On April 15, sophomore Tommy Wheeler broke a 26-year-old school record by running a 1:59.29 in the 800-meter.

Wheeler felt relieved when he broke the record.

“It felt great,” he said. “Two years of hard work finally paid off, and it just felt amazing.”

Track coach Rachael Edwards believes Wheeler has an extra gear that makes him better.

“Anybody can run, but Tommy has a sixth gear he can go into — his body and his mind — and just level up,” Edwards said.

Wheeler trains all year round to stay in good conditioning.

“Six days a week, two to three hours a day and always running, no matter if there’s practice or not, in or out of season,” Wheeler said.

Edwards knew Wheeler could break the record due to all the work he has put in over the years.

“The county meet, I told Tommy, ‘This is it, you’re going to do it today — break the school record,’” she said. “You’ve done all the hard workouts over the year and spring break, and he’s been looking forward to that since he started track.”

Edwards said Wheeler has enormous potential.

“Breaking two minutes in the 800-meter is a huge goal for any boy running track, and one of the next goals for Tommy is to see where we can get him on the podium, as he is the second-ranked 800-meter runner in the 3A classification,” Edwards said.

Wheeler has his mind set on breaking the state record and becoming a state champion.

Edwards knows Wheeler can do anything.

“The next step for Tommy could be he could run in college or be a state champion in track or cross country,” she said. “No matter what, he just has to want it.”