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"I kind of found that I wasn't, like, that great at volleyball,” Neer said, “Or my hand-eye coordination wasn't the best. But running was something that I was decent at."
"Decent" simply does not do Waverly Neer justice. So far this season, she's set a new national record in the 5,000 meters, finished third at the prestigious Penn Relays in the 3,000 meters, and broke the 1,600 meter record at the Goshen Relays, a record previously held by Olympian Amy Yoder.
"This was more of a workout day, running four events,” her coach, Michael Chastain, said at the time.
That's right. She broke an Olympian's record on a workout day.
"She's always been like an idol of mine,” Neer said. “So to break a record that she set is huge."
And she seems to be getting better with every race.
"She has elevated significantly,” Chastain said. “Cross country, we started to see a little bit more in the postseason meets, and now we've seen another level."
Neer is on another level all to herself. She's broken a state record, or come close to it, every time she's run a race this season.
"I don't think it ever loses appeal," she said.
State records must be set at the state meet to be official. But as long as she stays healthy, it's not a matter of if she'll do it, but rather, by how much.
"That's what propels me in my training,” Neer said. “I want to see if I can get those records and I want to see how much I can get them by. And to have that in mind every day when I go to practice, having that as my goal, it's something that keeps me coming back to running, and makes me hungry, and makes me want more for it."
And she appears more than capable of whatever she wants.