PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rheinhardt Harrison is quick and gets clicks.
The All-News4Jax boys track and field athlete of the year is very fast, chasing record times and collecting state championships at a rapid pace. This year, he added three more titles, one in cross country and two more in track, winning the 1600- and 3200-meter races in the Class 4A state meet. Harrison also won the state’s Mr. Track honor last month.
As the running accolades pile up, so does interest in Harrison’s social media channels.
Harrison thought that a good way to engage with other runners would be to begin opening himself up to a wider audience on YouTube. Four and a half months ago, Harrison posted his first video on his YouTube channel.
Views and followers mounted.
Today, Harrison has more than 7,500 followers on YouTube. His videos have been played more than 320,000 times. Add that to an Instagram count of 8,548 followers and Harrison is more advanced in the social media world than most.
And it comes at a transitional time in the world of amateur athletes taking control of their personal brands.
As name, image and likeness laws for college athletes around the country became effective July 1, Harrison is in a unique position as his running career continues to warrant significant attention both near and far.
“Really just across the country, I know there’s people, not even like only high schoolers watch it. I’d say there’s a good amount of college guys, even adults watch it. I’ve seen that. So, my age [of viewer] is kind of all over the place,” Harrison said. “So, as long as I’m making videos and people like it, I’ll keep making them.”
He’s still got another year left in high school, so monetization isn’t an option now. But that could eventually become a perk for Harrison — and other high profile amateur athletes — when he becomes a college athlete. But future earnings aren’t why Harrison opted to put himself out there.
There’s a stigma that runners aren’t engaging and prefer to keep to themselves. Harrison wanted to try change that perception by giving fellow runners and even casual fans a glimpse into what makes him the competitor that he is.
“To be honest, I just wanted to start a community. Just runners that could watch my videos, I wanted to make it interesting, show that good runners out there don’t even take the sport that seriously, you don’t need to live and breathe it, just do it for fun.”
Harrison is an elite runner and he’s been doing it as long as he can remember. His father, Dennis Harrison, said Rheinhardt has been a natural in the sport.
“We used to take him in the baby jogger a lot. We took him out to the Sallie Mae 5K, I think it was, near the Potomac River in DC,” he said.
“And my wife and I ran that and then they had a 1K fun run. And so, he got out of the baby stroller and said, ‘can I run?’ He was, I think, three at the time. And he finished the whole thing and just kept running from then.”
Harrison was national news as a 10-year-old when he set the world record in the 10-mile in 1:11.24. He was awaiting certification on the fastest half marathon, too, clocking a 1:35.02, although that was later eclipsed, according to the Washington Post.
And he wasn’t done yet.
Last fall, Harrison ran the mile in 4:01.34 in the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville to set a national record for the fastest mile by a 16-year-old. On the high school circuit, he followed with his second consecutive state championship in cross country. This spring, he set the state record in the 3200 with an 8:47.43 at the Bolles Last Chance Meet. Harrison won the 1600 and 3200 every time out this season.
As for his summer plans, more running.
“I’m just going to have a big training block. So I’m going to go up to Flagstaff … all the way through July in Flagstaff, Arizona. And then I’m going to try to get in a mile race in August, hopefully run a fast time there.”
First team
Event, Athlete, School, Class, Notable
100: Aaron Bell, Parker, Sr.: Class 3A state champ in a PR of 10.34. Elite national sprinter has signed with Houston.
200: Aaron Bell, Parker, Sr.: Class 3A state champ with a PR of 20.71.
400: Kenton Kirkland, Raines, Jr.: Swept district and region meets and turned in a PR of 48.79 to finish third in Class 2A state meet.
800: James Vega, Nease, Sr.: Turned in season-best 1:57.11 to win district.
1600: Rheinhardt Harrison, Nease, Jr.: All-News4Jax track athlete of the year. Class 4A state champ in season-low time of 4:08.14. Elite national distance runner.
3200: Rheinhardt Harrison, Nease, Jr.: Class 4A state champ. Won all four meets that he competed in this season. Turned in a state-record of 8:47.43 in the Bolles Last Chance Meet.
110 hurdles: Desmyn McCall, Parker, Sr.: Conference, district and region champ. PR of 14.03 came in Florida International meet. Fourth at Class 3A state meet.
