Athlete: Grant Fisher
Year: Junior
School: Grand Blanc High School
Location: Grand Blanc, MI
1500m PR: 3:50.30
1600m PR: 4:11.27
Mile PR: 4:12.74
3200m PR: 9:04.33
Back home after playing in a holiday soccer tournament in Florida, Foot Locker boys’ national champion Grant Fisher of Michigan is set to embark on his 2014 track season. But after breakthroughs in both track and cross country, stretching back to last summer, how long can Fisher, a 16-year-old junior at Grand Blanc High, continue to excel in both running and soccer?
Foot Locker: On Dec. 14, Fisher won the 2013 Foot Locker national cross country title in 15:07 for the hilly 5K course at Balboa Park in San Diego. After flying to the lead in the field of 40 boys on the second tour of the route’s steep downhill, Fisher waged a thrilling late-race duel with John Dressel of Washington, another junior, to triumph by 25 meters. Fisher was nowhere on the national radar screen when the season began. He says of his preseason outlook, “I didn’t think of myself as a cross country guy but rather a track guy.”
Victory Streak: The track guy raced to an undefeated fall season. Fisher, who won’t turn 17 until April, won the Michigan state Division I title by 18 seconds in 15:14 for 5K, and then the Foot Locker Midwest Regional in Kenosha, Wis., in 15:02 for 5K.
Nationals Mindset: Fisher was prepared for any pace, any surge, with a complete repertoire of tactical options. “Grant has an uncanny ability to focus during races,” said his cross country coach Michael Scannell. “His intuition is excellent. When things change in a race, he’s able to adapt with great decisions.”
Handling Pressure: With added hill training and interval work commensurate with his recent growth spurt, Fisher developed the physical tools to contend for national honors. Fisher also had the experience of competing in last summer’s IAAF World Youth Games in Donetsk, Ukraine, where he acquired a wealth of emotional toughness. “International competition taught me how to handle big-meet racing and pressure situations,” said Fisher.
Ask the Coaches: Foamy Sweat: Though Fisher placed ninth in the World Youth 1500 final, a mild disappointment for him, he achieved a victory of sorts by winning his qualifying heat in a PR 3:50.30, equivalent to a 4:08 mile. Not bad for a sophomore who turned 16 less than three months before and was among the youngest entrants in a field filled with Africans.
Training Sense: Fisher’s stepped-up fall workouts included 8 x 800m on the track in 2:15 to 2:20 with a 2-minute recovery and Sunday runs of up to 12 miles at 6:00 to 6:15 mile pace. Though Fisher got a late start on fall base work because of the world event, he showed Coach Scannell that he’d reached a new level with an early-season 3600m time trial consisting of pace changes from “aggressive” to “high cruise” to “fast.”
Family Affair: Scannell, 51, is a top masters performer and two-time Olympic marathon trials participant who can keep up with Fisher on his long runs. He competed in track and cross country for Arizona State, where his teammate and roommate was Don Fisher, Grant’s father. The two men have remained close friends and currently work at the same company.
Soccer Sensation: Fisher is a soccer “baby” who continues playing year-round, shouldering two rigorous sports daily. Fisher plays for the Grand Blanc high school team in the fall and the Michigan Wolves club the rest of the year. As an outstanding center-midfielder, Fisher has been selected for the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program and has played international matches around the country as well as in Costa Rica.
Double Duty: Fisher, a straight-A student, said he had the blessings of his coaches to try and keep both sports humming for as long as he could. He believes that the two sports complement each other: Running gives him endurance for soccer and soccer provides explosiveness for running. But juggling can be difficult. In the fall of 2012, in his sophomore cross country season, the Michigan state meet and Fisher’s state high school soccer match fell on the same day. Fisher chose soccer. “It was more of a priority at the time,” he said.
Happy Meals: Fisher either runs before school and plays soccer after, or does both activities after school. Either way, Fisher must fuel 3 to 4 hours of effort. “I have a big breakfast, two lunches, a snack before practice, a snack after practice and a big dinner,” he said. His go-to meal: his mom’s spaghetti with asparagus and broccoli. His go-to treat: ice cream. He had four helpings in the hotel after his Foot Locker victory.
Track Season: Though many elite mile invitations will come his way this winter, Fisher plans a low-key indoor season with emphasis on the spring when he hopes to run a sub-4:05 mile and possibly aim for the World Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore., in July.
Starting Out: After running without conviction in middle school, Fisher got hooked as a Grand Blanc freshman when he clocked 16:15 for 5K in the state cross country meet. Fisher knows that he can’t do both soccer and running full tilt forever. “Come college,” said Fisher, “a decision to choose one sport is inevitable.”
Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.
