Yong-Sung Leal returns!

Does he have any other recent race results? This story is amazing.

Not sure of any other recent results, but we have to keep this thread going, it needs be on the front page.

For what its worth, I friended him on facebook. Best o' luck YSL!

Any chance he Kip'd the course?

I agree. I don't think people appreciate how hard this guy races. So glad he's back.

dean moriarty wrote:

I agree. I don't think people appreciate how hard this guy races. So glad he's back.

I could not agree more, he is pure guts.

yeah, he's better than me.

pretty much impossible on this course....that and the fact that I saw him when he took it out, saw him when i passed him, and saw him again when he passed me after i shut it down @ 3mi.....straight shot (so it would actually take longer to deviate from the course) from there to the finish.... like i said earlier, he doesn't go out in 4:24ish (say 4:34 instead) and he runs 15sec faster b/c he hangs w/ brett until 1mi to go, prob runs under 28min. just my opinion but, as everyone knows, i'm always right. ;)

cheers, dude-

he is hot, we need hotter distance runners

What did Sung young run in High school?

Maybe even Alan Webb and Love Bells will make a come back.

weezyfbaby wrote:

Please take off the allergy mask so you can witness the second coming of YSL

There was a first coming? The 99.9% of us seemed to have missed it. I'm sorry if this shatters your local yokel illusions. Nobody has even bothered to make a highlight video for him like Withrow:

Never Heard of Him wrote:

There was a first coming? The 99.9% of us seemed to have missed it. I'm sorry if this shatters your local yokel illusions. Nobody has even bothered to make a highlight video for him like Withrow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhBXA0tuGe0

He was CA state champ in 3200 and XC (Div. 2) as a soph. It you don't think that requires considerable talent...

Here's a blast from the past with Trotter and Leal. Also, check out Billy Nelson's hair about 1/3 of the way down and Tim Nelson a little further.

R.I.P. Julie Allen.

concord wrote:

http://www.dyestat.com/donna/01oct20mtsac/more.htm

concord wrote:

He was CA state champ in 3200 and XC (Div. 2) as a soph. It you don't think that requires considerable talent...

No talent is beating the east-African Footlocker champion as a frosh (although 15, more soph age) in a national highschool record at the national indoor championships. Winning a mere state championship, much less a *divison 2* state XC race, is nothing special on the national level and big picture.

Thanks for your input, moron. Get back to us when you're a California state champ at any age.

Go Yong-Sung! We're rooting for you!

Never Heard of Him wrote:

No talent is beating the east-African Footlocker champion as a frosh (although 15, more soph age) in a national highschool record at the national indoor championships. Winning a mere state championship, much less a *divison 2* state XC race, is nothing special on the national level and big picture.

Yes, we know that there are East African runners that show more talent at a young age. But CA is the most competitive state in the country so it does mean something on the national level to win a championship there.

Also, in CA Div II is not necessarily less competitive than Div I. In fact, the first year Leal won he had a faster time than the Div I winner. The only one faster that year was the Div IV winner - some kid named Ryan Hall.

Also interesting to look at the Div II girls that year. In the top 10 were Bei, Trotter, Chock, and Davilla. Shannon Rowberry finished 2nd in Div III.

Leal won the XC title the following year in the fastest time in the state, finishing 17 seconds ahead of 2nd place.

But the point of this thread is that he was a kid who showed real talent and ran with a lot of heart. Somehow, through injuries or other issues he was lost to the sport - like some other kids with a lot of promise that come up on threads here periodically.

It would be a great story if he somehow managed to return to the sport with some success. It's too bad that you have to find something negative in that.

Here is a link to all CA XC results.

and here are the final results from the 3200. Notice Gotcher is in 18th place.

1 Yong-Sung Leal 10 Arroyo /nc NC 9:00.49 10

2 Tim Nelson 10 Liberty Chrst/no NO 9:06.98 8

3 Mark Nevers 12 Oak Park /ss SS 9:08.61 6

4 Giliat Ghebray 11 James Logan /nc NC 9:09.32 4

5 Henry Hagenbuch 11 Cate /ss SS 9:10.00 2

6 Abadir Barre 11 Mt. Carmel /sd SD 9:14.59 1

7 Neil Davis 12 Bellarmine /cc CC 9:15.53

8 Scott McConville 12 Aptos /cc CC 9:17.08

9 Robert Kubler 12 Crespi /ss SS 9:17.35

10 Carl Dambkowski 11 Granada /nc NC 9:18.51

11 Luke Llamas 11 Canyon-CC /ss SS 9:19.02

12 Arturo Diaz 12 Fontana /ss SS 9:20.01

13 Rene Reyes 12 Millikan /ss SS 9:20.12

14 Stuart Eastman 12 Placer /sj SJ 9:20.65

15 Kevin Davis 11 Clovis West /ce CE 9:21.07

16 Jordan Horn 10 Alta Loma /ss SS 9:21.24

17 J.J. Duke 12 Clovis /ce CE 9:22.10

18 Brett Gotcher 11 Aptos /cc CC 9:24.55

19 Benny Gandolfo 10 El Capitan /sd SD 9:25.41

20 Raymundo Castillo 12 Belmont /la LA 9:26.53

21 Robbie Boyle 12 Granada /nc NC 9:28.85

22 Jameson Mora 11 Canyon-CC /ss SS 9:31.04

23 Nick DeFelice 11 Jesuit /sj SJ 9:31.75

24 Casey Burchill 11 Buchanan /ce CE 9:32.65

25 Manuel Ruiz 09 Monroe /la LA 9:35.34

26 Oscar Sanchez 12 Eagle Rock /la LA 9:36.52

27 Joel Martinez 11 Paso Robles /ss SS 9:36.58

28 Brandon Zalones 11 Mira Mesa /sd SD 9:37.20

29 Patrick Boivan 12 Rocklin /sj SJ 9:38.33

30 Oscar Avila 12 Mc Ateer /sf SF 9:41.22

31 James Fortune 12 Oakland /ok OK 10:20.30

I distinctly remember this kid ran a RIDICULOUS 5k as a sophomore in HS...something like 14:27? Where has he been?????????????????????????????????????????????????

Awesome to see so much Norcal talent out at the front... same with the ladies with Trotter, Bei, Rowbury, etc. Norcal needs to get that resurgance going again!