Small Town Texas Runner Becomes Hero After State Championship
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2018
- Jake Merrell grew up in a small town in Texas and became a cult hero almost as quickly as he won his first state championship in 2015. But he's lived up to the hype far beyond what anyone could have imagined, and he's raced against the best and proved himself time and time again. The Turkey Valley High School graduate, who won nine state outdoor championships over four years and turned into one of the top 800 meter runners in the country, is headed to Baylor University on a full scholarship in 2018. Watch the feature above to learn about how Merrell embraced his small town roots and raced large over his career before finishing out with one final memento at the Texas UIL Class 1A State Championships. And check out the full story, from start to finish, on MileSplit's longform story platform: Jake Merrell Can't Lose
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The speed limit is higher than the population
Cabbages I was being satirical.
Mariano Rodriguez Hey, long sweet dirt roads, the only noise being birds, living on a farm and eating healthy. What more could a runner ask for?
run Caz that kid is like a great Dane running with poodles
100+ families
I have a population of 366
'I like to work' You don't hear that often enough.
Rip Sumrall If I were to even think of that my life would be wasted and ruined even more than what’s already happened to me... all for nothing.
I'm sorry, I guess being a narc isn't very satisfying.
@@ripsumrall8018 you made me laugh so hard. Hahah
That's what built this country.
OH THANK YOU JESUS A MAN THAT LIKES TO WORK. OH LORD THANK YOU.
Whole school must play on the football team
DavidSmurphy lmaooo and still fall short 4 players
@@lisa5hot lmao
@@lisa5hot That's why they play 6-man football. If you ever get to watch a 6-man game, do so. It's street football with rules.
E
Best thing is..he’s the nicest guy ever. I went to school with him and he was in my brother’s class. It is so weird that people see him as a sort of celebrity in the running community, because he is such a down to earth guy. Congrats Jake
u tried to bang
I knew someone was going to comment that. Internet never fails lol
Emma Hackler i wish i met him
Matthew Shinn would like it but it’s the number 69 so cant really
@@matthewshinn5839 you're a creep b
I ran against him at state he was crazy good because he won the 1 mile and then came out and beat me in the 4x4 and our ancher was the runner up from state last year and they actually beat our record we set he was a crazy show to watch
Coltin Gonzales wow cool 6'4 he's a tall dude for highschool
Jeff Barksdale yeah kinda we have a 6 foot nine kid thats on are basketball tea.
Team
Coltin Gonzales Thats Awesome i ran track and cross country so i can appreciate a good runner....this guy has blazing speed for a tall guy....i dont think this is the last we'll hear from the All American Kid lol
Coltin Gonzales you ever see "running brave" ? CZcams it awesome movie reminds me of jake
The 22 dislikes are the people who lost to him
F R buddy at least he's getting there, cheel a bit lol
James Votava oh well those other guys who lost to this awesome, talented runner should look up to him and learn from him rather than being envious of him.
Robert Preskop dude I just cringed so hard at ur comment
The comment above you disagrees.
James Votava now there is 280
"it looks fun. I mean it's not that fun, but it's better than sittin' in the house." hahaha never a truer word said.
He was born with the body of a great runner and the will to develop it. It helped a lot that he live in a small town with few distractions.
Maybe he has a chance in 800metres...not middle or long distance he is too buff for that...but he seems very disciplined & dedicated that would take him far in the game.
Height is a disadvantage in long distance running. It's good his shoulders aren't too wide and is super lean. The more mass you have the more your body builds heat and exhausts more energy.
@@muurisoras5878 800 is middle distance though
@@oliviafiebelkorn5155 I meant 1500metres & above sorry
when you have that kind of talent and work ethic, it does not matter where you are from or how big the school is. Great video.
Those rolling hills make legends.
Damn there must be only like 20 girls that he could date
And He's probably related to most of them
Ryan Casey. At least he grew up being taught decency and integrity, not to mention monstrous work ethic. What exactly have you done? (insert sound of crickets here....)
