Toler Freyaldenhoven started the school year wanting to break a record in the 1,600 meters. He wound up with a nice bonus.
Freyaldenhoven finished his time at Conway High School as the school's record-holder in both the 1,600 and 3,200 events. He also earned the title of state champion by winning the 1,600 at the Meet of Champs.
Freyaldenhoven had turned into a competitive middle distance runner during his sophomore and junior seasons, but a hamstring injury slowed him down and forced him to attempt events where speed was not as big of a factor. He started his senior season knowing a school record in the 1,600 was within reach.
Instead, he broke the school's 3,200 record first.
"I ran a good 3,200, which was very unexpected because I had not run that event in a couple of years," Freyaldenhoven said.
A few weeks later, Freyaldenhoven added the 1,600 record.
"My best was 4:28 before this year and my first goal was to get under 4:20," Freyaldenhoven said. "Once I got it under 4:20, I wanted to get it as low as I could."
His eventually lowered his best time to 4 minutes, 15.7 seconds.
Freyaldenhoven's work in the classroom was even more impressive than his running. He plans to major in either physics or biology at Rhodes College in Memphis.
"I've always enjoyed science classes," Freyaldenhoven said. "It's what I'm best at. ... I'm very proud of my ACT score and my GPA. I know it's not as exciting as running, but it's a lot of hard work."
Freyaldenhoven will run both cross country and track at Rhodes.
"I talked to a couple of other schools, but once I visited Rhodes, every other school went down on my list. I knew it was the place I wanted to be," Freyaldenhoven said.
-- Tim Cooper
Sports on 07/24/2016