Track and Field Blogs - Justin Kopunek

In the wake of a new World Indoor Junior Mile Record this past weekend and with the anticipation of the National Junior Cross-Country Championships rapidly increasing, it seems that a group of teenagers are quickly asserting themselves as stars in the running world. The High School graduating class of 2008 had drawn many comparisons to the class of 2001 and "the Big Three." The Names Dathan Ritzenhein, Ryan Hall, and Alan Webb are now preceded by the phrases "American Record Holder" and "Olympian," so it is difficult to remember a time when they were simply "Big Bear Lake Senior" or "Colorado Freshman." They were the class of '01 and they bece benchmark to which future grades would be measured against. Before we hastily pronounce this current class of college frosh as their successors, let us first reflect on the achievements of the now 26 year old harriers, when they were young [cue The Killers].

Dathan "Ritz" Ritzenhein broke onto the national high school scene as a sophomore from Rockford, MI, when he placed 8th at the Foot Locker Championships and won the Outdoor 2-mile national title. He would go on to win both those events in his junior and senior years. Only 2 boys have ever won multiple Foot Locker crowns and Ritz did so running the two fastest winning times in meet history. As a junior he beat a foursome of formidable seniors in Don Sage, Ian Dobson, Josh Rohatinsky and Matt Tegenkamp. On the track, Ritz also set the National Junior Class Record for 3,200/2-miles with an 8:41.1(m). In his senior year, after defending his Foot Locker title against Webb and Hall, Ritz qualified for the IAAF World Junior Cross-Country Championships by placing second to Tegenkamp, a Wisconsin frosh, at Nationals. At Worlds, the 18 year-old placed a remarkable 3rd (Bekele won and Teg was 5th). I can not overstate how big of an accomplishment any American grabbing a distance medal at a World Championship is, let alone for a HS Senior. It was the first time since 1981 that an American male was on the podium at the meet. With little time to get ready for track, Ritz managed to win his 3rd consecutive Outdoor 2-Mile National crown, winning by 14 seconds. He also made an assault on Gerry Lindgren's HS 5,000 record of 13:44.0. At the 2001 USA Track and Field Championships, he ran a 13:44.7, just missing the record. As he moved on to college at the University of Colorado, Ritz graduated being undefeated against high school runners for over 2 years.

His first year as a Buffalo, Ritzenhein lived up to expectations. At the NCAA XC Champs he finished 4th, the third best finish by a true freshman in history. Ritz bypassed improving on his World Junior Bronze medal by running in the Senior race at the USA Cross Country Champs. He made the team and placed 24th at Worlds as a college frosh. In the spring, he placed 4th in the NCAA 5k, wrapping up a stellar freshman campaign.

Meanwhile, in California, a Big Bear Lake standout was quietly making headlines of his own. As a junior, Ryan Hall won the CA State meet 3,200 in 8:55 and Outdoor Nationals in 4:06 for the mile. That following fall, the senior broke the Mt. Sac course record, which was held by 2-mile record holder Jeff Nelson. He followed that up by defending his XC state championship and placing 3rd to Ritz and Webb at Foot Locker. In the spring, Hall would run a phenomenal 3:42.7 for 1,500m in an open meet at Stanford, the third best time by a prep in history. He would cap off his senior season, in which he boasted a personal best of 4:00.52 for 1,600m, by competing in the 1,500 at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. At Stanford, Hall would red-shirt track his freshman year.

As quick as Hall's 4:00.52 is, it was only the US#2 amongst the HS ranks in 2001. The US leader, as you all know, was Alan Webb. As a student at South Lakes High School in Virginia, Webb gained the type of notoriety that few high school athletes, let alone runners, ever come close to. His high school accomplishments can be recited by any true track fan or teenage harrier during the 2000's; He set the Sophomore Class Mile Record in 4:06.94. At Foot Locker Cross, he was 8th as a junior and runner-up as a senior. He became the first high school student to break 4-minutes in the mile indoors, running 3:59.86. Webb went on to win the Nike Indoor National 2-mile in 8:45 (USHS #3 All Time) by 12 seconds over future college roommate, Nate Brannen. In addition, he set a National Indoor HS Record at 1,000m (2:23.68), ran a #4 all time prep 800 (1:47.74) and anchored a US HS record for the DMR (9:47.7). The most renowned performance, of course, came at the 2001 Prefontaine Classic in which Webb shattered Jim Ryun's High School mile record with a 3:53.43 run.

