TOP 10 GREATEST HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE RUNNERS OF ALL TIME

these high-school runners defined greatness welcome to total running productions and today we're looking at the top 10 greatest male distance runners in high school history for this list we'll be analysing high school athletes based on their successes in both cross-country and track and field before we begin we published new great running content every week so if you like this video don't forget to Like and subscribe number 10 Galen Rupp originally a soccer player Gale erupts natural talent for distance running was apparent at a very early age Alberto Salazar a three-time New York City Marathon winner in the 1980s coached her up to great success when he was in high school throughout his high school career RUP would win two individual state cross country titles as well as three individual state titles on the track although these accomplishments showcase RUP success against his competitors his overall times or some of the best in history on July 31st 2004 Rupp ran of 5000 meters and 13 minutes 37.9 1 seconds improving on Jerry Lindgren's 40 year old national record later that year Rupp would cap off his high school track career with a 10-thousand meter performance of 29 minutes and 9 seconds with additional high school personal bests of four minutes and one second in the mile in eight minutes and three seconds in the 3,000 meters reps certainly earns his position at our number 10 spot number 9 Jeff Nelson called a one-in-a-million talent Jeff Nelson was a true trailblazer for the two-mile distance on May 6 1979 Nelson would run eight minutes and thirty six point three seconds for two miles this time broke the national high school record and it stood as the record for 29 years Nelson would also see great success in cross-country or during his senior year he won 14 out of his 14 races and he set a course record at every course he ran Nelson's success came not just from his incredible talent but from his superior work ethic before his senior year Nelson reportedly ran over 100 miles each week a training regime which very few could withstand number 8 Steve Prefontaine before his revolutionary running at the University of Oregon Steve Prefontaine or pre as many of Calton was an extremely successful high school athlete as a junior pre would go undefeated in cross country finishing his season strong with a state record in cross country for his junior year in track pre would go on to break the state record for two miles in nine minutes and one second while also winning the state championship once his senior year arrived Prefontaine went from great to almost unbeatable in cross country Prefontaine again went on to win his state championships and during his senior year of track he would set the national high school two-mile record of eight minutes forty 1.5 seconds additionally Prefontaine went undefeated his senior year in track in both the mile in the two-mile distance and in both he would go on to win the state championships number seven German Fernandez and her number seven spot as an athlete who had one of the greatest senior years and distance running history in cross country Fernandez absolutely dominated his state meet by winning in a course record time of 14 minutes and 24 seconds this broke the previous course record held by Olympian Marc Davis by a full 14 seconds moving into track season Fernandez would go on to run some of the greatest times ever for a high school athlete and his state championships Fernandez accomplished what many people considered to be the greatest distance running double in high school history over the course of three hours Fernandez ran a four-minute flat 1,600 metres followed by an 834 3200 meters both of these performances were state records and the fact that they were run in such close proximity is nothing short of legendary however three weeks later Fernandez would go on to break Jeff Nelson's national two mile record running time of 8 minutes thirty four point four zero seconds number six Lukas vers Vikas and our number six spot is the only runner to ever win the footlocker national championships and the Nike cross country national championships in the same year vers vegas also is only one of five athletes to ever win consecutive footlocker cross country national championships if multiple national titles weren't enough Rebekah's also holds the current national two-mile record with a time of 8 minutes twenty nine point four six seconds just one week after setting this national two mile record vers victus won the adidas high school dream mile where he became the fifth high schooler in history to break the four-minute barrier in the mile number five craig virgin to put into perspective just how fast craig virgin was in high school we need to go back to his freshman year at just 14 years of age virgin ran two miles in nine minutes and 32 seconds the following year had just 15 years of age virgin would run the two-mile distance in a staggering 8 minutes and 57 seconds becoming the first high school sophomore in history to break the nine-minute barrier moving into his junior year virgin would become one of the greatest cross-country runners in the history of Illinois virgin broke 23 separate course records and he also went on to win his state championships by a full minute following the stellar cross-country season virgin would continue to break records in track virgin would set the 60 year old world record in the 5k by running a time of 14 minutes and 12 seconds in his senior year he would once again when the state championships in the three mile race in a blistering 13 minutes in 50 seconds a state record which still