German Fernandez

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German Fernandez is a twelfth grade runner from Riverbank, California, known for his performance in high school cross country and track and field. He is coached by Bruce Edwards of Riverbank High School, which competes in Division IV of the Sac-Joaquin Section. Fernandez first drew some attention as a high school freshman in track, when he raced 1600m in 4:22.[1] During the 2005 CIF State championships, the sophomore clocked the second fastest time of all divisions, 15:14, a time which makes him the third fastest California sophomore on the heralded Woodward Park course. That time is also faster by one second than that of AJ Acosta, the eventual Foot Locker national champion. He went through a number of injuries throughout his junior year, giving him a relatively slow season.[2]

Contents

[edit] Senior year

Fernandez set a number of course records in California. He won the prestigious Stanford Invitational (5k) with a time of 14:42, gapping the second place runner by 40 seconds.[3] He won the Sac-Joaquin Section finals race with a time of 15:03, setting the course record and leading his team to win the section title.[4] This culminated with his performance at the 2007 California CIF state meet where he ran the 5k race in 14:24, breaking the historic course record set by Olympian Marc Davis by 14 seconds. [5] The performance is seen as one of the most outstanding in the history of high school middle-distance running.[6]

Fernandez took first place at the Foot Locker West Regional, finishing in 14:53.[7] Fernandez capped his high school cross country career by placing third at the 2007 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships finishing 7 seconds behind Chris Derick (Naperville, IL) and 19 seconds behind National Champion Mike Fout of LaPorte, IN.[8]

On February 16, 2008 Fernandez won the USATF Cross Country Junior Nationals at Mission Bay Park in San Diego, CA. In the final 50 meters, he edged Iona collegiate Ryan Sheridan to win the race and earn a berth on the squad for Worlds. His time in the 8 Kilometer Race was 24:18. [9] [10]

During the qualifying meets for the CIF state championships Fernandez recorded several impressive doubles, including a 4:05.57 1600m and a 9:00.10 3200m, followed a week later by a 4:07 1600m and a 8:45.08 3200m. In the 2008 CIF California State Meet 1600 meters on May 31 in Cerritos, California, he ran an inspired 4:00.29 for 1600 meters to win by 9 seconds. In that race he entered the final lap at 2:59.52 and had an eye on the National Federation Record. 2008 Olympian Ryan Hall's California State Meet Record (4:02.62) was left in the dust by two seconds. He followed that up with another amazing performance less than 3 hours later, running the 3200m in 8:34.23 to capture the US National High School Federation 3200m Record. (The previous 3200 meter record was Dathan Ritzenhein's 8:41.10 run in 2000. Both this and Fernandez's 8:34.23 (=8:37.43 for 2 miles) are slightly inferior to Jeff Nelson's American High School 2-mile record of 8:36.3.)

[edit] Select races by event

Cross Country

Competition Result Time Distance Location Date
USATF Cross Country Junior Nationals 1 ? ? San Diego, CA 02.16.2008
California State Cross Country Meet 1 14:24 5k Fresno, CA 11.25.2007
Foot Locker West Regional 3 14:53 5k San Diego, CA 12.2.2007

[edit] Personal bests

Distance Mark Date Location Type
1,500 m 3:44.8e 2008-5-31 Cerritos Split
1,600 m 4:00.29 2008-5-31 Cerritos Outdoor Race
3,000 m 8:04.1e 2008-5-31 Cerritos Split
3,200 m 8:34.23 2008-5-31 Cerritos Outdoor Race

[edit] References

  1. ^ DyeStatCal Cross-Country State Athletes of the Week, by Doug Speck of DyeStat
  2. ^ German Fernandez, interview by DyeStat
  3. ^ Stanford Invite, results from DyeStatCal
  4. ^ Riverbank Boys Run Off With Section Title, report by Jagada Chambers of Riverbank News
  5. ^ In a class by himself: Riverbank's Fernandez sets new record at state title race, report by Will DeBoard of The Modesto Bee
  6. ^ Fernandez Saves the Very Best for Last, report by Mitch Stephens, MaxPreps.com
  7. ^ Best of the West: Hasay 3-Peats, Fernandez Shows Strength, report by Scott Bush of MileSplit.us
  8. ^ Foot Locker Cross Country Championship results as reported by Foot Locker
  9. ^ Fernandez and Hasay: Cali Prep Sweep
  10. ^ USATF - Events - 2008 USA Cross Country Championships