Ready to go the distance
When his fellow runners see Trevor Foley, and the times that he posts, they often ask what high school he attends.
Considering he’s 5-foot-10 and won three high school-level races, it would seem like a natural inquiry.
But Foley isn’t a high school student. He’s only 13. He’s only in seventh grade. He’s just that good, already.
“He’s got a lot of heart,” said Drew Martucci, who has been working with Foley since December 2011. “Of the athletes I’ve coached in my short coaching career, he has drive like I’ve never seen before.
“But he also knows what his potential really is. He could be a state champ in high school three out of four years. He could be that good.”
Martucci does know a thing or two about such matters. He and his twin brother Ben were standout runners for Hernando High, under Hall of Fame coach Ernie Chatman, until their graduation in 2007.
Both went on to run for Florida Southern College, where Ben Martucci is now the head cross country and track and field coach.
Drew Martucci, after returning to Hernando and serving as boys cross country coach in 2011, was the head boys track coach at Lakeland-Tenoroc High this spring.
He took Foley to the FLYRA/flrunners.com Middle School State Championship meet at Clearwater Calvary Christian on May 4. Foley finished fourth in the 1,500, running a 4:29.42. According to flrunners.com, that time ranks him tops in the nation for his grade.
???How Foley got involved in distance running, and how he believes he initially honed his skills, is a unique story.
It started Dec. 9, 2011; he remembers the date that clearly. He had been a soccer player since second grade, playing right midfield in the Central Pasco United Soccer Association.
“It just got old after a while,” Foley said. “I wanted to try something different.”
In fifth grade his soccer team ran in a 5K for charity. He won, and knew right away he had found his athletic niche.
By sixth grade he was running track for Powell Middle School, claiming a county championship in the 1,600. He won that event every meet, while consistently placing second in the 800 and 400.
Seeking the best education, he said, he left the reigning county champion Panthers for Challenger K-8 this school year.
Just this month he repeated as county champ in 1,600 and added a title in the 800. He captured those races in every meet, and did the same in the 400 except in the county meet.
He has a personal best of 4:46 in the 1,600; 2:12 in the 800 and 58 seconds in the 400. To put those numbers into perspective, at the four high school state meets this season, the lowest recorded time in the 1,600 was 4:50.90.
So in roughly two years, how he did he ascend so quickly?
“I think it’s because I live on a 150-acre farm,” said Foley, a Brooksville resident. “I use it as my advantage.”
Between running from one pasture to the next to check on animals, and rushing over to his grandparent’s home which also resides on the property, it seems he has developed some speed and endurance.
His driveway is a quarter of a mile long, so he uses it to run intervals. For longer stretches, he goes to the soccer fields at Anderson Snow Sports Complex.
???Though the middle school season has ended, Foley doesn’t plan to sit back and relax. He’ll continue to compete at meets throughout the year.
Not only has he notched a few victories over high school-aged kids, he said he also came in 13th in a college meet.
His long-term goal is to run in college, after attending Nature Coast, where he hopes to run for Coach Eric Milholland.
But first there’s the small matter of going through eighth grade.
“My goals for next year are a state championship and I want to get the state record for the mile. I’m nine seconds off that,” Foley said. “I’m looking to go to college on a full-ride scholarship, and go from there.”
