-two minutes in the 800 multiple times down at the State meet and at local meets around here.”

“I’m very confident that I’ll be fine, I’ll be happy with whatever I get,” Grunhovd added. “But, I think I’ve put in enough miles in the summer and work that I’m confident that it’ll be okay.”

He wouldn’t be where he is if he didn’t get a head start running during wintertime. A work ethic that Jayden, one of his brothers, aims to emulate.

“I always like to try and beat his times and be more like him because he’s – I mean he’s fast and I want to be like that, so yeah,” Jayden said.

Now, Gavin faces his final test, the State Championships, his third overall. He’s been humbled there before, but all season long, Grunhovd has proven he doesn’t follow the crowd.

The crowd follows him.

“I just didn’t think that I would ever be this good or leave this much of a mark,” Gavin admitted. “But, my brothers are looking up to me and it just feels good to know that they want to be just like me and just as fast as me and I think they can do it too.”

“And so, when you combine talent with work ethic and not liking to lose, that’s a pretty good recipe for success,” Coach Potter affirmed.