rojo wrote:
Non pacing aside, what would you say his greatest accomplishment was? In HS, he won Millrose indoors as I remember watching and thinking, "Damn, i"m going ot have to deal with him in the Ivy League for 4 years."
Then he made NCAA final as a sophomore (10th) in 2010 but never made NCAAs again. In 2012, he ran 3:35.59 but didn't make NCAAs that year (correction, he did make NCAAs in 2012 but not the final) or in 2013 when he ran at Texas.
As a pro, it looks like he made two USA finals outdoors. His best showing came in 2015 when he finished 6th behind 5 studs (Cetnro, Andrews, Manzano, Blankenship and Wheatings and then he was 9th in 2016. In 2016, he was one of just 5 guys with the standard so he was more relevant than his finish indicated.
I'd say his success was hampered by him having bad luck with injuries.
Remember, the reason why he got to run for Texas because he lost a year due to getting a shard of glass in his foot from a run (I believe this happened the summer before his junior year).
Also, a few months before the 2016 OT, he sustained a stress reaction in his lower back.
He had hernia surgery in 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/sports/olympics/kyle-merber-running-olympics.htmlHe was an exciting runner to follow in college. I still remember the 2011 Heps XC race that was done during a nor'easter, where he and Dartmouth's Ethan Shaw sprinted to the line in the men's race. Shaw outleaned him by 0.1 seconds for the win, and Merber had to go to the hospital for hypothermia.
http://hepstrack.com/blog/2011/10/30/snowful-images-part-i/