No but honestly, I don't know what the hell makes half you guys from the city think your so much better than these small town people? They're salt of the earth type people and half of them would gladly lend you a helping hand if you needed it. Don't criticize a people and place you don't understand, because I assure you, theres PLENTY of stereotypes about people from the city too. I just won't use them because I see no need in acting like a colossal self glorified prick.
Austin. Boy if you don’t get yo sensitive ass out this chat I’m gonna offend you so bad you’ll have to leave
Austin I'm from a town of 3 thousand so I don't think that's a city. I think you need to get your sensitive ass out of here and stop making assumptions about people by jokes they make in a CZcams video
Ryan Casey you all are fighting on CZcams like a bunch of idiots lol.
The big city girls are gonna have a field day with this guy omg
If anything can destroy this guy it will be women. Hope he can resist the urge
He appears to be a small town oriented young man who savors his rural life and his work ethic. I doubt that he would like a big major city. He just doesnt seem to be the big city type. Not all young people want to live in expensive big cities anyways.
@@mgway4661 are u serious? 😂
@Antiglobalist the kid is all stick and bones - woman will go after his fame not him
6.26 🏳️🌈 may not be into the ladies. Look at him bringing that guy's hip closer to his body
Is no one gonna talk about the fact that the kids on his team were keeping up with him that’s impressive
*casually sits in front of sports pictures and medals*
*Me going to state as an alternate for the 4x4 relay team*
Uriel Torres white peoples
Larry pft we only had one kid last year go to PA states
Baylor's gonna turn this dude into a monster
Don't hold your breath. He's actually very average for a Div. 1 scholarship athlete.
exactly, he'll be an absolute beast with the right training
Being average isn't being a "beast."
He ran an average D1 time as a high school senior at a very small school with no competition. Now he's going to one of the best track colleges in the nation. Stop the hate, he will be great.
Cheetah - The size of the school is totally irrelevant. He works out very hard, so he's already close to his peak. Watch and see. BTW, since when is stating facts and being realistic "hate?" Oh that's right - when you're a liberal snowflake and someone disagrees with you.
What a wonderful kid. Great that there are still young people like this in America.
Hes in high school looks like a fully grown man dude even has a mustache lol
I'm in 8th grade and I have a classmate that has a full grown beard, and he says his beard dates back to 4th grade
C O D Y nothing special about him having a beard in high school. Your high school must be full of pre pubescent studs because mine had a shit ton of people having beards mustaches and more.
+Flamingo. lolll
C O D Y Lol I had a mustache in sixth grade and a beard in eight grade
I’m 14 I’m shaving
Growing out the Pre stach. This kid is a stud.
Hopefully he comes to UofO #goducks
Beamernator That is what I was thinking.
He committed to Baylor last time I heard of him
What a beef cake.
Fuck Trump.
As a Texan, I can definitely recognize his work ethic. You just don't get it in the way that he likes to work because he'd rather not be not working.
J Edgar or being in CZcams
Great guy, parents raised him well. You don’t see to many young folks like him. Wishing you all the best young man.
Speaking as a grandmother and artist, not creepy, but what a beautiful body. Good nutrition and good exercise working with good genes.
I get what youre saying, a healthy person!
i like how he isn't running with a watch just feeling the run
I know his parents are so proud of him, keep going young man.
Inspiring and humble dude
Yoshikage Kira h•a ~|•
This man would be a good swimmer he’s got the height the work ethic and the leg ability
He swam once and broke school record.
I wish I had his form
then get it god damn it
cicirunner that's why you work man push your self to get it actually no find your own you know just do u and it will all be good
Getting form is easier than being born gifted and having form.
Me? I've actually had a breakthrough year and crushed my PRs.....but I wish I could run like this guy even if I wasn't as fast as him.
he is just fucking tall as shit
A hard work ethic is something one can always be proud of. Thank you for sharing.
