AncientRunner wrote:
While his times are beyond impressive, his poise is off the charts. For a kid who is used to front running everything in HS to jump to competing in stacked fields and making it to the finals at USA's - WOW !!
Exactly. The part that makes him special isn't just running fast. Most dont get it here because they've never coached. All they understand is times and lists. He's fast and can race strategically. Im sure his plan was to hang with Hoppel as he positioned himself well 250m into it. Once the field got aggressive and Nascar started he didnt back down and Eric Liddel moment of truth began. I was at trackside and he wasn't panicked but pissed. Im sure he would have loved to run his fastest and beat Hoppel at the point of 150 to go because he wasn't guaranteed a final spot until the last stride THROUGH the finish line. Dude is a gamer. In hs, as a freshman, he was just playing with the fields and controlled from behind never really in danger, just testing himself. He passed the New test.
He belongs.