They sure never planned it this way.

It just happened.

The Henry Boys are happy it did.

So is Wyoming.

For the first time in Cowboy history, three brothers are competing on the same team at the same time. Jonah, Christopher and Phillip Henry are all members of the Wyoming cross country team.

"I've sure never coached three brothers on the same team," says Wyoming men's cross country Head Coach Scott Dahlberg. "It's really cool, and all three are, or will be, contributors to this program."

Two of the three - Jonah, a senior, and Christopher, a junior - will be wearing the Brown and Gold tomorrow when Wyoming competes at the Mountain West Championship, hosted by San Diego State. Phillip, the trio's youngest, is redshirting. There is an older Henry who did not compete in college athletics, and there is a younger who attends Laramie High School.

"There are not a lot of people at the college level who can say they are on the same team with a sibling," says Jonah, "let alone two siblings! I'm proud and lucky to be able to say that.

"It's amazing and a blessing that the three of us are together," he continues. "I can honestly say we didn't really plan it this way. I think each of us were thinking about opportunities elsewhere. It was good fortune that it happened that way for Chris and me. I'm pretty sure we had more than a little influence on where Phillip was going to go," he says with a smile.

Obviously the Henry parents, Patty and Kent, are extremely proud and happy how it has turned out.

"They are tremendously supportive," says Jonah. "Our dad wasn't really into athletics, he grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and I suppose wasn't exposed to athletics all that much. But he has always been there for us. When he saw that athletics was a means to get us college degrees through scholarships, he got a lot more interested," Jonah laughs.

The Henrys dominated Wyoming high school cross country while at Laramie High School. They helped the Plainsmen win four consecutive state championships of the six Laramie actually won in a row. There was an individual Wyoming state champion named Henry for four consecutive years!

Here's the quick "tale of the tape" on the trio. Jonah is a redshirt senior after sitting out last season to be part of this current team. He is ranked in Wyoming's Top Ten in two career track events, and was UW's top cross country runner in five of six meets two years ago. He won one Wyoming state title.

Christopher has been second for the Cowboys in every race this season, and their top finisher in four of five races last season. He won two Wyoming state titles. Phillip is the redshirt, and will compete next season. He owns one Wyoming state title.
 
Even more impressive about the triumvirate is its performance in the classroom. Jonah is majoring in chemical engineering while both Christopher and Phillip are studying molecular biology and plan to become doctors.

Jonah would like to be an environmental engineer. "My brothers are both smarter than me, and they will be good doctors," he says. "But I would like to really get into helping the environment, water and air quality. We are on a dangerous path as humans, and I want to help get us off that path. I'm not a big city guy so I would like to stay around this area."

"I want to go into emergency medicine," says Christopher. "I think for a little while I want to work in a bigger city. Once I've had enough of that, I could see myself coming back here."

"I want to be a sports doctor," says Phillip. "I want to work with young people at the high school and college level and get a broader range of experience. We'll just see where that takes me."

There's no question that cross country athletes are a little out of the norm. For example, and according to Jonah, the team runs anywhere from 75 to 90 miles per week!

What occupies your mind while running that much?

"I think about a lot of stuff," says Jonah. "Your mind is totally free, really. There's only two things I think about consistently, don't step in a hole, and don't get hit by a car."

"Running re-focuses me," says Christopher. "If I have a test coming up, I review things while running. If I've just taken a test, I go over how I could have done better."

"I review tests too," says Phillip, "but I think about all sorts of things, and most of it's a lot of nothing.  

"All 14 of us run together as a team. There's usually some talking going on. But I'm kind of a quiet runner, so most of the time I just listen."

All three brothers got into running thanks to the sport of soccer. "It really started because we wanted to keep ourselves in shape for soccer," says Jonah. "I think while we all enjoyed soccer, we gradually became more committed to cross country, and it turned out we we're pretty good at it."

Who's the best looking?

"I'm thinking I am," laughs Jonah. "But Chris is 'quote-on-quote' the prettiest. At least he'd like to think so."

"He's got a nice beard," says Phillip.

What about this Cowboy team? Says Jonah, "We are a talented team. It's exciting because we've never really tested these waters where we were in the mix. It's a tough league, but we think we have matured enough to handle the competition."

All three Henrys give their coach a tremendous amount of credit for how far the Cowboys have come.

"Coach Dahlberg has been so much help for us," says Jonah. "Since he is a runner, he understands what it takes. He brings great energy to work every day, and we feed off of that. He brings out the best in us."

"I think he truly cares about us," says Phillip.  "He makes sure we focus on the little things that will make us better. We are very fortunate to have him."

Phillip does feel a little pressure in continuing the Henry name, but he's more than proud to do it.

"I look up to both of my brothers," he says. "I'm making an effort to take the best parts of each. I respect both of them for different reasons. I really respect Jonah and how he approaches his faith. I'm closest in age to Chris so I'm probably a little closer with him. I respect his work ethic. He tries so hard, and I appreciate that.

"One of these days, hopefully, Kent will be coming to Wyoming too, and I can help him like my brothers have helped me."

Talking to each brother, it is easy to see how special they are. Wyoming is extremely fortunate to have all three. There is one negative, however.

Too bad Patty and Kent didn't have 10 sons instead of just five.