Tyler Hurst sure knew how to harness his extra energy into something positive.
This past fall, the Steinert High junior finished second in the Colonial Valley Conference meet in 16:46, third in the TCNJ High School Invite (16:43), fourth in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Championship (16:36) and 31st in the Group III meet (17:04).
His PR time of 15:55 in a CVC Divisional Race at Robbinsville was the 73rd best PR in the state according to nj.milesplit.com. At season’s end, he was named first team All-CVC by league coaches. Not bad considering this was Hurst’s first full season of cross country. But he actually began competitive running at age 6.
And just what was the attraction at such an early age?
“My ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) got me into running,” Hurst said. “I was a very hyper guy at a young age, with a ridiculous amount of energy. One day my grandparents took me to Steinert’s track to get rid of some energy and I ran a mile without stopping and without being winded. My mom then found World Athlete and the rest is history.”
World Athlete is a running club based in Mount Laurel and Hurst began running sprints and the 4×100 relay there under coach Troy Pappas. He came in first in nearly every meet. At age 9 he ran a 1500 at Shawnee and won that, “so I continued with that and the 400 and 800.”
The summer prior to middle school, Hurst qualified for the National Junior Olympics in Greensboro, NC, and termed it “an amazing experience.” Prior to high school he ran for the Jersey Devils out of Marlton under coaches Missy Giadis and Fred Mansell.
Spartan cross country/track & field coach Mike Giacobbe worked with Tyler’s mom at YMCA Saw Mill back then, and Melissa Hurst had his interest piqued.
“She told me he went to national events, so we kind of knew we had something coming,” Giacobbe said. “But the track world is so large, even when they say it’s a national event it’s hard to judge until you see him. The second he showed up, I was like ‘OK, let’s keep on top of him.’”
Hurst didn’t show up in the fall, however, as he decided to play soccer. His first foray in track was that spring.
“I had played soccer since I was five and played travel since I was 10, so trying out for freshman soccer was a no-brainer,” he said. “I never thought about winter track, I was already running indoors with the Jersey Devils. I liked basketball, tried out for the team and made it.”
He became disillusioned with soccer and basketball, but had a solid freshman spring track season. That inspired him to start running year-round.
Giacobbe’s excitement to have Hurst run cross country as a sophomore dissipated when Hurst showed up with Osgood-Schlatter disease, a painful condition that causes a bump to develop below the knee during growth spurts.
“I noticed the pain around the end of June,” Hurst said. “Rest and hydration were the best things for recovery, even though it took a few months. It was frustrating to not be able to run that first official season of cross country, but I went to every meet to support my teammates.”
He came back in time to run under 19 minutes in the Mercer County JV/freshman meet, and Giacobbe felt confident enough to elevate Hurst to his seventh and final runner in the CJ III meet. The sophomore came through as Steinert’s second runner in 18:35 and his efforts helped the Sprtans advance to the Group III meet as a team. In the states, he was the second Steinert runner again with a time of 17:50.
Despite his long absence, Hurst’s success did not surprise him. “Not running for a little while will make anyone rusty,” he said. “But overcoming that, you will see how far you can go. I think I was so ready to not be on the sidelines anymore.”
Hurst followed up with a solid winter track season, and last spring he and some cross country teammates reached the Group III meet in the 4×800.
When it came to summer training, Giacobbe imparted advice that has been given by every Steinert cross country coach since the days of Jerry Bleistein and Doug Martin back in the 1970s.
“It’s a legacy thing, and it’s that not one size fits all for the workout,” Giacobbe said. “These are high school kids, they’re going through an entire day of school, some of them work. Running 70, 80 miles a week is something that’s not gonna be feasible. One of the things we talked to Tyler about was not so much the quantity of miles but the quality.”
Meaning, what?
“If you had a personal trainer and they said you need to do 80 miles in a week, you can do 80 miles but if 25 of them are at an 11-minute pace and you’re just going through the motions, that’s not getting anything done,” the coach continued. “You can get out there and get a 30 to 40 minute run at your race pace and have the same benefits as running double the mileage.
“That’s something that he really listened to. Sometimes it’s management. He’s one of these kids that just listens and buys into it and look at the results.”
Hurst’s goals over the summer were to improve endurance and mileage. He ran through Veterans Park during Steinert’s captain’s practices and estimated he put in 15 to 20 miles per week. He is a frequent user of foam rolling to massage muscles and break down adhesions, and wants to get better at incorporating stretching into his routine.
As one of just two underclassmen among Steinert’s top seven runners this year, Hurst was a leader by example more than with words.
“We had five senior boys so it’s kind of tough for a junior to keep up sometimes in that situation,” Giacobbe said. “But when you’re coachable and you listen and the results are there, you lead by example.
“He just has a willingness to listen. We want kids that are coachable, who want to learn the lessons, and who want to be here. He’s one of the first ones here, one of the last ones to leave. As a coach you cannot ask for anything more.”
As Steinert’s No. 1 runner, he and a senior-laden squad that featured Nathanial Bigger, Nihar Kolachalama, Adam Szpakowski (a junior), Max Kostin, Rich Sheridan and Jayden Nollie qualified for states for the second straight year after finishing fourth in the CJ III sectional meet.
“It meant a lot for us to make it to Groups again,” Hurst said. “That hasn’t happened for Steinert in quite a while and I’m glad that we could change that.The program is headed in a good direction; I hope people will see that Steinert is capable of making a name for itself in the cross country world.”
Hurst certainly made a name for himself this fall. He came into the season looking to stay healthy for a full year, reach Groups and hopefully the Meet of Champions. He also wanted to “be a supportive teammate and beat my dad’s high school cross country time of 16:32.” Ken Hurst ran for Maple Shade’s state championship team in 1994, but now (happily) has the second best PR in the family.
As for his strong efforts in the CVC and sectional meets, Hurst was happy with his results considering who he finished behind. At the conference meet, West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s Shravan Pradeep beat him by 17 seconds. Pradeep finished 12th in the Meet of Champions and sixth among runners who weren’t on this year’s historically great CBA team.
“For the first mile or so we were staying competitive,” Hurst said of the CVC meet. “I tried to get the lead going into the woods (at Thompson Park) for the first time, but after coming out of the woods, he took off and I could barely see him. However, it was a great race for me.”
As for his fourth-place finish at sectionals, also at Thompson Park, he said “it was great placement for me since the three ahead of me were all Colts Neck runners who basically crossed the finish line as one. I’m honored to be keeping the company that I do.”
He keeps good company in the classroom as well with a 4.0 grade point average. Hurst’s favorites are math, wood shop, English Language Arts, Sustainable Engineering, history “and gym if it counts as a subject.” He also helps his dad as a volunteer coach in Hamilton Little Lads basketball, and will be volunteering for World Athlete to help coach rising track stars.
Running in college has long been a dream for Hurst, who is starting to look into the right fit for himself.
When it comes to just running itself, he says it’s like a job.
“But one that I love, and don’t mind going to,” Hurst added. “You’re hanging out with your friends all the time. We have a great bond, but we’re also getting the work done. After 10 years of competitive running, it’s just a natural thing for me.”
And the perfect way to put that energy to good use.
Tyler Hurst on Oct. 24, 2024, running in the inaugural CVC Cross-Country Championships at Thompson Park in Monroe, where he finished in 2nd place.,
