It’s every cross country coach’s dream to have a runner start out, and continue to get stronger and faster over their 4-year career. After Perkiomen Valley's Jimmy “Tarzan” Tarsnane” ran a very impressive 16:47 at the PIAA District I Championships at Lehigh U his freshman year, his future looked bright indeed.
As a sophomore, Jimmy posted a 16:27 at the Pioneer Athletic Conference Championships, finishing 4th, and only a week later put up a season best 15:54 at the District I Championships en route to his 1st appearance at the PIAA State Championships, where he ran a 16:21 on that very difficult Hershey course.
At the end of a hard 2007 campaign, “Tarzan” finished 2nd at PAC10s, only finishing behind conference rival Mark Dennin, a then senior at Boyertown Area HS. Jimmy’s 15:53 at the Daniel Boone Homestead helped the Viking Boys to their best team finish in seven years, tying for first with Boyertown 52-52, but settling for second place after the 6th-Runner tie-breaker. Tarsnane then posted a 15:38 PR at the District I Championships, finishing 9th on his way to Hershey yet again. But the big surprise was his 8th place finish at States, placing only behind competitors in their senior seasons.
Jimmy even did work on the track, finishing 9th at the PTFCA Indoor State Championships in the 3000m with a time of 8:54.59. He was then invited to run the race again, this time at the prestigious Penn Relays Carnival, where he ran 8:47.35 in front of the capacity crowd. Rounding out his Junior year on the track, “Tarzan” put up a pair of 9:15, 3200m races, finishing third at the District I Track and Field meet, and finishing 3rd at the PIAA Track and Field Championships.
With Boyertown’s Dennin out of the picture, Tarsnane will be the PAC10s premier distance runner, and arguable District I’s as well. He will look to lead his XC team to a conference championship. They came up together and have been running well for all four years, just waiting for their turn on top. Jimmy will also be shooting for his first individual conference title in Cross Country. Don’t be surprised if Jimmy crosses the line first at the District I meet. He’s been a monster on the Lehigh Course three years running, not to mention being the top returning finisher from last year’s State Championship.