If your school mile record was 5:20 for an 8th grader then you went to a very slow school. I ran quite a bit faster than that in 8th grade and I am not very good. One kid in my league ran 4:36 as an 8th grader. He was very good and went on to become a state champion and collegiate runner but he also was not Ritz good.
Mr. Obvious wrote:
If your school mile record was 5:20 for an 8th grader then you went to a very slow school. I ran quite a bit faster than that in 8th grade and I am not very good. One kid in my league ran 4:36 as an 8th grader. He was very good and went on to become a state champion and collegiate runner but he also was not Ritz good.
Why are you telling us this?
ditto... this thread is about the PHENOMAL HS Accomplishments of Ritz.
I remember hearing a story back then that Ritz showed up to an indoor meet and they didn't have a 2 mile. So, he entered the 4x800, by himself, and won. I don't know if that's true, but I hope someone will be able to verify.
There was something about the 4 x 800m accomplishment in another thread, if true (probably is), that is amazing.
didn't ritz win NON (or whatever they called outdoor nationals back then) in the 2mi? 9:01? i remember thinking he should be the favorite for foot locker his junior year just based off that race (well, along with his 7th place finish at FLCC his sophomore year). . .
phenom concern wrote:
Yes he did...
http://www.nationalscholastic.org/nikeoutdoor/result/117/The legend grows.
Look who finished 9th in the 400 hurdles.
Did he run a leg in the championship-winning DMR, too?
My guess would be yes. Webb also got the Soph. record in the mile at this meet.
ABSENT: TEGENKAMP and HALL
phenom concern wrote:
There was something about the 4 x 800m accomplishment in another thread, if true (probably is), that is amazing.
This is true, I wish I could find the meet. It wasn't a very good 4X8 team.
phenom concern wrote:
My guess would be yes. Webb also got the Soph. record in the mile at this meet.
ABSENT: TEGENKAMP and HALL
keep in mind golden west was the same weekend. although it appears hall and teg were not there either. but powell, sanchez and sage were.
http://www.goldenwestinvitational.org/data/results/results1999.htmlYeah Ritz arrived on the scene one year before Hall and Teg, Webb was there though at least in Track, but not Cross yet.
Ritz is the man.
As amazing of a HS career that Ritz had (on the cross country scene)...Jorge Torres had a better one, in my opinion. Taking into account grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 at Footlocker...Ritz's places were DNC, 8th, 1st, 1st and Torres' were 13th, 5th, 2nd, 1st.
Everyone is saying how amazing Ritz's 8th place was as a sophomore? Torres got 5th as a soph!
I'm not bashing Ritz by any means. He had an amazing HS career...I just think Torres had a better HS cross country career, thats all.
ritz won twice in times considerably faster than torres ran. he ran 14:29 as a f***ing sophomore. torres had a great career, but ritz's was better. torres was better as a freshman and sophomore, but after that, no.
Or the above 100 hurdles
fdafas wrote:
ritz won twice in times considerably faster than torres ran. he ran 14:29 as a f***ing sophomore. torres had a great career, but ritz's was better. torres was better as a freshman and sophomore, but after that, no.
in the interest of full disclosure. when torres won in orlando, 15:17, it was a very wet and sloppy course that year.
and ritz ran 14:29 as a jr, not a soph.
bump
mideast?? wrote:
As amazing of a HS career that Ritz had (on the cross country scene)...Jorge Torres had a better one, in my opinion. Taking into account grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 at Footlocker...Ritz's places were DNC, 8th, 1st, 1st and Torres' were 13th, 5th, 2nd, 1st.
Everyone is saying how amazing Ritz's 8th place was as a sophomore? Torres got 5th as a soph!
I'm not bashing Ritz by any means. He had an amazing HS career...I just think Torres had a better HS cross country career, thats all.
Ritz was bronze at World Jr. XC, gold was the greatest distance runner ever, Bekele. Ritz is clearly the greatest American high school distance runner ever.
How do you not know this wrote:
Ritz is clearly the greatest American high school distance runner ever.
Err, high school XC runner ever and greatest *modern* high school distance runner (below Ryun and Lindgren, all time).