Flotrack's Best of 2011Dec 27, 2011 by Kevin Selby
Best of 2011: Top Recruits Face Steep Learning Curve
Best of 2011: Top Recruits Face Steep Learning Curve
Flotrack's Best of 2011 - Most Untalked About News of the Year
The “head-turning” moments produced at the high school level have a level of excitement not found anywhere else in track and field. Youngsters send shock waves across the country when they drop big performances. In 2011 we saw three boys performing at the highest level, but their respective fates and current situations may be more surprising than how fast they ran as preps.
Lukas Verzbicas, Jantzen Oshier, and Elias Gedyon easily earned the labels of “blue chip” and collectively have high school resumes matched by few over the last 10 years. Yet none are currently enrolled at the school with which they originally signed. All three climbed the all-time high school list in 2011, and now each faces big changes for 2012.
Lukas Verbicas, arguably the best high school runner since Galen Rupp, cemented his name in history as a senior by winning Foot Locker, breaking the two mile national record (8:29.46), and becoming the fifth athlete to run the mile under four minutes (3:59.71). After track season, he won the World Junior Triathlon title. Lukas then enrolled at Oregon and briefly competed for the Ducks’ XC team before leaving in the middle of the fall to pursue his triathlon career.
Many track fans had a had a hard time quantifying Lukas’ value as a triathlete. Does a World Junior title mean he is on the fast track to the 2012 London games? Has Lukas left track completely? For the time being, Lukas is in Colorado at the Olympic Training Center engulfed in full-time training. He was gracious in his departure from the U of O, being up front with the difficulty in decided to commit to his “first love.”
Jantzen Oshier of Trabuco Hills HS and Elias Gedyon of Loyola HS, both in southern California, clashed in an epic battle at the state championships in the 1600. Oshier ran a 57 last 400 to finish in 4:00.83, just missing German Fernandez’s meet record of 4:00.29. Gedyon, who ran 1:52 as a soph, capped a great high school career at the Jim Ryun Dream Mile where he finished second to Verzbicas in 4:02.08.
In the fall, Oshier headed to Cal, and Gedyon planned to join Verzbicas at Oregon. NCAA eligibility issues have hit both athletes, and neither is enrolled as a Bear or Duck. Now they have to reset their careers at new schools.
While Lukas got most of the headlines as the top dog, the derailment (hopefully temporary) of Oshier and Gedyon is alarming. How did they get off track in terms of NCAA requirements for its student-athletes? I am not looking to blame someone. Rather, I am interested in knowing how these guys fell through the cracks at Pac 12 schools.
I look forward to seeing all three reach their massive potentials in the future. All have “Webb-Ritz-Hall-German” talent. For now, NCAA XC and T&F moves on without them on the their depth charts.
The “head-turning” moments produced at the high school level have a level of excitement not found anywhere else in track and field. Youngsters send shock waves across the country when they drop big performances. In 2011 we saw three boys performing at the highest level, but their respective fates and current situations may be more surprising than how fast they ran as preps.
Lukas Verzbicas, Jantzen Oshier, and Elias Gedyon easily earned the labels of “blue chip” and collectively have high school resumes matched by few over the last 10 years. Yet none are currently enrolled at the school with which they originally signed. All three climbed the all-time high school list in 2011, and now each faces big changes for 2012.
Lukas Verbicas, arguably the best high school runner since Galen Rupp, cemented his name in history as a senior by winning Foot Locker, breaking the two mile national record (8:29.46), and becoming the fifth athlete to run the mile under four minutes (3:59.71). After track season, he won the World Junior Triathlon title. Lukas then enrolled at Oregon and briefly competed for the Ducks’ XC team before leaving in the middle of the fall to pursue his triathlon career.
Many track fans had a had a hard time quantifying Lukas’ value as a triathlete. Does a World Junior title mean he is on the fast track to the 2012 London games? Has Lukas left track completely? For the time being, Lukas is in Colorado at the Olympic Training Center engulfed in full-time training. He was gracious in his departure from the U of O, being up front with the difficulty in decided to commit to his “first love.”
Jantzen Oshier of Trabuco Hills HS and Elias Gedyon of Loyola HS, both in southern California, clashed in an epic battle at the state championships in the 1600. Oshier ran a 57 last 400 to finish in 4:00.83, just missing German Fernandez’s meet record of 4:00.29. Gedyon, who ran 1:52 as a soph, capped a great high school career at the Jim Ryun Dream Mile where he finished second to Verzbicas in 4:02.08.
In the fall, Oshier headed to Cal, and Gedyon planned to join Verzbicas at Oregon. NCAA eligibility issues have hit both athletes, and neither is enrolled as a Bear or Duck. Now they have to reset their careers at new schools.
While Lukas got most of the headlines as the top dog, the derailment (hopefully temporary) of Oshier and Gedyon is alarming. How did they get off track in terms of NCAA requirements for its student-athletes? I am not looking to blame someone. Rather, I am interested in knowing how these guys fell through the cracks at Pac 12 schools.
I look forward to seeing all three reach their massive potentials in the future. All have “Webb-Ritz-Hall-German” talent. For now, NCAA XC and T&F moves on without them on the their depth charts.
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