In researching the well-traveled Connor Vaughan, of Wolfson High School in Jacksonville, I found it difficult to locate his times on the flrunners website, not because I could not find his name, but because I found his name too many times.
Vaughan has been enrolled in (and has run for) three different high schools; Paxon, Episcopal and Wolfson, all in Jacksonville.
He began his freshman year at Paxon School for Advanced Studies and in the way many high school running careers have started, he planned to run track only to stay in shape for soccer. However, by his sophomore year, Vaughan realized his true talent rested in running. By the end of his sophomore year he held a personal best time of 4:47.00 for 1,600 meters.
In 2013, after he moved to Episcopal High School of Jacksonville for his junior year, Vaughan decided to quit soccer completely and dedicate his time to running.
“I was tired of relying on other people for my own success,” he explained when I asked him why he quit. “Running is, in every sense of the word, something where you get out exactly what you put in.”
This mantra held true in his first cross country season. Vaughan was not as strong as he had hoped, running just 17:52.62 for the 5K. When I asked Connor what he did in preparation for cross country that year, he replied, “Nothing! I did summer football workouts, but had a zero-mileage summer before junior year.”
Despite this rough start, his third track season was a completely different story. Connor finished his season with personal records of 4:31.56 in the 1,600 and 9:53.26 in the 3,200. These performances were a true eye opener for Connor. “Knowing I could run around 4:30 with no real training prior definitely gave me some confidence.”
That boost of confidence was exactly the jumpstart he needed to begin his preparation for the 2014 cross country season. With plans to transfer to Wolfson for his senior year, he and his future teammate Mark Edwards put in a monumental summer of training, averaging 65 miles a week. Their workouts were mainly geared towards the upcoming track season, emphasizing speed and strength, since both excelled on the track. (Edwards won a 3200 district title last year.) “I wanted to focus on my speed a little bit (which might hurt me some in XC), but I’m especially focusing on track,” stated Vaughan.
Connor wasted no time in proving his abilities. In the first race of this season, at the University of North Florida, Vaughan (remember, 17:52.62 previous PR) ran a staggering time of 16:18.73! He placed second in the race behind Cash Tampa, recording a personal best 1 minute and 34 seconds faster than his previous best, an incredibly impressive feat at that pace. To prove that it was not a fluke, he ran 16:32 at Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny, placing 7th in the elite race the following weekend. When I asked Connor what changed from last year, he replied: “Sounds cliché, but I was tired of being average. I wanted to be a headline.”
Looking towards the rest of his senior year and beyond, Connor wants to run under 15:15 for cross country, sub-4:10 in the 1600, and break the 9 minute barrier for the 3200. He also plans to race at the Footlocker South Region Race, with aspirations to go to Nationals. Though unsure where he wants to attend college, he has big-time D1 aspirations.
I have known Connor for years. I played soccer with his younger brother Jake, and I can remember watching Connor run circles around the soccer fields at Losco Park in Jacksonville when I was 10 years old.
Had Connor told me these goals back then, or even last summer, I would have called him crazy. However, if he told me he would open up the year with a sub-16:20 performance, I would have said the same thing. Vaughan has proven that these goals are no longer out of reach for him and has made evident the fact that he is a force to be reckoned with.