Who is the greatest highshool cross country runner ever?

Runn262 wrote:

Rudy Chapa. I'm biased since I grew up in Indiana and graduated the same year he did (76). 4:04 mile and 28:32 10,000.

Junior year at CC State Meet, he and Pinkowski intentionally tied for the win. They went 11:59 for the 2.5 miles. They had everyone smoked. The excitement was who would win the kick? Then they held hands at the tape. Incredible meet. Keough finished 5th.

Cheserek is the only guy to break 12:00 at New York City's Van Cortland Park 4K (2.48) mile course. I've run on both the HS (2.5) and college (5 mile) course. Rough course. What could Ritz, Virgin, Hulst, Chapa and the other studs mentioned here run there? Salazar ran 12:15 when it was 2 miles.

Konstanze Klosterhalfen.

"Besides did Hulst even win a single CA XC title? I thought he came in 2nd."

Hulst was great at the longer races. However, High School XC in the early to mid 70's was 2 miles. In 74 Ralph Serena consistently beat Hulst. In 75 Hunt beat him at Mt Sac.

Hulst placed higher as AAU than Hunt and Serna, and won the Worlds (Hunt second).

Even at the 2-mile XC he was great, but Serna and Hunt could beat - in epic duels...some of the best HS XC races ever.

And, yes, there was no state meet for XC in California. There was not footlocker or any national races (other than the worlds trial, which was not limited to HS).

World cross or nothing wrote:

The US high school kid who won world junior cross country. Forgot his name. Any high schooler who didn't run world junior cross country is excluded from this conversation, except those that competed before it existed.

Course record on a state championship course, state/national domestic champion against domestic completion in a 5km cross is a joke compared to racing world cross junior race. Ask any kid who's run it.

Affolder?

Good XC runner. Not sure greatest, but very very good. Top 20 or something

I'm going to eliminate myself from this discussion since I came in last in my county XC meet in the 80's.

I think Ritz is the best in the last 15-20 yrs. Before that, I'd go with John Gregorek from St. Anthony's NY. As a junior, he won the NY Federation Meet by 13 seconds in 14:48 to break the 3 mile Van Cortlandt record, which college freshman competed on for decades.

As a senior, he won and broke the Sunken Meadow record which lasted for 34 years. It took Cheserek to break it. He broke it by 10 seconds but the course now has significant crushed blue stone where it used to have dirt and some rough sand spots.

Verzbicas and Cheserek were age cheats.

They do not belong in any HS conversation at all.

Nike goes home DEVASTATED wrote:

Guys. Come on. This is easy.

Matt fking Withrow

How many of these others fools took down a Kenyan stud and the poster boy of the mighty mighty Nike drug machine IN THE SAME RACE???

Back when Footlocker still mattered

Seconded. Rupp is still devastated by this loss, many years after the fact. Withrow put a huge hole in galen's resume that can't be filled. There will always be an asterisk next to that race for him, and a footnote saying, "had it all, and got sh!t on in the last 200m."

Ballerness. When the Kenyan and the rich kid with a private coach and an altitude tent can't even catch you.

How is this even a question?

The only two people who could give Ritz a run for their money would be Virgin, Fernandez, and Verzbicas. Still, Ritz will prevail.

slag wrote:

How is this even a question?

The only two people who could give Ritz a run for their money would be Virgin, Fernandez, and Verzbicas. Still, Ritz will prevail.

That the same Fernandez who was 20secs back of Mike Fout? And you don't think that Gerry Lindgren has a resume that is at least as good as Virgin and Ritz's?

Best course record (tie)

German Fernandez 14:24 Woodward Park

Craig Virgin 13:50 3 mile IHSA state record

Most Dominating Performance in a Championship Race

Dathan Ritzenhein 1999 - 14:29 5k - crushed Hall and Webb in two consecutive years

Who would win if you lined up all the top talent

(most likely) Lukas Verzbicas

(possibly) Andrew Hunter

(possibly) Dathan Ritzenhein

(possibly) German Fernandez

(possibly) Craig Virgin

(possibly) Grant Fisher

If you were to take the top 20 best high school runners of all time and line them up for an epic championship race the pace would most likely be very quick from the start with guys like Fernandez, Virgin, Lindgren, and Ritzenhein pushing the pace consistently. But after all that work it is doubtful that any of those guys could drop the 8:29 2 miler (Verzbicas) who is also a sub 4:00 miler. His combination of speed and endurance make him the most likely winner in a championship race.

I could see Hunter winning off of a semi-tactical race. I could see Ritz, Fernandez, or Virgin winning if they got away from the field.

.

I could see Grant Fisher winning if the race ended up tactical

Oops forgot to mention King Ches. But Verzbicas beat him a few times though right?

Matt Withrow. His performance at the 2003 Footlocker is the toughest kick I've ever seen in CC.

agree with slag. One of the dumber threads if you are looking for debate.

No serious observer of HS XC would put anyone else but Ritz at the top of the hill.

RITZ, then a debate for second...

When Zola Budd was 18 she ran a 15:01 barefoot on a 5k XC course (world cross).

Most MALE HS champs can't do that.

/thread

AdbassZola wrote:

When Zola Budd was 18 she ran a 15:01 barefoot on a 5k XC course (world cross).

Most MALE HS champs can't do that.

/thread

She lives in the USA now, so this is an acceptable answer.

How could everyone forget Melody Fairchild?

2x Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, (Kinney Cross Country Championships at the time)

Her 1990 winning time of 16:39 is the still tje Morely Field course record. Was the She ifirst female scholastic athlete to run two miles in less than 10 minutes (9:55.9). (Track)

And the kicker, While still in high school, she finished third in the 1991 World Junior Cross Country Championships.

Not many american girls can say that.