His 800 has gotten slower since high school, about. 4 seconds slower in the 1:54’s but his 1500 has gone from 4:08 in high school to 3:56
yeah, i saw that a couple months back and was disappointed at first, but I feel like there might be a reason to it:
when u look at his major, it said he’s doing aerospace engineering, which is hard and requires a lot of studying. that doesn’t mean that he’s going to skip practice, but he’s going be more focused on his studies and a little less with his training. most athletes that do go D1 will never go pro, so they need to make sure they have the grades to find a regular job that’s not related to pro running. high school could have also been a lot easier for him since he already has the D1 potential so he doesn’t need to be too on top of his grades like regular students. going to a bigger school that is pretty good academically could mean that he might not be used to studying as much compared to when he was still in high school.
I think this story is also more about “making it out” rather than being able to “achieve anything as long as you have the work ethic.” a lot of those small town people get stuck because they might not be able to afford college, so his story shows that it is possible to make it out. it’s great to see him in high school run a 1:50, a time that only a handful of high school runners can achieve in a season. But even in that pack, only a few will go on to become pro, while the rest will need to find jobs elsewhere. I still love watching this video, because it still reminds me that as long as i put my mind to it, anything is possible. He’s an amazing student athlete who definitely prioritized his academics as much as his running, something that a lot of high school athletes forget to do while they’re training. He taught me that it doesn’t matter if you’re from a small town or a big city, anything is possible as long as you put in the work and believe in yourself. He’s been one of my role model even though i’m only 2 years younger :)
@@steven4227 The "reason" he never improved is because 1) He trained like an animal in high school, which most kids don't do. I was a very talented high school runner and a state champion, but never ran in the off seasons, so my potential didn't show in high school. 2) He went to Baylor, a school with clearly an inferior running program. Most of their roster features guys who have yet to run the mile as fast as I did as a high school freshman (4:22). You can't improve with substandard coaching and a group of guys who can't run with you.
This is crazy... never heard about him and he lives an hour away from me!
Good luck to his future career!
Champions are self motivated. Jake is that sort of guy.
He has runner body construction, so nature give him a gift. If man has wish he can almost everything. good luck... :)
z ga What?
@@nambam5052 What do you mean "What"? Look at his proportions... his legs, his torso. As a runner, he's by natural default ahead of 99% of the rest of humans on this planet. The list goes on... genetic diseases? Bad immune system? Metal capabilities? No. People end up in life for a reason. Not everyone gets to be a Doctor or an Astronaut.
Mr. Clem he said what because of the awkward structure of the sentence bruh XD
What a beautiful story, I wish this kid the best.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
Nice to see kids succeed in life & be so driven.
When you grow up eating moms homemade food.
Maybe some vitamin S with that Jaw/chin.
Amen
I swear it’s that home cooking man, my dad is 5’9 and my mom is 5’6 and I’m 6’3.
@@lukegodbout My dad is 6’1 my mom is 5’0 and I am 15 and I’m 6’0
@@enoccecena7865 wow fascinating
What an inspirational young man! Wish him all the success in the world!
Small towns are the best. Texas forever!
Yes they are I grew up in a great small town and even though I moved to a much bigger city I've held on to my small town roots
Nice story! Very inspiring to see that talent and hard work can make room for you no matter where you are from.
When they make the movie about this guy, Carlos Mencia will play the Dad & Sandra Bullock will play the Mom
Sandra's too old.
#stacheforstate ! It's good to see a family and community supporting one another. You can do it all, it just takes getting up and getting after it. Many warm wishes for this young man and his family.
Ppl like yu are born to inspire , you are the man
It's hard to dislike somebody who just likes to work
Hope that coach keeps him running 4x400. If he gets his 400 into 45s, which is totally possible with his stride and strength, he'll break US 800, 1500 & mile records.
