Julius Diehr '15 Recruiting Profile

I started playing tennis, basketball, and Little League baseball in lower school.  I played baseball, basketball, recreational tennis, and flag football in middle school.  I was both an accomplished pitcher and first baseman in Little League and on the Middle School baseball team, and during my Freshman and Sophomore years in High School. In Middle School I was both a quarterback and receiver, and returned kickoffs and punts in Flag Football.  

I decided not to play tackle football in my Freshman year in High School, but instead decided to give Cross Country a try. I started competing in the occasional road race (1 mile to 5K) as a very young boy, but was never encouraged to, or did I, train or participate in any running clubs or clinics until my High School Freshman XC season.

I very much enjoyed XC from the beginning, mainly enjoying being around the other runners, who were both friendly and encouraging. By the end of my first XC season, I had worked my way through the ranks of the Junior Varsity team to being its top runner and to being an alternate for the Boys Varsity Team at CIF Section Finals and the State Championships.

I have been fortunate and have managed to run injury free so far through High School.  I am still improving dramatically each season in both XC and distance track events. During both my Freshman and Sophomore years in High School, I continued to play four sports (XC in the Fall, Basketball in the Winter, and Baseball and Track in the Spring).  Not until my Junior year was the decision made to stop playing basketball and baseball, and focus on distance running.

I was a member of La Jolla Country Day's first ever top 3 finishes at the CIF State XC Championships (2012 & 2013) and have set school and course records in all the Coastal Conference and Coastal League XC races this past season (2014). During the 2014 Track season last spring, I broke the long standing (32 years) 3200m school record.  I expect to break both the 1600m and my 3200m school records this coming Spring. 

I am determined to continue to run XC and track at a high level in College. "His best is post high school" according to Kevin Mccarey (http://www.sdcausa.com/mccarey_massage/index.htm), an accomplished runner, and well-known and respected running coach here in San Diego with whom I train during the off-season.

I consider myself well rounded, intelligent, friendly, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to become the best runner I can.  I am comfortable knowing what it will take to run and compete at the next level.  I am also determined to run under 9:00 for 3200m this coming spring.  My believe high school best is yet to come in Spring 2015!

Notes:

Official Track Stats for Julius are published at: http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=3555795