Virginia currently has a "Big Three" in distance running on the boys' side. You have Cole Boone (Pulaski), Tristan Yoder (Broadway), and Trent Daniels (Gainesville). We think there should now be a fourth name on that list, Tommy Rae.
There is one thing connecting all of these guys and it is the number of titles they have. Cole has won two state titles this year but he gets some leeway considering one of them was a national record by two full seconds (2:20 in the 1K). Tristan, Trent, and Tommy though all have four titles on the year and out of all of them, Tommy was closest to just getting number five.
Tommy's rise has been fun to watch. Just last year (so fall of 2023) Tommy finished 46th at the state cross country meet. He would then go on to finish 3rd in the 1K indoors and win the state title in the 800 last outdoor season.
This year though was quite different. This time around at the XC state meet he did something special, as he put it - "I don't know, I just sent it". That's exactly what he did to shock the entire state and win the Class 5 XC title coming up the big hill and making his big move.
This indoor season he followed it up with wins in the 1K (2:27) and 1600 (4:17). Though states is all about wins, those times were something to be impressed with too.
Then came this weekend where Tommy struck again winning the Class 5 1600m title in 4:18 with a big move the second half of the race. He followed it up with a gutsy 800m run where he ultimately finished 3rd in 1:55.75.
Now after reading all of that, hopefully we have you convinced and excited for next year when Cole, Trent, and Tommy all return.
The interesting thing about them returning is what we don't know yet about Tommy. It is abundantly clear that Cole is a 800-Mile guy while Trent is likely a 3K guy. Tommy though remains a mystery.
If you go back to earlier in his career he clearly seemed like a true 800m runner who just did XC for conditioning. He literally still to this day has more 400m performances in MileSplit than 1600m and let's remind you he's won two 1600m state titles too.
Before you ask though, his PR in the 400 is 50.97.
Though he does have a lot of foot speed, we think that doesn't define what will ultimately be his event. We could make an argument that his performance at XC states being so strong later in the race says he's actually a pure 5K runner or that he's right in the middle at 3K or even shorter at the Mile.
Whatever his event may become, it will be exciting seeing him tackle it or as he likes to put it... just send it.
