Best High School Runners Who Never Did a Thing in College or After

do something yourself wrote:

Everyone running this post is looking for a reason to feel good about themselves by looking down at other runners. Grow up.

I was just getting ready to post about myself when I saw your post!!

Nobody knows my name but I was decent in high school. I ran 12:28 for 2.5 miles in xc. I trained my freshman year of college but never got in a meet. I transferred to another school the following year and was 3rd on the team the 3rd meet before an injury derailed me. I never ran again for 18 years.

So I was the best in my area but did absolutely nothing in college or after. (except getting 2nd this year in my little hometown race!!)

Axeltron wrote:

Surprised nobody has mentioned Chris Schwartz. The guy was oozing of talent in high school. Ran a 8:51 in his senior year, off of EXTREMELY low mileage (I recall in one of his interviews he thought averaging 5 miles a day was "a lot", he didn't know who any of the competitors were, etc.) He signed with Cal Poly SLO, although I don't know how much he ever raced for them, and he is no longer on the roster. I haven't heard anything about him, and it seems he has disappeared into obscurity.

Anyone know what happened to him?

Chris Schwartz red-shirted at Cal Poly SLO, as most freshmen there do. Then he flunked out. Tough school, but he wasn't to bright to begin with. Yes, he has disappeared since.

What ever happened to Bobbie Thomas?

In (I think) 1973 he ran 9:07 for 2 miles at Glendale High in CA, but since there were so many sub-9 high schoolers that year he was not recruited by any colleges. Zero. He went to Glendale CC and won the state JC XC championship (still has the 4-mile course record at Mt. SAC, 19:19), then won the 1st ever junior world XC championships (in Morocco), then won the state 5K and, I think, 10K track championships. The next year he had a good XC season at UCLA, placing in the top 4 or 6 or so in the Pac-8. He was injured half-way through the track season, then seems to have disappeared. I'm pretty sure he wasn't on the XC team the next year, or at least didn't make the top 7.

I know, he wasn't a top high schooler, and he did do very well his 1st year out of high school, so he's not exactly what the OP was looking for, but still, his disappearance is a mystery. Anyone know what happened to him?

Polly Plumer and Jeff Nelson would probably nominate themselves for this list, but their high school careers were so special that will be remembered as legends to all who saw them run.

The mention of Vicki Cook reminded me that she and Polly were teammates on one of the most talented NCAA track teams of all time. From the UCLA yearbook:

WOMEN'S TRACK

The 1985 Bruins looked forward

to an improved season over last

years 30th place national finish in

women's track and field. Bob

Kersee, one of the best sprint

coaches in the nation, began his

first year as head coach with an op-

timistic outlook. After twelve years

of coaching, Kersee has tutored

Olympians such as Valerie Brisco-

Hooks, Alice Brown, Florence Grif-

fith, Jeanette Bolden, and Andrea

Lynch-Saunders. Silver medalist,

Jackie Joyner, returned to finish

her senior year at UCLA after com-

peting in the Olympics in the hep-

tathlon. During her last year, she

provided the Bruins with another

outstanding season.

Joyner, noted as GCLA's finest

female athlete, held the NCAA

record for the heptathlon and look-

ed forward to capturing her third

straight NCAA title. She also com-

peted in her specialty events: long

jump, high jump, and hurdles,

which proved her versatility.

The most improvement on the

squad came from the sprints.

Coach Kersee had high hopes for

Canadian Olympian, Angela Bailey

who placed sixth in the world in

the 100 meters and ninth in the

200 meters. Freshman Gail Devers,

one of the nation's top recruits,

was noted as an all-around athlete

as she competed in the 100m,

200m, 400m, 100 hurdles, 400

hurdles, long jump, and triple

jump. However, her concentration

was on the 200m and 400m. Paula

Bresnan, CiCLA's best middle

distance runner last year, was in

top shape to lead the Bruin's into

some high scoring. Her best in the

800m was 2:09 with a respectable

4:35 in the 1500m. Sophomore

Denise Ball also ran a good season

with a 2:09 in the 800m and a

4:25.7 in the 1500m. In the hur-

dles, Gayle Kellon ran another ex-

cellent season as GCLA's best

hurdler in addition to competing in

the 400m. The 1500m races was

helped out by distance runners

Vickie Cook, Tania Fischer, and

Nancy Brown. Cook was the Pan-

American junior 3000m champion

in 1982 and continued to be a vital

member for the Bruin's with her

time of 16:55.3 in that event. To

round out the distance squad.

