Top GRC Performances (#9 and #10)

While GRC harriers are temporarily sidelined due to the coronavirus, Coach Jerry Alexander has been sharing his "completely subjective countdown of the top 10 GRC performances" during his time with the team.

Women

10. Alex Morris Runs Clubs 800m Record 2:08.87 at the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet in 2018.

Jerry had this to say about Alex's record breaking performance: "The performance of the night came from Alex, who gave herself an early birthday present by running 2:08.87 in the 800, which is a PR by 3 seconds, and a club record. Alex was ready for a major breakthrough, and it happened last night in a big way. Alex got out hard, hung tough through the middle stages, and closed with conviction to become the first GRC woman to break 2:10. Alex's reaction when she saw the official time was priceless--it was a combination of shock and joy that I will remember for a long time."

9. Stephanie Reich Wins 2016 Penn Relays Olympic Development 10,000. 

Steph's win was one of her many great performances in a GRC singlet, but deserves to be set aside because it was such a huge breakthrough. She is the club record holder in the 1500, road 5k, and 10 mile. She also won the Army 10 Miler in 2016 and would go on to defend her win at Penn Relays in 2017.

According to Jerry, "Steph finished the night in style, winning the 10,000 in an outstanding 34:12, which is second on the all-time list. Steph did it the hard way, leading for at least half the race, and she ran a huge negative split (17:16/16:56), which shows she could have run faster in a more favorable race. To put into perspective just how far Steph has come in a very short time, her PRs prior to joining GRC in the fall were 17:59 and 37:31, so it's fair to say that she's improved a bit in the last year, and I have every expectation that she's just scratching the surface of her ability."

Men

10. Carlos Jamieson Runs Road 5k Club Record at Clarendon Day 5k

Coach Jerry: "Carlos has incredible range, from shorter distances on the track (PRs of 1:49.3 for 800 and 3:41.84 for 1500) to longer distances on the roads (1:04:29 half marathon), and when healthy and fit he is capable of remarkable performances. Carlos was both healthy and fit in September of 2019, and he proved it by crushing the club record in the road 5k with his 14:27 at Clarendon. If more proof of his fitness was needed, he doubled back to win the 10k in 31:10."

9. Luke Meyer Runs 10 Mile Club Record at Cherry Blossom

Luke is no stranger to big stages having run in the Olympic Trials twice for the Steeplechase and Marathon in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

As Jerry put it, "Luke Ran 48:46 at Cherry Blossom, which was a club record by 21 seconds. Luke's 10th place finish in the USATF Championship was almost surely the highest placing by a GRC athlete in a national championship, and his race is unquestionably one of the finest ever in a GRC singlet."