MORGANTOWN — University’s Josh Edwards finished 18th overall in the 2-mile championship at the New Balance Nationals Indoor on March 10 at The Armory in Upper Manhattan, New York.
He ran in the first heat, finishing seventh, but his time of 9:12.85 was actually one of the most impressive performances of the race. Edwards’s time was the third fastest by a freshman at the NBNI in the last decade. The freshman record is held by Lukas Verzbicas, who ran 8:57.55 in 2009. Verzbicas went on to run at the University of Oregon.
The majority of the field was filled with seniors, so Edwards’ 9:12.85 would make him the second-fastest returner for 2020.
Edwards’ run at the NBNI continues a hot streak for the high school newcomer. In February, he posted a similar time (9:12.28) in the 3200-meter at the MileSplit/SPIRE Showcase in Ohio. It was the top time for a freshman at the event.
In November at Foot Locker South in Charlotte, N.C., Edwards won the freshman 5K at 16:22, and in the boys’ Class AAA state cross-country meet in late October at Cabell Midland, he finished second overall (16:07.78) behind Wheeling Park senior Ronnie Saunders (15:55.22).
Running outside of the high school cross-country and track seasons gives Edwards an opportunity to run in a different medium than is offered through the WVSSAC, like running indoors.
“It definitely makes me more well-rounded with providing me more opportunities to compete,” he said. “It’s just one of those things you have to get used to.”
With all of the early accolades in his high school career, ranking near the top of the national runner times in the 2-mile and 1-mile, Edwards doesn’t want to get too caught up in the praise. His brother Nathaniel is a senior with the Hawks and is also a distance runner in the 1600- and 3,00-meter, but he taught his little brother early on that running isn’t only something to do when preparing for something else.
“He is the reason I’m still doing this today,” Josh said. “He taught me that running can be fun and rewarding if you work at it and that’s something I’ll never forget.”
It was a warm summer day when Nathaniel introduced Josh to running. While going with friends along the Cheat Lake trail, Nathaniel threw out a trick to get extra time in with his brother.
“I tricked him into doing six miles because I didn’t want to run alone, but he thought he was only running four,” Nathaniel said. “He wasn’t too happy after that, but once he got into running, it didn’t take long for him to recognize his talent and to find a passion in it.
“If running is something you choose to do every day, you’re not going to view it as something you dislike, so I think he realized the importance of a good attitude.”
Nathaniel will be headed to UNC Asheville to begin his college career this fall, so he and Josh will only have one season together.
“It was fun to have him around and made the transition into high school easier,” Josh said.
As the track season wears on, Josh hopes to run in the low 8:30s at the Penn Relays 3K this month and win a state title in the 3,200 in late May.
