The guy who handed Grant Fisher his most notable high school losses in the Brooks PR 2-mile and USA Juniors 1500m, is at it again. The high school senior just set a virginia record, crushing Sean McGorty's previous by 8 seconds.
Look out for this kid for years to come, he's a freakish talent.
http://www.runnersworld.com/high-school-racing/high-school-runnings-next-big-star-andrew-hunter
Obviously an incredible performance. However, progression isn't always incremental. All the best to Andrew and continuing to improve.
Hunter is a true champion.
He knews how to run humbly, he's extremely diligent, not overtrained, and a hyper competitor (you have to be to beat the likes of Fisher). Put simply, Hunter is BY FAR the best high school XC runner in the nation right now. That's right, by far. Not that rocha clown, not tamagno or veatch or blunt or clinger or any of these other names. Hunter will be a 4 flat guy this outdoor if he stays healthy.
Anyone going to make a run at LVs pretty tuff 2 mile record?
Pretty dang special.
Also faster than any XC times put up by:
Alan Webb
Bobby Lockhart (8:45 2-mile)
Christo Landry (8:44 2-mile)
I'd guess he runs 3:56/8:34 this year. What would be truly exciting would be a sub-1:50 800. VA usually has the depth in the 800 each year to find someone to push him there.
Hunter is a year old for his grade. Very good but nothing all that amazing when you think about it
1. No he's not old for a senior.
2. His year last year as a junior was arguably one of the top-25 prep years of all-time, all while age 17.
18 is not old for a senior at all. Most of the people I knew in high school turned 18 at some point during their senior year, many of them before December. I graduated at 17, but that is weird. 17 is young for a senior. 18 is normal.
Lenny Leonard wrote:
1. No he's not old for a senior.
This is true in general, but it might be worth noting that he is right on the cusp. By usual Virginia reckoning he "should" have been a senior last year, but only by a couple of weeks. His parents started him in kindergarten "late" on purpose. In many states he'd be a "normal" senior, and in any event it's a very small difference. He's not nearly as old as, say, Maton was last year.