Tuesday March 19th, 2024 1:52AM

High school season over, Branch grad Shewbert still eyeing big things in coming weeks

FLOWERY BRANCH — Jake Shewbert was just a few hundred meters from the finish line, a second state championship in as many days hanging in the balance, when the pain ripped through his body.

"All of a sudden it felt like I had pulled a muscle in my back; and I was like, 'I'm going to have to drop out,' " Shewbert said. "It really hurt."

It all happened within a split second -- but it was still enough time to allow Shewbert's iron will to engage and overpower the pain.

"I looked at the guy in front of me, and I had wanted to beat him since I was a freshman, and that just reset my mind," said Shewbert, who over the last lap-and-a-half (of eight) exploded past the opponent en route to a 3,200 meter gold medal and a banner weekend at the Georgia Olympics in Jefferson. The performance proved a perfect encapsulation of the then-Flowery Branch senior (he graduated just days ago): the skill to run with anyone, mixed with the desire and determination to make the most of that ability.

"He has a rare combination of ability, work ethic and coachability," Flowery Branch track and cross country coach Jimmy Sorrells said of Shewbert. "When you get something like that as a coach your eyes light up. And make no mistake; his talent was there and recognizable early on. But it was his work ethic and coachability that enabled him to have one of the greatest seasons I've ever seen."

Shewbert not only won Class AAAAA titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters he did so while nailing the lowest times across all classifications (4:11.64 and 9:02.94) and earning the Bryan Morris award, given to the most valuable performer at the meet, regardless of event or classification. 

It was a fitting end to a high school career that blossomed from a strong junior year into one of the all-time campaigns during Shewbert's senior season -- he also won the Class AAAAA cross country meet in November -- and pointed the way to bigger things in the future after he signed to run for United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. 

"I had the fortune to run in college, and he's almost as fast as a senior in high school as I was in college," Sorrells said. "His running days are far from over."

As if to ram that statement home Shewbert continued his blistering pace just a week after the state meet, running his way into Georgia history at the annual Meet of Champions, which pitted the best runners from across classifications against each other. Smashing through the nine-minute barrier in the 3,200, Shewbert stormed to the seventh-best time for a high school-aged athlete in Georgia history by posting a 8:58.78.

It was a performance that Shewbert celebrated -- for all of about a minute.

"It was like, 'I broke nine; that's awesome,' but I could have gone faster," Shewbert said. "I had a friend giving me splits afterward, and I saw I slowed down on some of them, and I wasn't that exhausted afterward."

That increased speed and ability to absorb pain -- a must for all stellar distance runners -- was the culmination of a winter/spring spent in near-singular focus.

"Coming into it (my senior track campaign) I thought, 'Well, cross country season was pretty good; let's make the most of track,' " Shewbert said. "So I got rid of all the distractions and just focused on running."

Not that Shewbert, who first raced as a seventh grader, became a sort of running hermit. 

"I still have to step away and just have fun every now and then," he said. "It's just about finding the right time."

Nor did it destroy his grades. Shewbert -- who plans to major in physics and minor in economics -- had to decide between running for Georgia and Georgia Tech and appointments to both Navy and the United States Military Academy in West Point. Yet it is a step that few high school-aged athletes are willing to take and one that some aren't even aware exists.

"I talk about this with all the athletes in the program, but a lot of kids don't grasp it -- you have to learn how to manage your time and do everything you can to maximize your potential. He did that," Sorrells said. "And that allowed him and I to really perfect his workouts -- because he was so focused he could communicate everything to me, and we just had an understanding that's rare at this level. I was able to do that with (Flowery Branch and University of South Carolina standout) Ericka Rucker; and I'm trying it with several others."

That did not make running a breeze -- "It's always hard; you just get faster," Shewbert chuckled -- but it did help him learn how to run a more tactical race and how to block out pain and focus elsewhere, as he displayed in the Class AAAAA 1,600 finals.

"I was out front, but there was a kid right on my back, and I kind of got scared for a moment -- but I could see his shadow and that got me focused," said Shewbert, who responded by running away for the gold medal -- second place was almost seven seconds slower.

This weekend, Shewbert hopes to show that focus to the rest of the southeast, as he heads to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Golden South Classic -- where another gold medal would net him an invitation to an even more prestigious event, the Brooks PR Invitational on June 18 in Shoreline, Wash.

"I'm hoping to go even lower this weekend," Shewbert said. 

It is a mantra you can expect to hear a lot from the Navy man over the next few years. 

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