5:01.99. Before the year 2007, only 9 girls had ever run that fast for 1600m in the history of the state. Since 2007, an astounding fifteen girls have gone under 5:02, and six did it this year (plus a seventh right at 5:02). Amid the huge upswing in girls' running talent in North Carolina, it would be easy to lose sight of some of the individual talents; it's kind of like not being able to see the trees for the forest. Every fan of our sport should be able to recognize the names of the top girls runners, so here is the top 7 from last year's 4A 1600 race: Sammy George, Margaret Leak, Brooke Gordon, Darby Middlebrook, Kaitlin Kramer...and then come Esther Fisher and Madelin Talbert. How many of you realized those two were in such elite company? An interview with Madelin is upcoming, but today take a look at Esther.
Esther Fisher runs for J. H. Rose High School in Greenville, and her rise into the elite ranks over the past year has been meteoric. Her 2010 PR for the 1600 was 5:23.52! She exploded out of anonymity with a 5:07 at the 4A East Regional last year, and then hung with the big dogs at the 4A state meet the next week. In cross country, she has gone from 19:35 her sophomore year, to 19:01 last fall, and now to 18:51 at the Jungle Run this year. Don't think for a moment that she's hit her peak, either; if you look at Esther's best times you see they happened at regionals and states almost every year: this girl is a big-meet performer. That's the sort of thing that really makes you look forward to the end of this season, as well as spring track!
Esther sat down for an interview after a long night at the Jungle Run (we taped this at about 11:30). She was engaging and well-spoken as she talked about the past, present, and future of her running career.
Esther Fisher's Athlete Profile