Runner David Ahlmeyer picking up steam under new Beech track coach Scott Wietecha

While David Ahlmeyer has already shown he can run with most anyone in the state of Tennessee, Beech head track coach Scott Wietecha sees even more unlocked potential in his star junior. That's why he's playing the long game with Ahlmeyer's training.

A slow build in mileage, gradual increases in strenuous workouts, plenty of time still running alongside his teammates.

"He's running really, really well, one of the top guys in the state, but I've been holding him back a little bit," Wietecha explained.

It's the most effective way to ensure Ahlmeyer reaches his ceiling, which the Buc is proving is quite high. Ahlmeyer's long-limbed and lanky build has already carried him to major success on cross country courses in the fall, and the improvements have followed him into this spring's track and field season. Ahlmeyer, who was third at 2017's TSSAA Division I Large School state meet, swept the distance races at the Sumner County Championships earlier this month, winning with room to spare in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters.

Even more recently at a meet in Louisville, Ahlmeyer clocked the eighth-best 3,200 time in the nation among juniors. His 9:03.90 is the fastest ever by a Sumner County runner, according to Wietecha.

Ahlmeyer credits working with Wietecha for his recent strides. The first-year Beech head coach tutored Ahlmeyer privately a year before signing on to lead the Bucs last year. His impact can be found in both Ahlmeyer's physical performances and his mental approach.

"As you get in better shape, you also get better mentally because your confidence grows," Ahlmeyer said. "You get up to the line and you look at the guys next to you and think, 'Have these guys been training the way I have? Do they have the kind of coach that I have?'

"More often than not the answer is no."

Wietecha said he's seen Ahlmeyer beginning to merge the mental and physical aspects of the sport with great skill, but it's not all Wietecha's influence. His pupil brings plenty of raw talent to the equation as well. Ahlmeyer is built for distance racing, Wietecha said.

"He's all gas tank. He has a little bit of foot speed that we've been working on, but where he thrives is the endurance stuff," the coach said.

Part of Ahlmeyer's progression this year has been finding ways to translate that endurance to shorter races. It's helped him drop considerable time in races, and he said he's trimmed 27 seconds from his personal-record mile time in just the past four months down to 4:29. He also ran a PR 2:02.50 in the 800 at the Sumner County Meet in Hendersonville in April.

"There's really a mental switch you need to flip," Ahlmeyer said. "In cross country and the 5K, you can get out and kind of relax a bit. On the track in a race like the 800, you have to be all-out the whole time. You can't let up or you're already behind."

The next step is riding that into postseason prosperity and his first state track berth later this spring.