If Verzbicas breaks 4 min and 14 min is he best prep runner ever?

Too bad a kid from Cutbank, Montana did not get to run the mile and 5k against the pros. Get real, and get off your obsessions. BTW, whatever became of that kid from Riverbank, Cali? Did he end up doping on PED's like most other kids from So Cal, or did he win an Olympic gold medal?

Virgin ran 13:58 and set the HSR for the 2mile. Also outperformed LV in XC. Check into it. ran sub-9 in nearly every 2M he ran as a senior. If LV could beat Virgin's marks in the mile, 2mile, and 5k then I would say he was above Virgin, but there are others.

Zishka ran 4:03 and 13:55. Most people don't even know about him.

Salazar ran 14:04, 14:06 and 14:08 and 8:56y. This was before the FL era though.

Ritz ran 8:41m as a junior, 4:05.9 as a junior, and 13:44 as a senior. He also won two FL titles, just like LV.

Chapa ran 28:32, 8:52y, 4:05y.

Bill McChesney ran 29:27 as a sophomore, 8:50 as a junior, not sure on the mile and 5k.

Look into Eric Hulst. Also Alan Scharsu.

Lindgren would be head-and-shoulders above him at 3:59/13:55. Not even close.

Ryun too. Look into it.

I'm not saying that all these guys are better than LV, but if you are going to judge someone as the best EVER based solely on times you need to know what kind of times came before him.

I will say that if he ran those times he would be the lowest mileage sub-4 besides Webb in history.

trying to be reasonable wrote:

I will say that if he ran those times he would be the lowest mileage sub-4 besides Webb in history.

You must mean lowest mileage sub-4 besides Webb among American high schoolers, because Bannister did it off about 25 a week. And all that cross-training has to count for something.

PrepGold wrote:

Lukas is the most talented distance runner in american high school in the last 20 years. That doesn't mean he will be the fastest. He has a huge upside, one we may never see.

German was the most talented distance runner of the past 20 years (by far). Lukas and Galen had the best balance of talent and coaching, which may make them better in the long run.

Not sure why Ryun & Lindgren literally being not just national class but among top 1-2 in nation was easier 50 years ago. National class is national class (and 50 years ago top U.S. also meant top in world, even in distances). LV is great but he's nowhere near best U.S. open runners.

As state, Ryun had a great double as well, but his was on the shorter end. Furthermore, Jim's times were in the WR range, not in the 1000th best range.Also, it is hard to out-do Olympic Gold by a certain Decathlon guy.

BigSky wrote:

It doesn't look like it would be out of the question for Verzbicas to break 4 minutes in the mile this year, as well as go sub 14 minutes for 5000 meters. I can't find anyone who has pulled off this double in high school. I imagine many simply never tried. But if Verzbicas accomplishes this, where would that rank him on a list of all-time best high school distance runners?

Just-the-facts wrote:

German was the most talented distance runner of the past 20 years (by far)...

Just the facts?? Honestly, that seems like an opinion. Not a ridiculous opinion, but still an opinion.

26mi235 wrote:

As state, Ryun had a great double as well, but his was on the shorter end. Furthermore, Jim's times were in the WR range, not in the 1000th best range.

By that metric, Elizabeth Robinson is certainly the greatest high school sprinter in history: equaling and then breaking the world record for 100m (12.2 and 12.0) and then winning the Olympic 100m title as a sixteen year old.

old legs wrote:

Not sure why Ryun & Lindgren literally being not just national class but among top 1-2 in nation was easier 50 years ago.

Because it's easier to run 3:55/13:44 than 3:45/12:45.

Are you talking about Shannon Butler? I saw him run in a Richland, Washington XC race in maybe mid-1980s(?). He was under 15:00 for 5k on a very hilly course. What an animal! Absolutely destroyed the field.

Viktor wrote:

26mi235 wrote:

As state, Ryun had a great double as well, but his was on the shorter end. Furthermore, Jim's times were in the WR range, not in the 1000th best range.

By that metric, Elizabeth Robinson is certainly the greatest high school sprinter in history: equaling and then breaking the world record for 100m (12.2 and 12.0) and then winning the Olympic 100m title as a sixteen year old.

Didn't Monique Henderson get a gold medal running a leg of the 4x4 in the heats in Sydney when she was in high school?

An Historian wrote:

Viktor wrote:

By that metric, Elizabeth Robinson is certainly the greatest high school sprinter in history: equaling and then breaking the world record for 100m (12.2 and 12.0) and then winning the Olympic 100m title as a sixteen year old.

Didn't Monique Henderson get a gold medal running a leg of the 4x4 in the heats in Sydney when she was in high school?

No, Marion Jones' drug use disqualified the US team from Sydney. Besides, even if she hadn't, Robinson still has superior accolades.