Minnetonka Student Clears Hurdles of Life Through Laughter

A self-described “biggest momma’s boy ever,” Rashad Cohen plans to pamper his mom this Mother’s Day.

“My sisters and I will take her out to eat and I will probably get her this fancy coffee machine because she likes her coffee in the morning,” said the Minnetonka High School senior.

Cohen’s mother, Katrice, has been a powerful influence in his life. 

“My mom raised three kids by herself before my father came into our life,” said Cohen. “She mentors teens. I see how happy she gets when she helps kids out with their lives. I can go to her when I’m going through hard times.”

But it was Cohen’s father, Chris, that introduced him to his greatest passion: running track.

“He signed me up for track when I was in fifth grade,” said Cohen. “I knew he ran the hurdles so I wanted him to teach me the form and how to attack the hurdle.”

His first hurdle race didn’t go well. “I fell face first,” said Cohen.

Despite the face-plant, Cohen developed a passion for the sport and now he is co-captain of the Minnetonka High School track team. 

Why is he drawn to track? “It is a sport where you can’t blame anyone but yourself on your performance,” he said. “It’s just you against the other runners, one on one.”

Cohen’s strongest event is the 300-meter hurdles. He holds the school freshman/sophomore records for the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles.

Cohen’s father happens to be the head track coach. “I don’t feel pressured at all,” said the younger Cohen. “I put more pressure on myself to succeed than he does.”

According to his father, one of Cohen’s strengths is his work ethic. 

“Rashad trains very hard and does everything he is asked,” said Chris Cohen.  “Even if his father is the one asking.”

During spring break this year, Cohen decided not to follow many of his classmates to Mexico. “I didn't go because there would be drinking, which I don't do, and I wouldn’t be able to train there,” said Cohen. “I didn't want to risk losing conditioning that I gained from working hard in the winter.”

Instead, he opted for a brief trip to Florida with a friend’s family.

“In Florida, he managed to work out every day, getting up at the crack of dawn to run on a golf course before anyone teed off,” said his father.

At home, Cohen’s secret weapon for training is sleep. “I am normally in bed by 8:30 on weekdays and 12 on weekends,” he said. 

Nutrition is important too. “The morning of a track meet, I usually go to Bruegger’s and get a breakfast bagel and a smoothie,” he said. “I also drink a lot of water throughout the day to stay hydrated.”

At the meet, Cohen follows a specific ritual. “I make sure that I tie my shoe four times in a knot, and I have to see my mom and sister in the crowd and point to them before the race,” he said. “Then I’m ready to race.”

During the winter, he trained with his co-captains Angus Stoudt and Jamie Crum five days a week. “We call ourselves the triple threat,” Cohen said. “We have passion for the sport and push each other to the max.”

Cohen and Stoudt have a “friendly rivalry” on the track. 

“I typically won all last year but he has flipped the script and is beating me and also pushing me to become a better runner,” said Cohen.

“At the Hamline elite meet, while I was running against Angus, I fell and face planted on the third-to-last hurdle while he ran to break the school record,” Cohen said. “We were neck and neck before I fell. That’s why I love the hurdles because you don’t know what will happen.”  

Cohen tries to handle defeat with dignity. “Winning is easy; losing is the hard part,” he said. “Adversity makes champions.”

Cohen has also played football for Minnetonka throughout his high school career. 

Running track helped Cohen on the football field. “I put my hurdling skills to work during games and have jumped over a few players to keep on running on my feet," he said.

How does Cohen balance school with sports?

“I get my homework done right after dinner and go straight to bed,” he said.

In the morning, he wakes early to ride to school with his father who is the high school gym teacher. “I get time to ask teachers for help if needed or do my homework before school,” he said.

His favorite class at school is psychology. “It’s fun to learn why the people act the way that they do and how the brain functions,” he said.

As a senior, Cohen would advise freshmen to make academics a priority. 

“Make sure you stay on top of your grades,” he said. “When I was younger, I was satisfied with getting Cs because I thought I was going to be this huge Division One athlete that was going to be recruited and didn’t have to work on my grades. I was sadly mistaken.”

With graduation nearing, “I’m ready for the next step,” said Cohen. “But it will be nerve-wracking to go off to college and live without my mom. At least I will be close to home and only an hour away.”

Cohen signed with St. Cloud State to run track. He plans to major in education.

“I chose St. Cloud because they are known for their education program and really helped me out the most from the other colleges,” he said. “They just took me under their wing, and I know I will be in good hands there.”

Cohen hopes to become a fifth grade teacher.

“I job-shadowed a fifth grade teacher at Clear Springs Elementary and loved it,” he said. “Kids need male role model teachers and on top of that, an African American male teacher.”

Cohen already mentors middle school students through the organization Men of Color. “It’s a group for the minorities,” said Cohen. “We talk about our life and the things that we go through being African American teens. We also mentor minority youths at the middle schools.”

In addition to teaching, Cohen would like to coach track one day. “Hopefully with my dad and start a tradition,” he said.

His more immediate goal? 

“I want to look back after the season knowing I gave everything I got and left it on the track,” said Cohen.

This summer, Cohen will be watching the Olympic track and field events. He will be rooting for hurdler Bershawn “Batman” Jackson. 

“He is my size which is five-foot-eight,” said Cohen. “That is typically short for a hurdler, but we just attack and fly over the hurdles. He has inspired me because of his workout mentality and his determination to win.”

“He also values family and spends time with them a lot even though he travels a lot,” Cohen added.

Family is important to Cohen. Besides his parents, the Cohen family includes two older sisters and a cockapoo named Coco.

When track season ends this summer, Cohen plans to take it easy. “I just plan on having a relaxed summer and hanging out with my high school friends before we all go our separate ways,” he said. “We joke around a lot.”

Cohen prefers to see the light-hearted side of life. 

“I think many things are funny that other people don’t,” said Cohen. One of his favorite entertainers is comedian Kevin Hart. “Funniest man on the planet,” he said.

“I have a really obnoxious laugh,” Cohen admitted. “The more you laugh the longer you live. People say I will live 'til I’m 100, because I laugh so much.”