The guy said when he competes "worldwide", last time I checked Kenya was in the world. I wish him luck but breaking the US 800 is not close to the world record.
He's a damn high schooler who is years away from reaching his peak. You and nobody else has any idea what the kid is going to do. By the way Kenya does not hold ANY world records in the mile. Actually throughout history the United Kingdom has broke the world record more than anyone. Currently it belongs to a man from Morocco. So take your pessimistic non sense back to the play ground.
SO what Kenya's distance runners outperform those of the US as do numerous other African countries today. I wish the kid luck but the commentary has a touch of BS to it. That has nothing to do with the kid himself and I wish him well.
Also Kenyan David Rudisha is the 800m world record holder, and my comment revolved around him competing in the US 800m not the mile. So yes Kenya does have a world record holder and more importantly in the event mentioned by the reporter.
Your comment about which country has broken the most world records is a bit disingenuous because back in the day certain racial groups were barred from competing and those are the very people who are dominating the sport now.
2024 and I randomly remembered that I watched this video when I started running cross country in 6th grade and I’m now a senior in high school 21 days away from graduating
What a nice story. Hope he succeeds in whatever he does. I loved to see not just him, but everyone else in that rural town happy, smiling, and not super stressed out like us in the cities. We need more stories like that. We need to value people in rural communities.
He looks like he could play Clark Kent! So handsome and humble♡
Great story and really well put together film.
What a stud. A gracious man. He's got so much heart. God bless him.
What a greatly inspiring story for future generations!! SO GREAT!!
Beautiful story
omfg i miss texas so much i love texas......most parts of texas are sooooo much beautifulll
Races against this guy freshman year. Such an honor! This guy is such a big inspiration to me!
My hat goes off to the parents and the youngster. Working hard and smart always pays off. Good for you !
He looks like the real deal. Wish him the best of luck!!
He's a natural athlete and perfect build for distance. Let's go JAKE!
This young man can have the world in the palm of his hands. Good luck too him.
Great inspirational story! Awesome mom and dad and very cool guy! Thank you!
I was wondering if any of my teammates ran against him at state but then I remembered that his high school is 1A and my school is 5A
Awesome,Working hard pays off!!!!👍🏻
Really good story. Wonderful they brought in the younger kids to watch him sign .
This guy is the best example for what is achievable with some talent. And the best example for the fact that you’re going to have to work hard for it, no matter your talent.
He reminds me of Prefontaine. The mustache really sealed the deal.
This young man's running style reminds me of Jim Ryun of Kansas in the late 1960's first high schooler to break the 4 minute mile.
Really nice, uplifting video. Thanks for posting.
why would 300 people dislike this showing of hard work?
I'm from the UK, I'm 20 seconds in, I know nothing about this. I feel it's going to be really good.
Hahaha same here mate
He is driven and hope he does well
Prayers to all the other guys in his class.
Bravo for him , his family and his town. Great and inspiring story
My school's relay team (those dudes in the purple) had to go against his team at state in the 4x4 relay, and man it's insane how crazy fast and powerful he is, beat 2nd place by 5 seconds.
*New England Patriots trademark lawyers have entered the chat
He said 1A state record wow, I grew up in a 5A high school that is now a 6A. Very cool nice post. Keep up the good work Jake.
God bless you Jake! !! ...from the UK
Good going. Stay humble.
I've watched him at The Texas Relays, State and some of the larger meets here in Texas, competing with kids who attend 3, 4, 5, and 6K student schools and he stacks up favorably and has beaten many if not all of them. Definitely the real deal!
West TX, open roads, country life. Best way for a cross country runner to just get out there and train as hard as their heart desires. Much respect to this guy!
Awesome story to share with others!
Straight athlete
Talented young man, hope to see him soon in the olympics. Best of luck.
He will NEVER make it to the Olympics. He's lightyears behind scores of other athletes much more talented than he is, who will also never make the Olympics.
