Meet Grant Fisher: Is 40 mpw, 11th grade Foot Locker champ and 4:02 miler America's next star?

haha wrote:

Luis Tiant wrote:

He has to be working hard and benefiting from his soccer "mileage" to win Footlocker as a junior, no doubt about that.

And I really, really like the form he showed in that Dream Mile, more so than anyone from last year's class, which was supposed to be a great class.

But it seems likely that the soccer "distraction" and the publicity focus on the Dream Mile means we won't know for a while whether he's going to commit himself to being a 5000m/10000m runner and someone who can contend for an NCAA xc title.

Being a 3:50 miler doesn't make you a star anymore. Being a 3:50 miler who can take that speed up to 5k/10k is the real deal.

Better than Saarel?

Since you ask, yes. It's making distinctions among the best but Fisher's form is just that much "easier" and "looser". And that's what you want to be able to carry your mile speed all the way up the distance ladder.

Matthew Maton is a also a low miles kid. should be a great year with some grudge matches between these two.

webfoot wrote:

DyeStat video interview with Fisher and Coach Scannell after winning Footlocker

http://www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=videos&video_id=102034

Very impressed watching this interview with his composure, poise, humility, relaxed self-confidence, and cool. Same for coach Scannell.

Also same for the linked video of the 2013 World Youths Champs 1500m heat in Donetsk posted earlier in the thread. Smartly ran on the pole most of the race conserving energy while others were running two or three wide. Didn't panic under pressure when boxed on the final backstretch. Found the best way out of the box even though he had to temporarily slow and fall out the back of the top pack to do so. Immediate smooth acceleration once through the opening but without overreacting and spending too much energy getting back in striking position by end of the final curve. Controlled release of power with his final kick down the homestretch without any flailing to safely nab the qualifying win.

Masterful for someone his age, and to me impressive because of the understated way he executed it. The low-key lack of ego and not getting unduly caught up in emotions displayed in both these links, though obviously happy with the wins, is going to be a big plus through his career in focusing on the task at hand in pressure situations.

I am going to go back and rewatch the video of his recent 4:02 win in the adidas boys Dream Mile again with new eyes.

The reason he is so "race savvy" is because he has insane top end speed. He doesn't panic because he knows he has the best kick. Other guys need to worry about not getting boxed in because they can't close gaps like this kid can. This guy will go places, trust me.

Fisher has the fluid stride of a potential star that only a few other HS boys have shown at the sub 4:10 level this year. I'd put him, Sukhi Khosla, Ellis Newton and Austin Tamagno in the potential star list.

You make a good point. The soccer is worth quite a few mpw.

We weren't suggesting it was coming 'easy'. Just the opposite. We mentioned the 40 mpw to talk about how big the talent is.

It's too bad you didn't have me or JK coaching you.

I always felt my job was a coach was to go to practice, see who didn't have it and send them home. That and get their blood tested for low iron.

My first year at Cornell I had a guy run 3:46 for 1500 and it seemed all I ever did all spring was send him home.

Runners at the high level are super motivated. They might need help on lifestyle, etc but when they are at practice very few need to be told to push it harder. Competition, drive, etc come naturally. Listening to your body is much harder.

As for him being tired, it makes sense to me. He had a big mile last week, a big 2 mile this week. There really is no way to recover from the 4:02 slam a hard workout and get ready for a big 2 mile. I doubt I'd even try to schedule a big workout.

I'd just chill this week, rock the 2 mile and then rest up and maybe try to get one last hard workuot before USA Jrs on say Thursday of next week.

adsfasdf wrote:

Someone needs to make a list of the sub 4:03 milers as juniors that didn't break 4 as a senior. It is much longer than the ones that did:) Or heck even just the 4:03 juniors that didn't run faster as a senior.

You do realized that only five high schoolers EVER have broken 4 in this country, right?

Fisher runs 8:43.8 to win by 4 seconds. You heard it here in writing first.

You got part of

The prophet842 wrote:

Fisher runs 8:43.8 to win by 4 seconds. You heard it here in writing first.

You got the 4-second win part of it right:

Brooks PR Meet 2014 - Boys 2-Mile Run:

1. 8:51.28 Grant Fisher

2. 8:55.24 Steven Fahy

3. 8:56.06 Andrew Rafla

4. 8:56.62 Conner Matza

5. 8:56.83 Thomas Pllard

6. 8:58.08 Cerake Geberkidane

7. 8:58.38 John Dressel

8. 8:58.51 Blair Hurlock

9. 9:00.18 Dan Curtis

10. 9:01.83 Aaron Templeton

11. 9:21.75 Noah Kauppila

DNF Chandler Austin

Missed the live Flotrack feed, so don't know how the race unfolded. Hopefully there will be race video later.

Sounds like a tactical first mile then a threshold kick from the last 800m to make the time honest... Many of them could have gone faster, but places 2-8 were all bunched together so...

Hey RoJo.....Fisher's dad ran 14:12 for the 5K at ASU. HIs coach ran 8:55 in the steeple at ASU. Ya got to figure they know a little bit about running.

Can Fisher win juniors in Eugene? Would he have to beat college kids to do so or is that a different age group?

Closed the 2 mile today in 26. Hyperspace.

IAAF wrote:

Can Fisher win juniors in Eugene? Would he have to beat college kids to do so or is that a different age group?

He would have to beat some recent grads, but probably not any college guys. In order to qualify for juniors, athletes must be born in 1995 or after.

162430 wrote:

IAAF wrote:

Can Fisher win juniors in Eugene? Would he have to beat college kids to do so or is that a different age group?

He would have to beat some recent grads, but probably not any college guys. In order to qualify for juniors, athletes must be born in 1995 or after.

Pretty sure that includes like 3/4ths of last year's college freshman. That's how it always is for Juniors.

Bundang Social Club wrote:

162430 wrote:

He would have to beat some recent grads, but probably not any college guys. In order to qualify for juniors, athletes must be born in 1995 or after.

Pretty sure that includes like 3/4ths of last year's college freshman. That's how it always is for Juniors.

Yes, very true. It appears as though I was brain-dead this morning. Apologies.

162430 wrote:

Bundang Social Club wrote:

Pretty sure that includes like 3/4ths of last year's college freshman. That's how it always is for Juniors.

Yes, very true. It appears as though I was brain-dead this morning. Apologies.

So, in that case, can Fisher (and Maton) do some damage against college freshmen like McGorty (who I believe is running)? The winning time might have to be 3:42 or better if a college freshman who's a frontrunner is leading it.

John Wesley Harding wrote:

Having seen his last 2 races I'd guess he's in 3:59/8:39 type shape. I think he'll do something special next year, and if he stays healthy yes I think he'll be a star.

Normally when letsrun posters randomly cut off time from people's PRs and declare them in otherwordly shape I roll my eyes. But Fisher hasn't look tested all year. He looks as easy at the end of those 4:10 miles he ran as workouts as he does at the end of a 4:02 or 8:51. There hasn't been a race since IAAF Youth 1500 a year ago when he couldn't hang with the pace or wasn't able to use his kick to his full advantage. No one, it seems, has looked as if they've pushed him. Of course, that could easily be wrong, considering that the best runners never look exhausted or tight when racing. If it's not wrong though, I unfortunately predict that Fisher will not run video game times next year. No one's going to push him (except maybe Maton and even then only in the last lap) and he'll run 4:01 with a 53 last lap or 8:45 with a 1:57 final 800 but won't go for time trial times. If he were in a pro race like Pre things might be different but letsrun posters don't seem to like that.