Fisher wins his second FLCCC title on December 13.
Grant Fisher of Grand Blanc High School in Michigan defended his Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC) national title on Saturday in San Diego, California.
Fisher covered the 5,000-meter course in 15:03. Olin Hacker of Madison West High School in Wisconsin was second in 15:12. Fisher ran four seconds faster than his victory in 2013, and he used his wicked closing speed to gap the field.
The Stanford University commit broke the tape for the second time in as many years. Per MileSplit US:
The race attracts several of the quickest high school cross-country runners in the nation. Forty runners from four different regions completed the 5K. The West (31) edged the Midwest (37) in the team results.
Fisher claimed his second consecutive FLCCC Midwest Regional on Saturday, November 29, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His winning time of 15:00 was nine seconds faster than second-place Jesse Hersha of Concord, Michigan.
The 17-year-old Fisher talked about the regional’s course conditions and the value of having experience at Foot Locker, per Foot Locker Cross Country:
On Saturday, Fisher won his 29th straight high school cross-country race and described his racing strategy, per USA Today‘s Jim Halley: “The first half of the race, I wanted to stay near the front and really keep an eye on everybody in the race. I wanted to make sure I knew what they were doing. By the first loop, I had a gauge on what everyone else was doing. The second loop, I wanted to stay in a good position to strike.
Something that I have found to be a strength is going on the downhill and the flats. Last year, I wasn’t super prepared for the last hill, but my coach worked with me on that in my training and it definitely paid off today. I was able to get up the hill and by the time I got to the top, I had something left to change gears.”
The ability to change gears is just one of this champion’s numerous specialties. Fisher, a 4:02 miler, announced his decision to attend Stanford via Twitter on November 13:
The Cardinal finished runners-up to Colorado at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on November 22 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Fisher will aim to contribute as a point scorer for Stanford during the 2015 XC season.
Fisher completed an undefeated senior cross-country season on Saturday in San Diego. Earlier in the season on October 4, he posted a 5K cross-country PR of 14:43 at the Portage Invitational. He also claimed the MHSAA Division 1 state title on November 1 in 14:52.5, winning by nearly 27 seconds.
Fisher missed the 2012 MHSAA state finals—his sophomore year—due to soccer. His two-sport balance was difficult considering his talent on the soccer field and his tenacious attack on cross-country courses.
“Fisher was so good in soccer that in his sophomore year he skipped the cross-country state meet to play in the soccer state championship game for Grand Blanc,” wrote Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press:
“That was a tough conflict,” Fisher said, per McCabe. “I ended up choosing soccer. I don’t look back on that and regret the choice. At the time it was what I wanted to do, but it was tough.”
In 2013, Fisher ran at the state finals and won. And as you now know, he won Foot Locker last year, too. The Grand Blanc prodigy has chosen to focus solely on running, and we are pleased.
Judging by his historic senior cross-country season and the possibility of running a sub-4:00 mile as a prep runner, I’d say Fisher made the right decision.
Hooray Run 
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