Alex Maier got 5th at NXN and footlocker and ran 8:52 as a sophomore in highschool, but never broke 9:00 again after that or placed as high at a national meet. He did however have an excellent win in the 6A state meet in xc his senior year, but he clearly struggled the last two years of highschool, especially his junior year. Well this year which is his second year at Oklahoma state, he got 17th in NCAA XC and very recently ran a 28:48 10k on the track. He has just suddenly been thrown back on to the improvement curve that would have been expected (really it exceeds expectations, I mean it's hard to EXPECT someone to get 17th at NCAA XC as a true sophomore). Anyone know what was up with him and what changed? I'm really curious. Props to him and OSU coaching for unlocking his talent again, he must be really happy about things.