300 hurdles: Cyrus Ways, Nease, Jr.: PR of 37.47 came during winning region meet. Won every meet this season except third-place finish at Class 4A state meet.
High jump: Cameron Mackenzie, Fleming Island, Jr.: PR of 6 feet, 5.5 inches came in region runner-up finish. Eighth at state. Also won Bob Hayes, Clay County and St. Johns River Conference titles.
Long jump: Noah Straley, Bishop Kenny, Jr.: State runner-up with a PR of 22 feet, 10.8 inches. District and region champ.
Triple jump: Adontae Balfour, Bradford, Sr.: Had a PR of 47 feet, 2 inches in winning region meet. Won five of his six meets this year. Took fourth in Class 2A state meet.
Pole vault: Samuel Martins, Bartram Trail, Jr.: PR of 14 feet, 11 inches came in winning conference meet. District champ and sixth at state.
Shot put: George Duffy, Bolles, Sr.: PR of 53 feet, 3.75 inches came in Class 2A state runner-up finish. District champ and third in region.
Javelin: August Beckler, Creekside, Sr.: Region champ with PR of 178 feet, 1 inch. Finished fifth in Class 4A state meet.
Discus: Nathan Lebowitz, Ponte Vedra, So.: Region runner-up with a PR of 152 feet, 6 inches. Finished 11th in Class 3A state meet.
400 relay: Jackson: Class 2A state champs with a blistering 41.55.
1600 relay: Raines: Ran a 3:17.60 to win Class 2A state meet.
3200 relay: Nease: Took fifth place in Class 4A state meet with a 7:58.23.
Second team
Event, Athlete, School, Class, Notable
100: Domictress Robinson, Ribault, Sr.: Ran PR of 10.43 to win region meet. Class 2A state runner-up.
200: Domictress Robinson, Ribault, Sr.: District and region champ with a season-best of 21.06 at region. Class 2A state runner-up.
400: Noah Straley, Bishop Kenny, Jr.: Ran a PR of 49.18 for district runner-up spot. Took seventh in Class 2A state meet. Had four meets with times in the 49s.
800: William Brady, Bolles, Jr.: Turned in a PR of 1:58 to finish fourth in the Class 2A state meet. District and region champ.
1600: Bradley Ball, Nease, Sr.: PR came in Class 4A state final (4:13.76) and third-place finish. District and region runner-up. Florida State signee.
3200: Bradley Ball, Nease, Sr.: PR came in runner-up finish at Bolles Last Chance Meet (8:56.96). State runner-up in Class 4A meet.
110 hurdles: Cyrus Ways, Nease, Jr.: PR of 14.24 came in region runner-up finish. Conference and district champ. Class 4A state runner-up.
300 hurdles: Desmyn McCall, Parker, Sr.: PR of 37.66 came in winning region meet. Won every meet this season except for third-place finish at state.
High jump: Dequan Stanley, St. Augustine, Sr.: PR of 6 feet, 6 inches came in winning district meet. Third at region and sixth in Class 3A state meet.
Long jump: Markez Sermons, Orange Park, Sr.: Went 23 feet, 7.5 inches as a PR in the conference finals. Took eighth in Class 3A state meet.
Triple jump: Reshawn Latimer, Raines, Jr.: PR of 45 feet, 3 inches came in the Ancient City Invitational. Added a 13.72 as region runner-up. Eighth in Class 2A state.
Pole vault: Jonah Casey, Providence, Jr.: PR of 14 feet, 1 inch came in winning Bolles Last Chance Meet. District champ and runner-up in region and Class 1A state meet.
Shot put: Logan Wylie, Bartram Trail, Jr.: PR of 50 feet, 10 inches came in seventh-place finish at Class 4A state meet.
Javelin: Ryan Anderson, Bolles, Jr.: District champ with PR of 160 feet, 10 inches. Finished sixth in Class 2A state meet.
Discus: Rashaad Hall, Raines, Jr.: Region champ with PR of 150 feet, 2 inches. Sixth at Class 2A state and district champ.
400 relay: Orange Park: Third place at region with a 42.0 time.
1600 relay: Flagler Palm Coast: Ran a 3:21.58 to finish region runner-up.
3200 relay: Fleming Island: Ran a 7:59.64 to finish seventh in Class 4A state meet.