Andrew Thompson didn’t run distance races in junior high.
He only ran the 1600 a handful of times as a freshman.
When this season started, Thompson seemed poised to continue to run in his feature race, the 800 meters.
With Russell Hemeter on the team, however, the Devils were thinking about scoring diversity.
So, the coaches decided to give Thompson a try in the 1600.
Good move.
He narrowly lost the race to perennial star Tym Wood of Fremont-Mills early in the season.
And track fans took notice.
Thompson was just getting started.
He has since beaten Wood several times, most recently at the Stanton coed meet.
And Thompson is now racing the 3200, a race he hadn’t participate in until the run at Stanton.
He ran first in that race too, and beat, you guessed it, Wood.
When all the success started coming for this sophomore runner, even he was taken aback.
“I was amazed,” Thompson said of his feeling after beating Wood for the first time. “Everybody was amazed.”
The following results have confirmed Thompson to be, not a flash in the pan performer, but a consistent star distance runner. And Thompson said he has gained confidence from those results.
Oh, by the way, all this has happened while Thompson continues to find his way in the races.
“He is really starting to come along and has started to figure out both of the races,” Coach Toby Young said. “He is currently the district leader in both events.”
Thompson recently came in second in the 1600 and 3200 at Sidney, but those results came against Corey Morrison of Clarinda Academy, a returning state qualifier who competes in a higher classification than Nishnabotna.
And the second places could lead to more firsts.
“Morrison is a very talented runner,” Young said. “He only made Andrew run better.”
In addition to the recent results, last week’s workload also served to buoy Thompson’s confidence for achieving his goal of qualifying for state in both the 1600 and 3200.
After running distance in three meets with only one day off, Thomson felt fine.
Not good news for the competition.
“I didn’t feel that bad,” Thompson said. “I was actually surprised that I wasn’t that sore.”
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Andrew Thompson didn’t run distance races in junior high.
He only ran the 1600 a handful of times as a freshman.
When this season started, Thompson seemed poised to continue to run in his feature race, the 800 meters.
With Russell Hemeter on the team, however, the Devils were thinking about scoring diversity.
So, the coaches decided to give Thompson a try in the 1600.
Good move.
He narrowly lost the race to perennial star Tym Wood of Fremont-Mills early in the season.
And track fans took notice.
Thompson was just getting started.
He has since beaten Wood several times, most recently at the Stanton coed meet.
And Thompson is now racing the 3200, a race he hadn’t participate in until the run at Stanton.
He ran first in that race too, and beat, you guessed it, Wood.
When all the success started coming for this sophomore runner, even he was taken aback.
“I was amazed,” Thompson said of his feeling after beating Wood for the first time. “Everybody was amazed.”
The following results have confirmed Thompson to be, not a flash in the pan performer, but a consistent star distance runner. And Thompson said he has gained confidence from those results.
Oh, by the way, all this has happened while Thompson continues to find his way in the races.
“He is really starting to come along and has started to figure out both of the races,” Coach Toby Young said. “He is currently the district leader in both events.”
Thompson recently came in second in the 1600 and 3200 at Sidney, but those results came against Corey Morrison of Clarinda Academy, a returning state qualifier who competes in a higher classification than Nishnabotna.
And the second places could lead to more firsts.
“Morrison is a very talented runner,” Young said. “He only made Andrew run better.”
In addition to the recent results, last week’s workload also served to buoy Thompson’s confidence for achieving his goal of qualifying for state in both the 1600 and 3200.
After running distance in three meets with only one day off, Thomson felt fine.
Not good news for the competition.
“I didn’t feel that bad,” Thompson said. “I was actually surprised that I wasn’t that sore.”
