Only 4 seconds behind Daniel Simmons
Only 4 seconds behind Daniel Simmons
can you copy past the article on here. not going to pay until we get better content
This post was removed.
1. Look at future wnba draft picks / top female high school basketball players
2. His instagram bio has no pronouns and has the LDS (i.e. Mormon) link in it. Are you sure?
3. As post #2 states, can someone post the text?
Ben Jaster knew something was wrong during the outdoor track and field season last year.
The American Fork (UT) High School distance runner was lethargic no matter what he tried, so he went to a doctor. Jaster found out he had a low iron level.
From there, a solution was concocted. Jaster took supplements and improved his stamina over the summer, but he then had a digestive issue during the cross country season last fall. He didn't accomplish the individual goals he had set for himself.
Now fully healthy, the senior is proving he's among the best runners in the Class of 2024.
He finished third last month in the 5,000m at New Balance Nationals Indoor. Then, last weekend, he placed fifth in the 3,200m in a loaded field at the Arcadia Invitational.
College coaches are paying attention.
Jaster took an official visit to BYU recently. He expects to make more trips, too, as major programs are now starting to show significant interest in him.
"It's kind of just all of a sudden where I feel like I've been able to get some of these opportunities," Jaster said. "I just need to take a little bit (of time) before I make a final decision."
While Jaster has recently shattered his personal-best times, he is accustomed to training and competing alongside top runners. His father, Rick, ran at BYU in the 1990s and his brother, Nate, was a top recruit in the Class of 2022 who signed with BYU and then went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As a sophomore in 2021, Jaster was fifth on the team (23rd overall) at the Utah Class 6A state championships and second on the team (117th overall) at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships.
As a junior last year, he was fourth on the team (21st overall) at the state meet and third on the team (74th overall) at Nike Cross Nationals, where American Fork finished fifth. Jaster was eager for his junior track season, but he didn't perform as expected.
"I didn't feel like myself," he said. "I was super low energy all the time in school. It just felt like whatever I did, nothing got better."
Things began changing last summer when he visited a doctor. It was then that Jaster discovered his iron level was much lower than a normal, healthy teenager. He got back to his normal self a couple of months later, but then he began having trouble digesting food. That led to Jaster not consuming enough calories and poor sleeping habits.
In November, shortly after he finished 20th overall (fifth on the team) and helped American Fork win the state title, he began taking a fiber supplement. He was soon able to eat better and the digestive issue went away.
"I was like 'Oh, sweet, my problem is gone now, but why am I not running as fast as I want to?,'" Jaster said. "I wasn't just going to all of a sudden get to where I want to be as soon as my problem's gone. I still had to train at that high level and become accustomed to the paces in order to have the race I wanted to."
At NXN in December, Jaster was fifth on the team (70th overall) and helped American Fork finish second behind Herriman (UT) High School, one of its rival programs.
Following the meet, Jaster kept feeling better and was able to train at a level he hadn't in more than a year.
In mid-February, Jaster showed off his improved shape, placing second in the 3,200m at the Simplot Games in 8:59.68, which was more than 15 seconds faster than his previous personal-best.
"I would say Simplot was the first race where I felt confident in myself again in my ability to run fast," Jaster said.
Three weeks later, Jaster ran at New Balance Nationals Indoor for the first time and finished third in the 5,000m (14:19.95) behind teammate Daniel Simmons (13:38.86) and Paul Bergeron (14:14.57), two of the top recruits in the Class of 2024.
Simmons has signed with BYU, while Bergeron has signed with Stanford.
At Arcadia Invitational this month, Jaster continued his hot streak. He was part of American Fork's 4x1,600m relay, which clocked a blitzing 16:47.66, the No. 2 all-time mark. Jaster ran a 4:09 split.
The next day, he was fifth in the 3,200m (8:38.34) behind Simmons, Nathan Neil (a University of Washington signee), Drew Griffith (a Notre Dame signee) and Ryan Pajak (a Notre Dame signee).
Jaster's time was 37 seconds faster than he ran at last year's meet and 19 seconds faster than his personal-best, which he ran last month.
"I was just going in there saying, 'I'm just going to go race everybody in this field. I'm just gonna forget all the big names in this field because I feel like I can be up there with them,'" Jaster said.
Jaster credits American Fork coach Timo Mostert and his teammates for pushing him.
Besides Simmons, American Fork has two other seniors who have committed to major Division I programs in Noah Nielson (Notre Dame) and Chase Pack (Utah Valley). Ben Bradshaw is another senior who is uncommitted but will likely compete for a Division I college.
"They've been so supportive," Jaster said. "It's been so awesome to have them as teammates. I feel like they've known me for a while so they know that something was off for at least this past year. Now that I'm back in action, it's been nice to get my support from them."
Jaster hopes to continue running faster as the outdoor season progresses. He plans on taking more official visits to colleges this month, too.
"There are some schools that are definitely very talented," Jaster said. "I would love to compete, honestly, for any of them. It just depends on what school fits me best."