Jimmy Tarsnane
Sr., Perkiomen Valley H.S.
Collegeville, PA
Highlights: Pennsylvania State AAA XC Champion (16:10) … District 1 runner-up … Ran a PR of 15:38 at the Paul Short Run ... Tarsnane (PennTrackXC photo by Don Rich) clocked 16:04 at the Centaur Invitational, placing first ... Also won the Pioneer Conference Championships (15:54) and the Chris Fretz Invitational (16:09) ... Placed third in the 3200 meters (9:15) at the PIAA T&F Championships last spring.
Coach (Ryan Sullivan) says: “He’s a super talented kid. He’s a really hard worker. We had a pretty good team this year and he was unquestionably the leader. It’s not often you get a combination of a kid that’s super talented, but works really hard and is extremely coachable. One of the great things about Jim is he has absolute confidence in his coaches. You tell him what to do and he is going to do it. He’s done a lot to bring our whole program up. The reason he is so good is because he works so hard, and people around the team respond to that. He’s a very confident kid, in a positive way. He loves pressure. I’ve never had a high school kid that performs better in a big meet than Jimmy. He’s a big meet runner. The bigger the meet … it’s exciting to see what he’ll do at Foot Locker. You put Jimmy around a bunch of other studs and he really wants to perform.”
(On winning the PIAA Championship) Tarsnane says: “I’m a great hill runner. I loved the state course. I love running up hills. When I came here, I knew I was going to win. There was no doubt in my mind that I wasn’t going to win. When I saw the extra hill that they added [before the finish], it was amazing. I love that hill that they added … I made sure that I didn’t enjoy the race. I just kept pushing myself, and if I got in a comfortable groove, and was running at a consistent pace, I just forced myself to run even harder. I just made sure that this whole race was not enjoyable. I just made sure I was in pain the whole time.”
Summer mileage (max): 55
Weekly mileage: 45
Training shoes: Asics 2140
Superstitions: Much to the dismay of his mother, Tarsnane does not cut his hair at all during the season.
Hobbies: Surfing, paint ball, hanging out with friends
Favorite athlete: Brian Westbrook