It’s a term his track and field coach Cy Ellsworth gave to him, referencing his “ready to work” mentality.

“He’s the only guy in school that I know also brings a lunch pail because I do as well,” Ellsworth said. “I bring a little small cooler, Jake brings a really big cooler.”

Soon Kollmer, a star cross country and track athlete, will take his lunch pail mentality to the next level.

On Wednesday, in front of his coaches and teammates at the high school library, Kollmer signed his letter of intent to run cross country and track at the University of New Hampshire, an NCAA Division I school.

Saranac Lake’s Jake Kollmer signs a letter of intent to the University of New Hampshire (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“I never in a million years would have expected this opportunity,” Kollmer said. “(My) consistent training and a good mindset brought me here. To be able to do that is a lifetime opportunity.”

Over the past four years, Kollmer has garnered a plethora of accolades from winning back-to-back Section VII individual cross country crowns, to placing second overall in Division II in the 800-meter at the NYSPHSAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships last season.

Kollmer has simply been a star athlete for a school that has produced numerous elite level distance runners over the years. But it didn’t always start out that way.

“Jake Kollmer wasn’t that good in ninth grade — nothing personal — he was just very average,” Saranac Lake cross country coach Bill Peer said, while showcasing his growth. “And what happened between his freshman and sophomore year is notable.”

As a freshman, Kollmer went from being the 15th best runner at the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference cross country championship, to the second best a year later.

So what happened? Kollmer just started running … a lot.

“I dropped three minutes off of a 3-mile time on the same course one year to the next,” he said. “I can only give that to the teammates that I ran with and the coaching that I received.”

“He discovered his talent through a full year of training,” Peer said. “His sophomore year was his breakout season. He was seventh at the New York State Cross Country Championships and we took second overall.”

Kollmer quickly became one of the best runners for not only Saranac Lake, but in the entire section. He’s made a number of trips to state meets for those two sports, as well as Nordic skiing.

It’s become increasingly rare over the past few years to not see Kollmer’s name at the top of each race. But his coaches reiterated that he’s earned this, and the young star gave props to them as well as the community he’s grown up in.

“We have a very special small community here,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody, running down the road I see countless people that wave to me or say ‘hello,’ ‘nice job’ or ‘we are proud of you,’ ‘keep going.’ That’s really powerful.”

Kollmer ultimately chose UNH because he intends to major in forestry, noting that the school has a well-renowned forestry program.

“They have an amazing coaching staff and a wonderful head coach that I just really connected with right away,” he said, “and the team is very tight-knit and they share a lot of similar ideas.”

Among other things they have an indoor track — something most high schools across the state don’t have.

“So I don’t have to train outside in the snow all winter, which is definitely a huge benefit,” Kollmer said.

But even if he has to train outside, Kollmer is the type of athlete that would.

“He (just) brings lunch pail mentality to meets, he treats every practice like an opportunity to get better,” Ellsworth said. “We’ve had a saying within our track and field program: What are you doing when the coaches aren’t watching? Some of the people don’t work, but Jake has earned this opportunity to sign his national letter of intent.”