By Mike Blackerby
Catholic’s Sean O’Neil has coached his share of exceptional runners in recent years.
There’s Irish greats Joe Bindner, Georde Goodwyn and Johnathan Chavez to name a few.
But as far as total packages go, O’Neil said Irish senior Jake Renfree stands alone.
“Jake has it all,” said O’Neil.
“He has the talent, the killer instinct and he’s driven.”
O’Neil said Renfree’s competitive drive is second to none.
“He’s not necessarily a kid who loves to run, but he loves competition and he lives for race day. He has just got something in him that I’ve never seen in any other athlete.”
Renfree explained that cross country is the perfect conduit to quench his insatiable desire to compete and ultimately win.
“Running is one of those sports where it’s a little bit subjective,” offered the introspective Renfree.
“It’s me versus everybody else. It’s about pure guts and just being able to push myself to the limit.
“That, for me, is the reason I run. It’s not because I enjoy the 15-mile training runs. It’s because I have a great team and I love to compete.”
Hoop dreams
Renfree’s first love was basketball, not cross country.
He participated in both sports at Catholic before finally giving up on his hoop dreams before his junior season.
“I love basketball,” said Renfree.
“I could go outside right now and shoot for hours, but it got to the point where I really wasn’t playing much. Honestly, I wasn’t that great and was never gonna get anywhere.”
Renfree knew he had potential as a runner, so he pushed his chips all in on cross country.
“It came down to I could stay at a mediocre level with basketball or did I want to go after an elite level with running?”
O’Neil said the light came on for Renfree when he decided to devote his full attentions to cross country.
“He ran his freshman year, but he wasn’t real dedicated,” recounted O’Neil. “It was kind of the same thing his sophomore year. Cross country was something he really didn’t like.”
As it turns out, the difficult decision to drop basketball and go with cross country literally changed Renfree’s life.
Shooting star
Renfree’s 2017 season was like the build-up to a dizzying crescendo.
He finished second to Webb’s Carter Coughlin at the KIL meet in early October.
Later that month, Renfree cruised to the Region 2 championship.
At the Large Class School division state championships in Nashville, Renfree claimed fourth place in 15:59.02.
He was just getting warmed up.
Renfree was a surprise qualifier for the Foot Locker nationals in San Diego after he placed eighth at the South Regional in Charlotte, N.C.
He turned in the shocker of the nationals on Dec. 9, placing fifth in a field of 40 of the elite runners in the country with a sizzling time of 15 minutes, 38.7 seconds.
Looking back, Renfree admits it’s still hard to fathom his rapid ascension during the course of the 2017 season.
“This time last year I was not even thinking about the possibility of the way I ended up hitting it at the end of the season,” he said.
“Every day since Dec. 10 I’ve probably thought about that run at Foot Locker and had it in the back of my mind.”
Shooting for the top
Renfree doesn’t believe in setting modest goals.
Three of the four runners that finished in front of him at Foot Locker, including winner Dylan Jacobs (15:19.70) of Sandburg, Ill., graduated.
“Definitely, getting back to Foot Locker is my biggest goal this year,” said Renfree.
“My goal is a top-three finish, but if I’m there at the end I definitely want to go for the win.”
O’Neil said he has no doubt that Renfree can take it to another level this year.
“I think he can be better, just because all of last year he was training with a whole different level of focus,” said O’Neil.
“It’s totally different now. This time last year nobody even knew who he was.”