Nobody has a crystal ball to predict the future, however he has the potential to be a great runner. Any runner who dominates three or more distances at State level is a winner in my books. Regards.
Mrkientube - LOL!!! Anyone who dominates three distances at State level - in the lowest and smallest school division - is just a big fish in a small pond.
@@cy8685 Hater. It's not like you have accomplished anything in your life.
@@ericmaldonado-avendano705 😂😂😂😂😂 SNOWFLAKE! Calling me a "hater" for stating facts. 😂😂😂😂😂
Yeah... I've never accomplished anything - other than running faster as a sophomore in high school than this kid did as a senior. And later in life being ranked #1 in the world, winning 10 National Championships and setting 8 American records. Other than that, nothing. 😂😂😂😂😂
Great human being! This kid is fulfilled by all the right things.
This video is awesome!! So happy for Jake!! Goooo man get it!!
Young people are awesome
That's what Mohammad said.
@@Chebab-Chebab XDDD
There goes my track career
Josiah Cook yeah, it's because you're black...😂
@@FR-ko3vp bro.. blacks are always faster wym😂
You’ll crush him if you have the right training and Genes
@@torlando1553 not much in distance running at least in US
Superb effort, and genuine and honest recognition by the authority will inspire and Kindle the in young minds to do somthing uncommon.all the best for updating on such glorious memories
7:15 - Thank you for believing
This got me pumped!
Mike Gettemy me too it was awesome for real
I just did a marathon yesterday and now i want a damn 30 miler.
@ Silver - Congratulations. How did you do in the marathon?
Oops. Silvey. (silly autocorrect)
Great you man. Blessings for your future!
the zoom in on his finger made me so uncomfortable
2:26
That's really strange lol
ingrid rainville it was at 2:34 dumbass
@@greatvalue2887 unnecessary to call him that
Pammie fuck you dumbass
@@greatvalue2887 lol pathetic
2:26 dudes highschool straight up copied the Patriots lmaoooo even have the name on the jersey😂
Could be a school sponsored by them. It wouldn’t be surprising if the patriots funded/built some schools for some isolated communities
A lot of schools if they have a mascot that already has a known logo they’ll use that. For schools in my district one school is the falcons so they use the Atlanta falcons logo
Great Story. I will be watching him for the next 10 year's. Future Olympian!
I saw that guy at the championships, he’s phenomenal!
When towns post up their population on a sign do they have to replace it every time it changes?
Smart coach to run Jake in sprints relay. More coaches should do that for middle distance runners to increase their speed. Relays are demanding, but lots of fun for most runners.
I love the fact I’m running with my team in relays, but holding the baton kills me. Then again, I’m a full on distance runner, so maybe that’s it.
Running relays is tremendous pressure and takes a lot of guts, because you are running for the others and don't want to let them down. But relays also forces runners to go beyond what they thought their limits were. If I was coaching any sport in high school, I would have all the athletes join the track team, and pushed them to run relays.
Great job Jake! Good luck at Baylor.
Jake, I wish you success at the next level.
1A 😂 no wonder we won
Edit don’t get me wrong he’s still really fast
FloTrak, you were obviously inspired by the iconic Jim Ryun photo where he's running alone down an undulating Kansas road. I think it was a SI cover. Do you know where I can find a copy of that photo? I've searched everywhere online and have come up empty. Great video, also!
What kind of response is that? I was talking about Jim Ryun ... do you even know who Jim Ryun is and what he accomplished? I know where this young runner lives and runs. He's a great kid and runner. However, my point was that the maker of this video may have been inspired by Jim Ryan and how and where he trained and I was asking him if he knew about the Jim Ryun photo.
Sounds like a well grounded kid. Always easy to root for guys like that.
Seems like a talented and very hard-working young man and his hometown is right to be proud of him. And yeah, he is a handsome, beautifully proportioned, and disarming. Good luck to this young champion!
Was rooting for em he fel off and digressed.
Big fish in a small pond