Cornell Catches Eyes Of Port Charlotte's Tyler Fisher

Port Charlotte senior Tyler Fisher describes the recruiting process as scary. He had personal bests of 4:29 and 9:27 coming into the 2015 track season with two top twenty cross country finishes under his belt, but he still couldn't figure out why most schools weren't interested. His test scores and G.P.A. would eventually garner Ivy League schools and draw him to his final destination, Cornell University. He says the offer from the Big Red Bear came out of the blue.

"Cornell kind of just came out of nowhere with an offer which I was very excited about. The balance of athletics and academics is very important to me. I want to have a great college career, but Ill run as hard as I can no matter where I go to school."

After thrilling finishes at the USF/Steinbrenner Invitational and Florida Relays where he went 9:21.16 and 9:16.63, schools started to take notice. Major programs like UF, FSU, Texas A&M, and USF jumped in the mix to recruit Fisher, but for him he says the team prestige was less important that the academics.

He plans on studying bio-medical or bio-chemical engineering, a task that sounds difficult to the average person. Fisher isn't bothered whether it's in the classroom, the track, or cross country course, finishing each task with every ounce of effort he has. If you've never watched the senior race, it's evident when he crosses the line and collapses in pure exhaustion.

At the next level, he will train on a new team, with new coaches, and at new distances with the biggest transition being the amount of miles he logs. With the decision behind him Fisher says he can now focus on his final state series and the final track races of his high school career.

"This takes a large burden off my mind and will definitely let me focus more on what's to come in the next few weeks and months. As for the state series, you'll have to sit back and watch my plans hopefully unfold."

Fisher doesn't want to divulge the game plan and adds that after state he plans to hop into his college schedule , prepare for freshman cross country, and possibly run the 3200 at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. If one thing is for sure, he says we will be hearing more about Tyler Fisher in the future.

"Tyler Fisher is not going away and will continue fighting to be number one."

More Coverage