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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Rheinhardt Harrison is fast and getting faster.
The junior at Nease and the repeat All-News4Jax boys cross country runner of the year didn’t just fly past the field in every high school event that he competed in this season, although he did that pretty much with ease. Harrison had much larger goals than that and went right after them.
Before he won his second straight Class 4A state championship, Harrison chased a sub-four-minute mile for a good portion of the fall and did so against competition that included professional and elite college runners.
Harrison, 16, didn’t crack that four-minute barrier, something only 11 high school boys have ever done, but he’s close. Very close.
As a consolation, Harrison settled for the title of fastest 16-year-old ever, setting a mark that not even running legends like Jim Ryun and Alan Webb reached at that age.
Harrison’s run of 4 minutes, 1.34 seconds at the Music City Distance Carnival on Aug. 15 set both the national age group and sophomore class records. Harrison passed legendary runner Edward Cheserek’s’ mark of 4:03.29 and is now the fastest one-mile American runner at his age in history.
And he’s only getting stronger and faster.
As he segued back into cross country, Harrison was untouchable.
He competed in four cross country meets this season and won all four, including his second consecutive Class 4A individual championship.
His personal record of 14:55 seconds came at the district meet. Two weeks later, Harrison went 15:26.9 to win state. Less than a month after that, he turned in a 15:08.72 to win the AAU National Cross Country Championship on the same course, Apalachee Regional Park.
“Next year I definitely want to go and break the course record [14:59.45],” he said of Apalachee. “I got pretty close this year. I just wasn’t ready for it yet.”
If 2020 was filled with major strides forward, next year shapes up to be even bigger for Harrison. Since the spring track and field postseason was wiped out due to the coronavirus pandemic, Harrison said that he’s dialed in to the 1600 in the spring at Nease. He’s dropped more than 10 seconds from his time in that event since his freshman season when he finished state runner-up.
“That’s definitely a motivation, I want to do that obviously,” he said of winning three straight cross country championships. “I want to focus on track season [going forward]. I’m not really focused on cross country season right now, but I’d say right after the track season, I’m going to be ready for it.”
First team
Athlete, school, class
Bradley Anderson Ball, Nease, Sr.
Why he’s here: Florida State signee. Ran a 15:36 in the Craig Speziale Invitational as a season low. Three wins this year. Runner-up in district, region and state. Second time on All-News4Jax team.
Lucas Bouquot, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Why he’s here: Cracked the sub-16 minute mark twice this season, with a low of 15:59 at the New World Fall Spectacular. Took 11th at state meet.
Colin Duhnoski, Bolles, Jr.
Why he’s here: Ran his season-low of 15:48.06 at the Alexander/Asics Invitational. District champ and 5th at the Katie Caples Invitational.
Rheinhardt Harrison, Nease, Jr.
Why he’s here: Two-time All-News4Jax runner of the year. Won all 4 meets this season, including defending his 4A individual state championship. Season-low time of 14:55 came in district. He’s the fastest 16-year-old male one-mile runner in American history.
Cole Rutkowski, Bolles, Sr.
Why he’s here: Season-best time of 15:35.03 in the Alexander/Asics Invitational. Region champ. Finished 10th in 2A state meet.
Matthew Stratton, St. Johns Country Day, Jr.
Why he’s here: Ran a 15:53 to win the region meet, one of 5 victories this season for him. Took 3rd in Class 1A state meet.
Jahari White, Bartram Trail, Sr.
Why he’s here: District champ. Cracked the 16-minute barrier in a 7th-place finish at state (15:59.80).
Second team
Athlete, school, class
Jesse Benavides, Creekside, Jr.: Had a low of 16:16 to finish 3rd at the Craig Speziale Invitational.
Joshua Cills, Ponte Vedra, Sr.: Had his personal-best time of 16:28 to finish as district runner-up. Was 35th at state.
Caden Kwiatkowski, Fernandina Beach, Sr.: District champ. Low time of the season was a 16:10.70 in region runner-up finish.
Matthew McClure, Bolles, Jr.: Ran a best of 16:07.86 at the Alexander/Asics Invitational. Finished 20th at state.
Jemesu Picone, Bartram Trail, Jr.: Had a season-best 16:15 at the New World Fall Spectacular. Finished 14th at state.
Michael Teal, Bishop Kenny, Sr.: Season-best time was 16:21.20 in a 5th-place finish at the region meet. Took 15th at state in 16:32.
Jalani White, Bartram Trail, Sr.: His best finish of the season came during the state meet, where he ran a 16:29 to finish 20th.
HONORABLE MENTION
Runner, school, class
Roger Arias, Bartram Trail, Sr.
Grant Doherty, Ponte Vedra, So.
Steven Durr, Fernandina Beach, Sr.
Aidin Hasan, Bolles, Sr.
Frederick Lloyd, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Colin Lytle, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Branden McDonald, Bartram Trail, Jr.
Aidan Ryan, Bolles, So.
Logan Sallas, Bartram Trail, Jr.
Kameron Wallizada, Fleming Island, Sr.
Mac Williams, Creekside, So.
Note: Teams are selected based heavily on state series performances. Times from FHSAA and FLRunners.com.
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January 02, 2021 at 01:03AM
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All-News4Jax boys cross country: Nease’s Harrison leads the way again - WJXT News4JAX
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