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

He lasted 1 year at Michigan. The riggers of racing in practice everyday against Meyer and Donakowski broke him down. He left UM and started a pizza place not far from where he grew up.

Anyone remember Will McCann from Decatur MacArther High School in Illinois? Graduated in 2004, ran some sick times in track, 14:25 or so for 3 miles at Detweiler and barely trained. What's the story with him?

That's easy.

Liz Mueller. Waterford, CT.

Around 1991 or 1992?

Ranked #1 high schooler in the country in the 800m,(2:05)400m (55) 1600m, and h.s. national champion in xc.

Had her pick of schools. Chose....wait for it...Central Connecticut State University!!! Because her coach from childhood lived nearby. Awww isn't that nice?

Not Stanford, Cornell, USC,PC, but CCSU.

Did nothing. Gained weight.

What does she do now?

Glad you asked. Anyone?

Correct, she is a professional boxer!!!

There is good reason why Grosso did not fulfill his potential. I always hears he was a hot head and did not have the ability to get on with others. He was a mess in college. He left his team and school a few months into his jr year, going back to Indiana or Michigan. He got into small trouble for some sort of theft, doing 6 months in County Jail. He got out and focused on running for 3 months after taking off 3 years running 28:54 10k. He then pulled an all might escapade in san diego got a DUI. He then got caught up with the wrong crowd in Philedlphia where he scalped counterfeit concert tickets. While he was doing 9 months in New Jersey minimum security, he was found as a participant in an armed robbery in Florida, where he spent 2 full years in prison.

His former team mate posted here a few years back that he ran into him in a health food store in Littleton Colorado where he was on a work release program. As of 2008 we was looking trim and running under an assumed name of J Gibson, running 17ish for his 5 ks. I think he is in his late 30's. His college coach has more info

The only part I can confirm to be somewhat accurate is the short time of training and it was a 29:01 10k at Arturo Barrios.

Can anyone elaborate on the mysterious disappearance of Ryan Deak from the running world? I seem to remember seeing old Dyestat articles of him living in Florida, then Colorado, then falling off the face of the earth. Thanks

Let's examine the this thread title "best high school runners who never did a thing in college or after". They weren't your well known stars that competed in high school but circa 1989 after the fall of the Soviet Union -- the US Army had a clandestine program operating out of Maryland’s Aberdeen Proving Grounds. These high school runners

were the underdogs but talented enough to -- run enigmatically fast -- with a caveat. The US Army (Reserves and National Guard) would enlist these runners then subject them to conditioning via mind conditioning and 'super steroids' these steroid dwarfed the known steroids at the time basically a response to the German Democratic Republics program. Albeit clandestine these super runners would win their two-mile BCT times exceedingly fast yet when they graduated high school, the bulk were shipped to Aberdeen to do their MOS. From what I've heard one runner in the program broke Steve Ovett's 8:13.51 (1978) doing an eight minute and six second two-mile around Aberdeen's then Mile track in the summer of 1982. According to the runner when he was "screamed" his mile split(3:56), the runner lapsed out started to walk for about five meters then commanded to sprint, a feeling he described as being "light as a feather" and the most focused zone - to break that record. So you can all tout you who was the best but the best were the ones you'll never hear about -- ever.

sexycani wrote:

Hannah Davidson, Caitlin Lane, Nicole Blood, Lindsay Ferguson from Saratoga

Laurel Burdick from FM

Nicole Blood was a 10 time All-American! Oh wait! You probably knew that.

The standard financial investment disclaimer applies to all accomplished HS runners: past performance is no guarantee of future results

Anybody having any good (almost 95% factual) stories on Todd Orvis? I understand that he led a colorful existence at the University of Florida back in the late 80's, early 90's.

'80s, not 80's.

Perhaps this will help your stupidity.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe

factchecker wrote:

'80s, not 80's.

Perhaps this will help your stupidity.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe

Good point d-bag, or D-Bag, if you prefer.

I was gonna say "Lynn Bjorklund" (~9:08.6m in 1975), but I understand that she has a Pikes Peak record (which would have been after high school).

I have the vaguest of memories about what became of her--injury or something?--and I'm not sure that she went to college (or at least did any collegiate running). Would enjoy an update from anyone with knowledge.

[NB: I *have* used the search function, to no avail.]

Okay, finally lucked into a little more info on Lynn Bjorklund: PP record was 1981, it said. Also said that she had battled anorexia nervosa, which I had not known (or at least hadn't remembered). Still no info on where/whether she went to college.

Among other things, she was the *senior* U.S. xc champ while still in HS.

alan webb

Almost any of the best runners from Elmhurst, IL. Joe Newton already brought the best out of them while they were still at York High School.

After talkIng with Grosso, it seems that the story told here is not factual. He knew nothing about scalping tickets or prison time. However, he does recognize that he has made some crazy decisions in life.

He was a great one!

Erin Sullivan and Anita Siraki!

Victor Gras.