As a freshman at Michigan, Webb would win the Big 10 XC title and finish 11th at the NCAA Champs. On the track, Webb nursed a sore Achilles indoors and came back to finish a close 4th in the NCAA 1,500 and have a 3:41 season best.

Since these titans of the track moved on to the professional realm, a few high school stars have captivated fans in a similar way (Solinsky, Rupp, Acosta, Centrowitz), but the class as a whole had not been matched. That was until 2008. How does the class of '08 stack up? Let's take a look...

• The Mile: In '01, Webb runs a 3:53 USR and Hall runs 3:42/4:00. In '08, Rob Finnerty runs a 4:01.0 solo mile and German Fernandez runs 4:00.2 for 1,600 as the first race in an awe-inspiring double. The clock doesn't lie, the older guys have the edge
• The Deuce: Class of '01 had Webb with an 8:45i and Ritz with an 8:41 Junior Class Record. 7 years later, Fernandez breaks the historic 2-mile record with an 8:34. Luke Puskedra has the US#2 with 8:46, followed by Colby Lowe (8:47) and Finnerty (8:50). A USR always trumps, the newbies take it.
• The 5k: Ritz runs 13:51 and a 13:44 (US #2 and #3 All Time in '01) against collegiates and pros. In 2008, Chris Derrick runs 13:55 in early spring at Arcadia, the fastest ever in a HS only race. He is unable to improve his mark when he gets mono. The edge goes to '01 in this unfortunate 'what if' scenario for Derrick. (We can only hope whichever girl gave him mono was worth it).
• HS XC: No need to even debate, it goes to the 2001 class. Ritz was a 2 time Foot Locker Champ with the meet record and a bronze medal at Junior Worlds (Fernandez was 25th by comparison). Ritz could possibly be the best American HS cross country runner ever and Webb and Hall were no slouches either.
• NCAA XC: At the 2001 NCAA's, Ritz was 4th and Webb was 11th, This past fall, Puskedra was 5th, Derrick 7th, and Fernandez was a DNF. It is safe to assume that Fernandez, the Big 12 Champ, would have placed in the top 10 had he not gotten hurt in the later stages of the race. Despite Ritz having the higher finish, the '08 class had the better depth, so they get the point.
• NCAA Track: The '01 guys have long since wrapped up their college track careers, but the class of 2008's are just beginning. If Fernandez' 3:56.5 World Junior Mile Record is any indication of what's to come, it may be a no brainer. Just some food for thought; while running his 3:56, Fernandez was only 76 days older than Webb was when he ran the HS Indoor Mile record of 3:59.8. This category is 'to be continued...'

'Ritz,' 'Hall,' 'Webb.' They were "the Big Three" with the iconic 1 syllable, 4 letter names. Its is hard to compare them to another class just based on top times. Something the class of 2008 has over its predecessor is depth. One cannot label any trio of runner's from '08 "the Big Three" because it would be impossible to pick just 3. For one, none of the guys discussed above won Foot Lockers. Mike Fout beat a 13:55 5ker, the 2-mile USR holder, a 4:01 miler, and a pair of sub 8:50 eight lappers for the FLN Crown. In 2001, the runner who placed 2nd to Ritz in the national 2-mile would not have even gotten All-American honors in the 2008 race. Additionally, the women of 2008 were equally as formidable, with Christine Babcock, Chanelle Price, and Laurynne Chetelat. The interesting thing, however, is that this amazing depth can be traced back to the US High School distance running revival that was sparked by the class of 2001. They revitalized a waning sport. Ritz, Hall, and Webb grew up in front of our eyes to become three of the most successful US distance runners of all time. They were icons for every middle school, high school, and college runner and managed to live up to the hype, and there was a lot of hype. I mean, Webb was on Letterman in high school! C'mon. The young guys of the 2008 class have the tools to have similar success. Any comparisons between the two are apt, but each runner has their own paths to follow no matter what you do as a teenager. It will be interesting to see what these runners mature into.