Shannon Stryker, Mo Winner, Don-

na Chadwick, Kimber Pennington,

and Carrie Lautner added depth to

the distance races. Polly Plumer,

national high school record holder

in the mile, was able to compete

after suffering injuries.

The jumping events were

dominated by Joyner and Devers

who scored in all three jumps con-

sistently and provided a threat to

their opposition. Joyner has been

noted as one of the best in the na-

tion for the long jump (22" 4V4")

and the high jump (6' Wi") while

Devers competed in the long jump

(20' 7") and the triple jump (39'

6"). After years of suffering in the

weight events, the Bruins finally

recruited enough force to make an

impact in the NCAA. Toni Lutjens

and Kris Larson benefitted from the

coaching provided by Art Venegas.

Lutjen's throw of 170' 1" in the

discus labled her as the second on

the Bruin's lifetime list. She hoped

to qualify for her second NCAA in

that event.

"It helped that he was three years older than every other kid in the races though."

Just going off his facebook he was born on August 13, 1988. So by three years do you mean maybe 2 months.

Brandon Jarrett was another good guy in the class of '08, 9:01 two miler indoors, two time foot locker all-american, beating guys like cabral, leung,and manilafasha and only a second behind puskedra. Last I checked he wasn't even on the roster at Harvard

Doug Herron from Alaska. Ran 1:48.0 and also won his state meet by like 12 seconds. Pure talent. Improved by one second freshman year and that was it. Still on the all-time top ten high school list.

VICTOR GRAS Belmont Mass 4:05 full mile/Michigan/Texas

Nicole Hood is a freshmen at UCLA right now. I think she had a pretty bad stress fracture her junior? year. Not so sure. But I go to a rival high school and was around her age group track club so I heard all about her. Kinda sad but I don't think it's over for her yet.

that 800m girl runner from Fitch High SChool about 10 years ago. became a pro girl boxer or something

Fitch HS in Connecticut that is

i think her name was liz mueller

richboy wrote:

Brandon Jarrett was another good guy in the class of '08, 9:01 two miler indoors, two time foot locker all-american, beating guys like cabral, leung,and manilafasha and only a second behind puskedra. Last I checked he wasn't even on the roster at Harvard

He may not be on the roster and running, but he's attending Harvard. I'd say life is good for this young man.

Pendulum wrote:

The question should not be who, but why.....

Good recruiters who are bad coaches. Too many of the kids look at the success of a program or a school and want to go there without looking at the training philosophy of the coach to see if it matches with what they need. Or the history of the coach. A school who draws the top talent but does nothing with 90% of them shows there is a problem with the coach. I'd like to see a thread on coaches who draw the top talent and do nothing with them versus the coaches who take mid range talent and improve upon it. Then compare the salaries. Bottom line, I think the coaches have the highest share of the blame for the busts.

My favorite runners to watch over recent years:

- Katie Dunn (Saugus) - 4:51 mile split at Arcadia in '08, 5th @ NTN in 07

- Elizabeth Coe (Fountain Valley) - state xc champ in '06

- Kauren Tarver (Serrano) - only 4x d1 southern section champ in history, 2x state champ in xc, one of the most decorated runners in California history

Also from Saugus:

- Shannon Murakami - state xc champ in '05, 2:10 800m, 4:42 SOLO 1600m, 6x southern section champ in track

lskdmf wrote:

Fitch HS in Connecticut that is

i think her name was liz mueller

Waterford, and I want to say it was about 1992? Went to CCSU for a year and yes did become a pro boxer.

Anyone remember a mid 70's guy named Steve Elliot?

Good to know, he seems like a good kid

Laurel Burdick married Pat Leone and is still running fairly competitively as part of Aris' Stotan racing.

ohbabyilikeitraw wrote:

upstate..... wrote:

I think that the Toga kids go on to better things than the FM kids.

What happened to the three FM kids from last years HS national champs, they were all frosh this yr in college, do any still run?

looks like

Mackenzie Carter (Washington) - 47th @ PAC10

Hannah Luber (Iowa) - not top 7, ran ND Invite 177th

Kathryn Fanning (Albany) - 16th at American East

Molly Malone (Syracuse) - injured or redshirt?