What happened to Hobbs Kessler?

3:34.36 Hobbs Kessler (Michigan HS) 5/29/21
3:36.1 Jim Ryun (Kansas) 7/17/66

3:36.63 ------Kessler 22
3:37.5 Tom Byers (Ohio State) 7/24/74
3:37.9 ————Byers 6/22/74
3:38.26 Alan Webb (Virginia HS) 5/27/01
3:38.50 ————Webb 6/23/01
3:39.00 German Fernandez (Oklahoma State) 6/13/09
3:39.0 ————Ryun (Kansas HS) 6/28/64
3:39.3 ————Ryun 6/04/66
3:39.8 ————Byers 6/28/74
**11 performances by 5 performers**

3:40.49 John Trautmann (Georgetown) 5/30/87
3:40.54 Gabe Jennings (Stanford) 6/04/98
3:40.64 Earl Jones (Eastern Michigan) 6/04/83
3:40.81 Blake Haney (Oregon) 6/10/15
3:40.87 Austin Mudd (Wisconsin) 4/29/12

You’re reaching. Hobbs had a slow start and was a bit behind due to injury and some adjustment. It is OK to point this out. Now that he is healthy he is catching up. He has plenty of time to do so even if he’s not at his best shape of the season for USA Outdoors. It would be a huge achievement to make it out of the semis at USAs. And I think he’s got a good shot. Top 3 will be very tough and you can be a big believer in his talent like I am and think that may be a year away from making the team with the early hiccups. I hope he proves me wrong of course because a Teare, Hocker and Kessler team would be the most promising USA threesome since Manzano and Centro in the early 2010s.

In 1974, as a 19 year old freshman at Ohio State Byers won both the Senior and Junior National titles in the same year (1974). A feat that no other track and field athlete has duplicated.

Tom Byers best mile in high school was 4:18.3.

Here is his incredible Freshman year in 1974. Winning the 800/1500 at Junior Nationals. Then winning the USA Senior Nationals in the 1500. (He was 2nd behind guest Rod Dixon of New Zealand.)

1974 College Freshman at Ohio State.
3:42.8 Tom Byers, 6/15/74 AAU Junior Champion
1:49.6 Tom Byers, 6/15/74 AAU Junior Champion

2) 3:42.4h Byers 6/21/74 AAU Senior heats
2) 3:37.9 Tom Byers 6/22/74 AAU Senior Champion

3:39.8 Tom Byers 6/28/74 vs USSR Juniors
3:45.3 Tom Byers 7/5/74 vs USSR Seniors
3:44.2 Tom Byers 7/21/74 Siena, ITA
3) 3:37.5 Tom Byers 7/24/74 Turin, ITA

Please, you were mailing it in on him from months ago. And I told people to stay away from early write offs.. now everyone is claiming Kreskin like abilities on this. Stop. People were doubting his decision to turn pro, doubting the talent because he did not run 3:55 yards indoors, doubting when in bigger training blocks he ran 3:45 1500.

Don;t come on here now and say you saw it coming, very few on here would listen ...LOL

Find where I mailed it in. I just said he wasn’t running well and shouldn’t be babied being a pro. I didn’t doubt really anything except for the people making excuses like everything was part of the plan. He had a tough start, he’s getting close to last year but was about 1.6s behind Ciattei. By USAs I’m hoping he makes the final.

i retract my previous statement, i would like to apologize to hobbs for questioning his whereabouts and i will never doubt the goat ever again