Not all high school superstars in this sport continue to climb the ladder, for many varied reasons, including the fact that some high school nobodies, on a different training and developmental path than Sahlman, only start to benefit from training in college, or even beyond. But, on the other hand, high school studs like Grant Fisher continue to improve and be leaders of the pack.
I certainly don't know if Sahlman is mentally stale from the grind of being a top runner, or worn out from the rigors of school (and don't give me that "NAU is an academic country club" crapola), or physically out of shape due to injury, or (as some know-it-alls have speculated) messed up due to the girlfriend factor, or what! Or if the altitude is actually hurting him. I'm more than willing to see what he does in the future, instead of writing him off, like so many love to do, and I sure hope he can find pleasure in his running!
Few athletes are on the top forever. Like the stock market, an upward trend is never a straight line. Hoping for greatness again for the young man.