Ethan Geiger Matures Into A State Contender In Florida

By Todd Grasley for DyeStat (Kaitlyn Patterson Photo)

Ethan Geiger was looking for a breakout performance in his high school running career and the moment finally came last spring.

The Robinson High distance standout from Tampa finished third at the FSU Relays with a 3,200-meter personal best of 9:13.46. Six weeks later at the University of North Florida, Geiger surprised himself, winning a state championship at that same distance, the first title of his career.

 “I am very happy that I managed to get away with the win at the state meet and it definitely wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the great training that my coaches provide for me,” he said. “That season had not only given me the confidence, but had given me the knowledge of what I’m truly capable of. It taught me my true abilities and the kind of potential that I have as a runner.”

This fall has been vastly different for Geiger, now a senior.

As a junior, his focus was generally on a time goal and trying to lower his 5,000-meter PR at every meet. He admits he still does that to an extent, but he has learned from track that aiming for a PR isn’t always the right move.

“To me, it’s just as important to give 100 percent effort for each of the races that matter the most,” he explained. “Going into this year, I came in with a champion-style mindset and was dialed into each of my goals.”

When Geiger started taking the sport seriously as a freshman he was averaging 17 minutes for 5K. He’s seen those times drop to the 16:30s as a sophomore, right around 16-flat as a junior, and now has seven performances under 16 minutes this season, including a personal best of 15:15.83 and a course record of 15:39.76 on one of Florida’s most difficult courses, Holloway Park.

 “That was a huge eye-opener for me because Holloway is by far one of the most popular courses and so many schools have run there,” he said. “It’s surreal to know that I managed to set a new course record out of everyone who had ever raced there.”

Two weeks later, Geiger headed north from Tampa to Tallahassee for the FSU Invitational (Pre-State) for a taste of what was to come at the state finals on November 9. The fact that he didn’t have the best preparation due to stressful week of schoolwork and still came away with a victory and the second-fastest time of his career (15:22.30) was encouraging.

“Knowing that I could do something big like that on a down day tells me that I can hopefully do bigger things during the postseason,” he said.

Geiger hopes to be sharp at this weekend's state meet. 

“I’ve just been doing a few repeats at race pace or faster,” he said. “I have been feeling good during my workouts.”

Geiger said he hopes to improve on his sixth-place finish at last year's state meet.

“My main goal for the state meet is to win an individual state title and to help my team get on the podium this year,” he said. “The team has been doing very well this season and we’ve all been training very hard for races that are important like these. Postseason, I plan to go to Foot Locker (South) and hope to qualify for Nationals.”