MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – University High’s two-time state champion runner Larry Josh Edwards is ranked eighth in the nation by MileSplit, per the organization’s Top-50 list.
“I’m just happy to see it,” he said. “Last year I don’t think I was even in the top 25, just an honorable mention.”
This comes on the heels of a shortened season that saw Edwards secure the top spot in all five meets he participated in with the Hawks, including his repeat Class AAA state title win. He finished well ahead of any competitor with a time of 15:25 ahead of state runner-up and teammate Rocco DeVincent at 16:15. This also follows a spring sophomore indoor track season with the WV Flyers where Edwards claimed the No. 2 spot in the nation in the boys’ 3200 meter at 8:56.41 behind Shelby (Ohio) senior Caleb Brown.
Now in the offseason, before his indoor track season opens up in the spring, Edwards noted his game plan is to simply stay consistent.
“Offseason is mainly about staying consistent and making sure you get weekly mileages,” he said. “Other than that, it’s about staying consistent – that’s basically the base of it.”
While UHS isn’t a small school by West Virginia standards, Edwards is ranked among runners from schools around the nation such as The Woodlands (Texas) with over 4,000 students. But Edwards doesn’t think much of it, noting that just because he’s from a smaller school doesn’t mean he can’t be the best, especially moving into his senior year.
“Just because I’m from a small school comparatively doesn’t mean I can’t be any less of a runner,” he said. “Definitely three-peating both individually and as a team is going to be a big goal going into next year. Making sure when I leave the team that everything is set in place, we have kids still motivated ready to go and leaders on the team, I think that will be a big focus since both Rocco and I are both leaving the team. Other than that, just keep working at it.”
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