Jimmy Wischusen of Union Catholic, the state's top-ranked cross-country runner, didn't race at Thursday's Union County Championships due to an ankle injury that will most likely keep him sidelined for the remainder of this season, UC coach Mike McCabe said.
Wischusen, a junior, raced twice this season, finishing first at both the Bowdoin Park Invitational in 15:54, the 9th fastest time for a NJ runner on the rugged layout, and at the Shore Coaches Invitational on Oct. 1 when he ran 15:22, which is tied for No. 11 all-time in Holmdel Park history.
Last year, Wischusen became the sophomore course record holder at Holmdel Park (15:35 when he placed fifth to help lead UC to its first Meet of Champions title), and he was the fastest sophomore in the country during the XC season with the 14:34 he ran at the Running Lane National Championships!
After his historic XC season, Wischusen followed that up with one of the best seasons in state history for a sophomore on the track.
Last spring, Wischusen delivered a 3:11.44 1,200 leg at the Penn Relays to set the table perfectly for his teammates when UC went on to win the DMR in 10:14.42 to give the Vikings its first ever Championship of America wheel. Wischusen went to break the nine-minute barrier for the first time in the 3,200 when he ran 8:59.63 at the Westfield Twilight Invitational, and then he won the 3,200 at both the Union County Championships and the Non-Public A Championships.
Wischusen capped off his memorable sophomore campaign on the same track where it started with an amazing triple at the New Balance National Championships at Franklin Field.
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First, Wischusen split 4:14.2 on the anchor leg of the 4xmile squad that equaled the state record with a winning time of 17:12.23. The next day, he stopped the clock at 8:56.41 in the two-mile to take down the NJ sophomore record and place fourth to earn All-American status. Wischusen's 8:56.41 made him the 12th fastest 3200/2-miler in NJ history, and the ninth-fastest sophomore in U.S. history.
The 8:56.41 by Wischusen also broke the state sophomore mark that was held by the legendary Edward Cheserek of St. Benedict's Prep. Cheserek, who many regard as the best high school distance runner in U.S. history, ran 8:53.65 for 3,200 as a sophomore at the 2011 Essex County Championships, which converts to 8:56.75 for two-miles. Wischusen finished off his season by running a Union County record 4:09.90 to place ninth in the mile at the NB Nationals, the second-fastest time by a sophomore in state history behind Cheserek's 4:03.29.
