Freshmen Verzbicas runs a 8:53 2 mile !!!

echoplex wrote:

8:53 for Verzbicas

http://wi-tf.com/gala.php

make this kid a US citizen

very good time for a 16 year old.

Did he beat Haile or lost to him?

Hallo! wrote:

Did he beat Haile or lost to him?

the 16 year old beat the 20 year old...

I don't know why ppl need to point out that he is a 16 yr old time after time. We get it. It doesn't really matter because the times he is running would also shatter the sophomore records. This kid is legit. Let's hope hes not just a young sensation and can continue.

Hope the kid doesn't blow up, like so many others that ran that fast that early have.

I just can't get excited about these foreign runners. Does Verzbicas have a birth certificate? This guy is most likely 20-something years old (like Haile), a total gypsy scam artist. Bazell is the real winner of this race.

point well taken. Except the part about others that young running that fast, b/c nobody ever has. Hes a freak. The only 16 year olds as fast as him are .

he is a very good sophomore who won't ever be american or do anything for american distance running

Both parents professional coaches from ex-Soviet country.

Trains and cross-trains 4+ hours/day.

Probably 16 years old.

Hopefully won't burn out or succomb to injury with his busy schedule.

you don't get it? would anyone talk about him if he were 25 and running the same times?

Eric Hulst holds the soph 2 mile record at 8:50.6 in 1974. Eric's birthday was Nov 1957 so he should have been 16 years old when he set the record.

Isn't this kid a triathlete?

He's a STUD triathlete....

Not REM wrote:

He's a STUD triathlete....

That's like being a STUD juggler or a STUD unicyclist.

If he trains as hard as I imagine he does to be able to run that fast that young he will be done by the time he is a junior. I would say the chances of him doing anything real at the college level are slim to none. Plus, both parents are coaches/athletes so the burnout potential is high.

Also, i hate to play into the xenophobia and racism that is sometimes present on this forum but I agree that neither of the first two runners are "American" distance runners. Sure, they still put in the same work as the next guy if not more but they definitely ain't homegrown..

Heyden Woof of Camarillo, CA ran 8:55 in the CA state meet. He is a true Sophomore - Looks like a baby.

D1 has all the fun wrote:

the times he is running would also shatter the sophomore records.

Fail.

The year IS significant. The times are still incredible, but at that point in an athletes development a year is a HUGE difference. Think about the difference between a freshman running 9:30 and a sophomore running 9:30. A freshman runs 9:30 and it's sort of like "whoa, this kid could really be going places." a sophomore runs 9:30 and it's kinda like "well that's good, but far from stellar."

Verzbicas' age doesn't matter because he is white. Haile's age matters because he is black.

We don't want Haile to become a citizen because he was is black. We want Verzbicas to become citizen because he is a typical, friendly white guy.

Btw, I was at the Gala and spoke with both of them; they both speak English a little funny but they were also genuinely nice and happy to be there.

The point is... you are a racist.

takeitandlikeit wrote:

Verzbicas' age doesn't matter because he is white. Haile's age matters because he is black.

We don't want Haile to become a citizen because he was is black. We want Verzbicas to become citizen because he is a typical, friendly white guy.

The point is... you are a racist.

HA! Great interjection of the race card here. I just love it when people like you take the opportunity to outlandishly accuse someone of being a racist...

A lot of people have a distaste for Haile's situation because he's a 20y/o mixing it up in High School races, NOT because he's black. Anytime you have a man racing boys, there'll be outcry.

The hype coming from some people for Verzbicas is because he's running fast times (faster than Haile) at a YOUNG age(regardless of class year). Regardless of his race, class year, or whatever, 14min 5k's and 8:## 2 miles get people excited. Thus, many say "man, if this kid became a US citizen, we'd have a 13min 5k'er by the time he's 20y/o." Look at Galen Rupp's now-accepted position as the next BK, African-fighting, vangard of US distance running.

AMIGO: it's not an issue of racism. It's an issue of reality vs. what you want to believe (and then attempt to rail against).