HS Sophomore wins state 1500 in 3:53, in his first full year of running

The 1500 went out in splits of 61, 2:00, 3:04 and Geremia was hanging back a little ways since it was clearly too fast. He didn't take the lead until the guy pushing the pace so hard finally ran out of gas.

Rupp's state meet performances were very tactical. Alberto had him run in the pack until late and then surge for the win. He followed the meet up with a workout.

Geremia's performance is closer to Elijah Greer and Nathan Mathabane who ran 3:50 in 2009.

hell ya, gerry is the man. cant wait to see what he does next year in cross, he was doing both soccer and cross country last fall and i expect with a full summer of just running and then focusing just on xc he will do pretty well. he'll take your brownies in poker as well.

Andrews is drawing unneeded attention to Webb who is a shit magnet

Here is a video of the race.

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=118&do=videos&video_id=68812

He was my pick before the race, and I thought he executed a very smart race plan. I'm excited to see what he can do in the next two years while focusing on running. I agree with the other poster that it's not completely fair to compare his 3:53 to Rupp's 3:49. When Rupp ran 3:49, that clearly wasn't his max 1500m time, while I think Geremia was close to maxing out (as he said in his post race interview, later confirmed by how he looked in the 800m final). Then again, Rupp was also a senior and who knows what Geremia can accomplish the next two years. 4:23 as a freshman to 3:53 as a sophomore suggests a lot of potential.

Here is his post-race interview

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=118&do=videos&video_id=68868

Great race and a great talent, but my MVP award goes to the guy who took it out in 2:00 and held on for 2nd. That takes courage. Check the lactic acid freeze up on his legs when he finishes. Good college coach can do a lot of damage with that type of athlete.

Thanks for the video. How old is this youngster? I could not find a profile on him.

It's pronounced "Jer-uh-ME-uh"

http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/track-and-xc/post/_/id/3675/young-oregon-runners-hoping-to-make-their-state-competitive-with-washington-again

My high school teammate ran 4:10 for the mile in 10th grade. It was not a strategic race - even splits in 4:10 and did not win the race. I would caution that while 3:53 1500 is a great start - patience should reign.

he is 16

What exactly are you giving caution to? Was your teammate also new to running and splitting time between running and another sport?I was at the race and the kid was not pulled to a fast time running in a pack. He won the Oregon state 1500 as a sophomore. Over the years in Oregon only special runners have done this.

familiar wrote:

My high school teammate ran 4:10 for the mile in 10th grade. It was not a strategic race - even splits in 4:10 and did not win the race. I would caution that while 3:53 1500 is a great start - patience should reign.

I think the point is, while it's a GREAT start, you shouldn't put too heavy of expectations on the kid. It's not like he wasn't doing anything all year in previous years: soccer is a sport that will get him into good mid-distance shape almost as well as running year-round.

The important thing to note is that he ran 3:53, and has another two years to improve. And with running year-round now, he'll now have a better chance to find similar success at the 3k and in cross.

It will be interesting to see his progress in the next couple years.

Part of being a fan of the sport for over 30 years is identifying the good ones when they come along. I don't know for certain if "the kid" (his name is too challenging to spell) will run in the high 3:40s in HS, but I expect he will. You call it EXPECTATION, I call it an informed opinion.

If evaluating talent and predicting future performances is bad form for track and fields fans, then the sport may as well be dead from a fan perspective. I enjoy watching the growth of athletes in their events. Part of the fun is seeing if my predictions match what actually happens as the years pass by.

webfoot wrote:I expect he will. You call it EXPECTATION, I call it an informed opinion.

Actually, son, you call it expectation. Which makes me downgrade my assumptions about how "informed" your "opinion" is.

That is a really dirty time. Hopefully he hasn't peaked. He looks like a really skinny, somewhat undeveloped kid.

Last year, he ran 4:23. This year he ran 3:53 with an increased focus on running. That's where I see the potential. Whether he was playing soccer, badminton, etc. that kind of improvement is rare. I'm not saying he will run 3:4x next year (I hope he does), but I'm more optimistic on his potential than a kid that has been training full time for years.

Agreed. I ran low 3:50s my senior year in HS. It is mind blowing to me that a sophomore with limited running background ran 3:53.10, 9, 8.... counting the seconds for a letsrun poster to proclaim there are 16-yr-old Ethiopians and Kenyans running 3:3x and this kid is no good and should give up and blah blah blah.

hayward102 wrote:

Last year, he ran 4:23. This year he ran 3:53 with an increased focus on running. That's where I see the potential. Whether he was playing soccer, badminton, etc. that kind of improvement is rare. I'm not saying he will run 3:4x next year (I hope he does), but I'm more optimistic on his potential than a kid that has been training full time for years.

wow great time for a soph, especially w/ limited running experience... looking forward to following him

and the 2nd place run by darland was super impressive too - love the balls

Webfoot, why are you so homo for the kid?

Yeah he's good. but to be honest he's a 16 year old sophmore! when I was a senior I was 16 and ran a 4:10 mile, does hat put me on the same page with him??

He does look pretty developed for a sophmore, in Hieght and stature. He didnt run before but he played Soccer. that is like middle distance training in itself.

Will he improve? yes.

How much? I dont know.

But I will tell you that because he ran 3:53 as a somphmore does by no means he is gonna run 3:4x next year.

example..... kid from California (Darren Fahye) won Footlocker West 2011, ran 4:12 and 8:59 for 1600/3200 as a true sophmore.

that was in 2010.

Now hes a senior... hes still really good. but pr's of 4:08/8:55.

This kid reminds me of that, hes really good. But just cause he jumped 30 seconds pr this year doesnt mean that improvement rate is going to happen every year.

Im not being a downer, just realistic.

You need to calm down, if you really think hes the next best thing... give alberto a call at nike and set the kid up.

????