He might be on the verge of becoming a star on the national track stage but Gary Martin still has some unfinished business to complete at the University of Virginia.
The Archbishop Wood High School graduate, who ran the second-fastest all-time collegiate mile at the Millrose Games earlier this year (his 3:48 a six-second PR), knows professional track is in his future.
But Martin gives the impression he wants to show loyalty to the Cavaliers knowing he has one more year of eligibility left on his docket.
So even though he ran a spectacular 3:32.03, good for sixth place in the 1,500 meters final at the USATF championships in Eugene, Oregon on Aug. 2, Martin remains determined to help UVA chase down a national championship, possibly in cross country.
Oh, and some more personal NCAA honors would be nice, too.
The Warminster native expresses his intentions with a matter-of-fact tone in his voice. After all, there’s plenty of time to chase a pro career through the upcoming years and a senior year in college comes along only once in a lifetime.
“I’m going to run one more year at Virginia and then I’m going to sign a pro contract,” he said in a telephone conversation. “I think the decision was pretty easy for me because we’re going to have a really good team in cross country. I believe we can compete for a podium spot at nationals.
“Hopefully I can compete for a national title individually. And I think in track I still have a ton to prove. I won a title with our distance medley relay team last winter but I haven’t won anything on my own yet. I think I have a lot of room for improvement there. Before I leave college, I would like to leave a little bit more of a stamp.”
As it turns out, Martin was just two seconds away from qualifying for the U.S. team headed to Tokyo, Japan for the World Championships next month.
Martin’s bid at Hayward Field went pretty much according to plan.
He made it through the qualifying rounds and then stayed in the hunt all the way to the last lap of the finals. He even finished just a fraction of a second behind Yared Nuguse, who had broken the U.S. indoor mile record at the aforementioned Millrose Games.
“I knew going in I was one of the younger guys in the field,” Martin said. “I was up against a bunch of guys who had faster PRs, have made Olympics, have medaled in the Olympics.
“I think my goal was just put myself in a good spot and let everyone else do the work. Tried to waste as little energy as possible. If I was still in it with 200 (meters) to go, give myself a chance to make the team. I think I did that. Didn’t have the legs to make the team but I was still pretty happy with sixth. Big progress from prior years.”
Millrose was a breakthrough race for Martin and the USATF performance was more of a validation of that earlier effort.
“I had run competitive times but I really hadn’t backed those up,” he explained. “I think I showed here I can do it in big races.”
The biggest buzz at the Oregon meet was the crazy good finishes of 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus, who stunned the track world with a second-place finish in the 800-meter final. His 1:42.27 was a three-second PR and was only bettered by reigning Olympic champ Cole Hauser.
Funny thing is, Martin was sort of in the same shoes when he was a 16-year-old competing back in Bucks County. Toward the end of his run with the Vikings, he became the first Pennsylvania high school runner to run a sub-four-minute mile in 2022.
Needless to say, with performances like those of Lutkenhaus and Martin, there comes a lot of attention and pressure.
The two actually had a chance to chat and that was one of the topics of conversation.
“He’s definitely three or four steps ahead of where I was in high school,” Martin said with a laugh. “I was there watching that live and I think that’s the greatest track and field performance I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Now that’s saying something coming from a talented runner like Martin.
“He has once-in-50-years type talent, just based on that performance,” Martin said. “Obviously there’s going to be a lot of pressure on him now but it seems like he’s a really good guy, has a good head on his shoulders.
“I just think he’s going to be really fun to watch. We really haven’t seen a 16-year-old be a world-class athlete like this, especially in distance probably ever. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around. There’s going to be pressure but hopefully he has good people around him.”
Martin’s advice to Lutkenhaus would be rather simple: Just be yourself.
“The biggest thing for me has been progressing at my own rate,” Martin said. “Don’t let any outside people get to you. He just ran 1:42, he’s going to have a lot of pressure on him now.
“Even if you’re not progressing in the future as people think you will. . .don’t panic, don’t let it get to you. Just know that if you keep doing what works for you, just trust yourself, ultimately, if you stay the course, you’re going to get better.”
That line of thinking has worked for Martin so far. There’s nothing written anywhere around here to suggest it won’t continue to be a successful plan in the future.
>Race schedule
Sunday
Ivyland 5K, 8:30 a.m, Ivyland. Contact www.ivyland5k.org
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