stands today number 4 Allan Webb Allen Webb's most notable high school accomplishment is certainly his national high school mile record of three minutes and fifty three point four three seconds this performance broke the previous national record of Jim Ryun which had stood for 36 years although this performance is certainly stunning Webb's high school career has much more depth during his four years in high school Webb would not only perform well in the mile but he was also extremely talented in the 400 the 800 and also the two-mile Webb's personal bests in high school include a forty seven point four in the 400 meters a one forty seven point seven four in the 800 meters and a very impressive 845 for the two-mile what was also the first athlete in history to break the four-minute barrier for the mile indoors throughout his running career most coaches have said the web is far and away the most talented runner they have ever seen indeed Allen Webb is certainly one of the most talented high school runners in history and he more than deserves to be at our number four spot number three Dathan Ritson Hein Ritson Hein quickly emerged as a cult figure among high school track and cross-country fans while in high school Ritson Hine was a member of the big three which included himself Allen Webb and Ryan Hall these three athletes were considered to be the greatest high school distance runners in the entire nation in 1999 Ritson Hinds surprised a talented field by winning the footlocker national cross country championships as a junior this performance included a course record time of 14 minutes and 29 seconds the following year in 2000 an extreme amount of hype was surrounding the footlocker national championships as previously mentioned both the web and Hall were expected to challenge RIT's in Hine for this race after the one-mile mark which was passed in four minutes and 47 seconds Ritson Hein asserted himself firmly in the lead after a superswift four minutes and 37 seconds for the second mile Ritson high-powered away and was never caught this victory showcased Ritson Hine superior strength and this first-place performance made him one of only five athletes to consecutively win the footlocker national cross country championships in total Ritson Hine would win five state championships and five national championships number two Jerry Lindgren for many runners Lindgren is far and away the most complete and versatile high school runner in history in 1964 Lindgren would break the national 5000 meter record by running a time of 13 minutes in 44 seconds it should be noted that Lindgren also ran this time on a clay track this performance would remain unbroken for a total of 40 years for his age Lindgren was simply on another level at the 1964 Olympic Trials at the young age of 18 Lindgren would go on to win the 10,000 meters unfortunately he sustained an ankle sprain before the Olympic Games in Tokyo during the Olympic Trials Lindgren would defeat Billy Mills who was the athlete that would go on to place first in the Olympic 10,000 meter final Lindgren also set the end or two-mile national record of eight minutes and 40 seconds a time which he ran on an indoor wooden track that required 11 laps to finish one mile Lundgren's performance broke the previous record by an astonishing forty-three seconds this record would stand for a full 49 years Lindgren who was a short but efficient runner often ran more than 200 miles each week by today's standards this kind of training is extremely risky however Lindgren's durability during training was virtually unmatched [Music] and now the greatest highschool distance runner in history Jim Ryan Jim Ryan's talents as a high school athlete or completely revolutionary to put his talents into perspective ESPN named him the greatest high school athlete of all time placing him above athletes such as Tiger Woods and LeBron James so what exactly made Ryan so incredible as a high school junior Ryan became the first athlete to ever break four minutes in the mile as a high school athlete the following year Ryan would lower his national record to 3 minutes 50 5.3 seconds in addition to this national record Ryan broke the four-minute mile barrier on five separate occasions while in high school in 1965 as a high school senior Bryan competed against the 1964 Olympic champion in the 800 and the 1500 meters Peter Snell this race was considered by many simply to be a time trial for Peter Snell however with one lap to go Ryan took off and continued to push the pace as the finish line approached with a final lap of around 55 seconds ryan famously defeated the previous olympic champion and he was only a senior in high school Ryan would also qualify for the 1964 Olympics in the 1500 meters as a senior becoming one of the very few high school athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games indeed Jim Ryan is far and away one of the most revolutionary and most talented high school runners in history and his international victories certainly warrant this number one position do you agree with this list leave a comment down below and share your thoughts thanks for watching everyone we'll see you all in the next video [Music]

Channel: Total Running Productions

Views: 210,109

Keywords: Steve Prefontaine, Dathan Ritzenhein, Jim Ryun, Gerry Lindgren, High School Record, National High School Mile Record, Alan Webb, Alan Webb Mile Record, Mile Record, High School Mile Record, Steve Prefontaine Training, High School 5k Training, German Fernandez, Drew Hunter Mile, Andrew Hunter Mile, High School Distance Running, Jeff Nelson

Id: AiDlOXl74e4

Length: 12min 9sec (729 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 22 2019