Best High School Runners Who Never Did a Thing in College or After

Cameron Swift

Two things always stand out with these threads:

1 Just because you haven't "heard" of what someone accomplished after high school does not mean that they haven't done anything.

2 You look at all the names here of runners who maybe we're not as sucessful as might be expected and the question becomes, did they not meet expectations or do people incorrectly overestimate the odds of continued success in college? My guess is it's much more of the latter.

Obea Moore. The most talented youth and H.S. track athlete i have ever seen.

Paige Rice. Fairly dominant in OR for a few years (some state titles), was recruited for Duke, then has only raced a few 21:00 5ks since. What a waste.

formerd1 has got to go on this list. Supposedly, he was "top 10 in the nation" in high school, and while his college times are pretty good, they aren't what you'd expect from a footlocker caliber athlete.

I'm sure most people in this thread have no idea what it's like to run the worlds fastest 5K road race in Carlsbad CA and run through with the leaders at 3:58 for the first mile. Or run 13:59 for the first 5K at the Arturio Barios 10K the year before. Sure this was the 1990's but I ran professionally. Never made the Olympics like most runners. Honestly, I never really cared about running, it was something I was good at 15 years old. Was offered 64 full ride scholarships during my senior year. (yes Arkansas offered me one as well).

I'm doing quite well now at 44 years old and owning by own business. While I run a couple times per week, I still love watching the world records on Youtube for 800M, 1500M and 5000M. Bekele's 5K world record is the most inspiring thing I've ever seen. Ran the last 7 laps by himself. Running and racing really is a lonely sport. Most people would never understand.

What about German Fernandez?

GottaSayIt wrote:

I've browsed through this thread and there are some good names on there. The big question is- WHY?

Why did these people have such great performances in HS but fell apart later?

Injuries. constant throughout college - similar to German. It gets the best of us.

There are natural transitions in life that create obstacles to staying on track .

I'm on this list. Before I entered college my coach quit the program 3 weeks before camp and the college rushed the process of hiring a new coach. He was a disaster and was fired two years later. But the situation was so bad that I was among the 8 people that left the program before he was let go.

I left competitive running at that point. I loved the school and didn't want to transfer to a juco or sit out a year so I stayed and got my degree. I don't regret it.

Was trying to prove to someone that I used to do a little running and came across the is post. Yes, I remember this guy! Ran against him several times and him and a guy named Philip West used to seemed almost unbeatable in my younger years. Ran against both in the 1998 footlocker championships. I finished #88. I ended up running in college but never heard or saw him again.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

http://nc.milesplit.com/meets/258268/results/490273/formatted#.Wmx4oa6nGpp

nevada mareno

Eli Krahn was the top HS frosh in the country running 8:58 and 4:09 in MN. He is a college soph at Princeton.

Finn Gessner. I know I am getting ahead of myself but seems to be heading in that direction.

Eric Giddings maine

4:10/9:00 and sub 31 10k at b2beacon 10k

Kai Wilmot

Sagarin wrote:

Wayne Coyne wrote:

Blah Blah what's the point. Most high school stars never going on to be remembered for what the did in college or beyond.

These are the guys that broke 8:50 for two miles during the 1980's.

Eric Reynolds 8:44.0

John Trautmann 8:44.53 (8:05 3k)

Eric Mastalir 8:46.47 (8:07 3k)

Scott Fry 8:47.02 (8:08 3k)

Mark Dani 8:49.11

Ricky Pittman 8:49.4

Mark Mastalir 8:49.66 (8:10 3k)

Jon Butler 8:49.86.

All where dominant in high school and anything less than NCAA Championships, Olympic Teams, and American Records meant according to the people who start these threads, they did nothing. Trautmann is the only one then that did anything that entire decade.

I know what happened to Reynolds, but whatever became of Dani? He did run like 13:52 at UCLA but didn't do much else.

Dani is back! In New York City. Ran 26:32 for five miles in CP on a very humid day today. 91% age graded.

Age 51.

Predictor wrote:

Eli Krahn was the top HS frosh in the country running 8:58 and 4:09 in MN. He is a college soph at Princeton.

He actually PRed in a mile last spring. 4:07 at David Hemery. He’s under David Krahn on Milesplit.

Patrick Roos, the 2016 MN state champ, retired in January 2019.

Cory Schubert from Del Mar HS in San Jose came out of nowhere her senior year in 1983 to break the girls national 3200 record. Never heard of her again.

yahnkee wrote:

Sagarin wrote:

I know what happened to Reynolds, but whatever became of Dani? He did run like 13:52 at UCLA but didn't do much else.

Dani is back! In New York City. Ran 26:32 for five miles in CP on a very humid day today. 91% age graded.

Age 51.

Dude I saw it!!! F*cking AMAZING!!! 91.44% AG!!! He is a monster runner. He'd win it if based on age grading;)