Sophomore Larry Edwards ran 8:56.41 over the weekend. Discuss!!

i agree- there are more 9:40 guys who are under trained that don't make it than 8:40 guys who are 'over-trained' according these boners.

Most people turn 16 from January to August of their sophomore year.

7:51's an outlier. Has there ever been another year where it took that fast to qualify at 3k?

Currently, Nico Young would have the 12th best NCAA 3k time.

3000 Meters (Men)Top↑

1 Nuguse, Yared JR-3 Notre Dame 7:46.71 2020 Meyo Invitational Feb 7, 2020

2 Klecker, Joe SR-4 Colorado 7:47.57 113th NYRR Millrose Games Feb 8, 2020

3 Seufer, Peter SR-4 Virginia Tech 7:48.28# Camel City Invitational Feb 7, 2020

4 Tuntivate, Kieran SR-4 Harvard 7:49.15 Boston University Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invite Feb 1, 2020

5 Kurgat, Edwin SR-4 Iowa State 7:49.19 113th NYRR Millrose Games Feb 8, 2020

6 Adams, Ryan SR-4 Furman 7:49.45 Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge Jan 23, 2020

7 Kusche, George SO-2 Nebraska 7:50.93 2020 Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational Feb 7, 2020

8 Mau, Kyle SR-4 Indiana 7:51.90 2020 Indiana University Relays Jan 31, 2020

9 Masai, Alex SR-4 Hofstra 7:54.34 Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge Jan 23, 2020

10 Heslington, Jacob SR-4 BYU 7:55.21 2020 UW Invitational Jan 31, 2020

11 Rowe, Jack SR-4 Washington 7:56.45 2020 UW Invitational Jan 31, 2020

That's funny. The outlier is Nico Young. He ran 30 seconds faster than tge best high school time last year and the all time fastest time by a high schooler and still would not qualify. I predict that the qualifying time will be 7:52 this year. The ISU meet will probably put up a few times this weekend.

wang chung wrote:

I don't know why some people's immediate reaction is to compare him to Nico (the HS GOAT).....this kid is only a sophomore. Nobody even knew who Nico was 2 years ago.

Not to derail the conversation, but Niko is, at best, just the Greatest of the Last Four Years.

sophmore class is stacked wrote:

Sophomore Larry Josh Edwards runs an 8:56.41 last weekend at the SPIRE Scholastic Showcase. This means that both he and Gavin Sherry are sub-9 with other sophomores not far behind. Discuss.

Great time!!

Obviously 8:56 as a sophomore is fantastic and if coached appropriately should be able to run under 8:40 as a senior. That being said what is his weekly mileage? What type of runner is he? Big and strong? Small and skinny? Does he participate in any other sports? All of these are very important factors that will dictate his success.....or any other high school phenom. The formula is to slowly balance talent with workload over time. Try to run as fast as possible with as little work as possible until 18-19 years old. Slowly increase the workload as allowable (little or no injuries)

The fastest high school 2M last year was 8:40, which converts to about 8:04 3k, so his current time is about 7-8 seconds faster, not 30.

Jason DiJoseph.

One more time: INDOOR

Pretty darn good, still needs to get better wrote:

That is very good, but I hate getting excited about young people because nothing is guaranteed.

If a young person in the 400 runs 45 seconds at age 17, that's really good because it's already an olympic qualifying range, and we do see times around 45 from high schoolers. But an 8:56 is like a 8:22 3k. Even if they progress 5 seconds as a junior, and another 5 senior year, they're like an 8:12 speed. There are plenty of high schoolers that ran 8:50's that never break 14 flat in the 5k in college, yet there are 9:30 guys from high school that go well under 14 flat in college. So just because they're running fast now doesn't mean they're going to be running 8:30 as a senior. It is a good sign, though.

