High school runner crawls across finish line to sub-9 two-mile

Last weekend, the track world was impressed yet again by another incredible performance by high school phenom Hobbs Kessler, who closed a two-mile race with a 55-second final lap, crossing the finish line in first place in 8:39.04. Given that Kessler was 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, it would have been easy to miss the action that happened behind him, but those who stuck around got to watch as Connecticut runner Gavin Sherry collapsed in the final few metres of the race and crawled to the finish line in 8:57.67.

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It looked as though Sherry would cross the line in third place, but his legs gave out just before the finish. While he struggled to get back on his feet, two other athletes passed him and he managed to stumble across the finish line in fifth, before collapsing immediately upon completing the race. While this is likely not the finish the high school senior was looking for, it was a demonstration of the athlete’s grit and determination. Despite his struggle, he was still able to go sub-nine minutes in the race, an impressive time for a high school athlete in and of itself.

You may not have heard of Sherry, but he has been one of the top high school runners in Connecticut for the last couple of years. He boasts an indoor two-mile PB of 8:53, which he set during his first-ever indoor track season as a sophomore last February, and last year he was named the Gatorade Connecticut Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

In an interview last year with a local newspaper, Sherry explained that he didn’t feel (at the time) as though he’d pushed himself to his limit, but that trying to find out where that limit is is what he enjoys so much about track.

“To me, that’s why I love the sport,” Sherry said. “It’s really just trying to explore how far you can push yourself before you break. So far I haven’t really had an experience where I’ve broken.”

It appears as though last weekend, he did finally have that experience, but he proved in that moment that he has the ability to push through it. The race may not have been a personal best for Sherry, but with the amount of determination he displayed, he will certainly be one to watch over the coming years.

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