Or how about we get excited that a sophomore is running super fast instead of trying to compare him to his own future? Maybe we accept that high school running is a competition just like collegiate and pro running and people are trying to be as fast as they can in that moment? Why does it always have to be about what somebody can possibly do later in life on the world stage? High school competition is often so much more fun to watch because kids actually care about running fast and kicking ass and leaving a mark. Most pros can’t run fast unless they have a pacer right in front of them dictating how fast they go. All about winning, never about running fast. I’ll probably always be a bigger fan of watching high school kids chase records than I am of watching the same “tactics” play out in every single pro race.

Is he a 15 year old sophomore like most kids, or is he an 18 year old sophomore like LV, or a 21 year old sophomore like ches?

Wasn't it on a 300m track? I believe that converts to a 10:55

Yes +1

Sherry is one hell of an athlete. I think he should be in the discussion, if not one of the favorites, to contend for a footlocker or nxn title next year.

You have to know the details of his training in the past years to know if this kid is a true natural talent that just showed up and started popping times or if he has already been heavily trained for years. The latter might indicate his ceiling is a lot closer already (as in the under-trained 9:30 kid will beat him in a 5k in college).

Some details on this kid:

http://www.runwv.com/bio/edwards0316.htm

He was already running ~50 miles a week in his freshman with 3 years of track experience already. In addition, he runs for track club outside of HS. To me, this just indicates a 9:30 kid who got a head start in 6th grade and is just ahead of the game. If you're starting running as a freshman or sophomore you're already behind Edwards by 3-4 years of training. Fortunately, the improvement curve is not constant and the dedicated HS 9:30 kid catches up in college.

37 year old sophomore wrote:

Is he a 15 year old sophomore like most kids, or is he an 18 year old sophomore like LV, or a 21 year old sophomore like ches?

A standard high school student will turn 16 during their sophomore year.

Taking into consideration a kindergarten cutoff birthday of either August or September, as mandated by the vast majority of states, ~75% of high schoolers will have turned 16 before their sophomore years are over.

Some moron always thinks that it's normal for a high schooler to be 17 during their entire senior year (i.e. German Fernandez), but that is statistically not the case.

Predictor wrote:

I agree. It is a great time for a sophomore and even a great time for any high schooler. But last year, it took 20.7 to qualify for the indoor 200 in the NCAA and it took 7:51 in the 3000. The best high schooler ran 20.9 in the 200 and the best high schooler ran 8:25 in the 3000. The distance guys are so much further away that it is always a crap shoot to predict who will go onto become really great. The 500th place in the NCAA last year was 8:27. Nico Young's time would not have qualified for nationals.

I understand your point and agree with you... but comparing HS 3k times with NCAA 3k times is not a good comparison. As you know, HS kids run primarily 2mile/3200m and not so much the 3000m. NCAA runs 3000m, almost all indoors, and rarely a 2mile. Best comparison would be to convert all the HS 3200/2mile times to 3000m, then the the comparison would more accurately reflect what the gap is.

So, six HS 3000m times in 2019 were at 8:20.00 or faster ( see trackandfieldnews website). All but one of those guys also broke 9:00 for a 2 mile (or converted 3200m). A 9:00 flat 2 mile converts to an 8:20 flat 3000m. In 2019, 24 kids broke 9:00 for 2 miles (or converted 3200m) ....and add the one 3000m guy who didn’t break 9:00 and your combined list is 25 HS kids were at 8:20.00 or better, with the best being an 8:04 (converted from Nico Young’s 8:40 3200m)

37 year old sophomore wrote:

Is he a 15 year old sophomore like most kids, or is he an 18 year old sophomore like LV, or a 21 year old sophomore like ches?

Ches was a 21 year old sophomore? He graduated HS in 2013 and it says that he was born in Feb 1994 which means he turned 17 sophomore year, which means he’s a year older than a typical sophomore. Wait, I’m assuming you mean he was a 21 year old soph in college then? That would be true.

It says that LV was born in Jan 1993 and graduated in 2011 which means he turned 16 as a sophomore which is normal for that age.

Found his Strava profile:

https://www.strava.com/athletes/33803348

Predictor wrote:

score at a P5 school .

Is Northern Arizona University a P5 school?