University Junior On A Path To 'Best Ever' Status In West Virginia

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

West Virginia distance running standout Larry Josh Edwards brings an old-school mentality to his training and racing. The rising senior from University High in Morgantown has a reserved but focused approach to the sport, cultivated away from the spotlight and committed to the purity of the sport.  

“He doesn't promote himself or bang his own drum,” University coach Ed Frohnapfel, a former 2:36 marathon and longtime road racer, said. “He kind of focuses on things and sees what happens, which is probably what back in my day, I would have done.”

One foot in front of the other, Edwards is confident in the work he's putting in. He’ll bring that approach and his US#8 3,200 time of 8:49.04 to this Friday’s Brooks PR Invitational boys 2-mile, where he’ll toe the line against some of the country’s best distance runners. Edwards knows the opportunity is special, but he’s not making the race a bigger deal than it needs to be. 

“When he got invited, he was really pumped up about it, but since then we really haven’t talked too much about it, just went about training,” Frohnapfel said. 

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Edwards, a former soccer player, started running in middle school finding success early on. He grew up with the influence of his older brother, Nathaniel, who runs for UNC-Asheville, and has been able to pick up on the little things on what it takes to be an elite runner. 

“Having my brother there as an influence or guide definitely made it a lot easier as opposed to going in blind and figuring it out,” Edwards said. “Having him there, showing me what to do, and of course having your own identity have helped.” 

Since making a big jump freshman year, Edwards has experienced a steady progression each season in the mile and 2-mile, making 6-10 second improvements, something he said he’s been perfectly content with. As a freshman he finished third in the West Virginia state meet 3,200 (9:22.50). In early February of 2020 before the pandemic hit, he ran a personal best indoor time of 8:56.41 at the Spire Scholastic Showcase Meet.

“He’s definitely genetically blessed, but he works really hard,” Frohnapfel said. “He just trains hard pretty much year round.”

Frohnapfel said the pandemic and lack of races didn’t set Edwards back as a runner, he just carried on with his business, something he credits in part to Edwards’ approach toward the sport. 

“When I'm actually doing stuff and working out I definitely take it seriously,” Edwards said. “It’s kind of stupid if you’re going to do it you know for two hours a day and not take it seriously, but I have fun with it, and we (our team) enjoy it while we run.”

While he prefers the track over the trails, Edwards' junior year started with a dominating cross country season where he guided his team to a AAA state title, winning the 5,000-meter race in 15:25.48, 50 seconds ahead of the next finisher. 

This spring, with a focus on the long-standing state 3,200 record, Edwards assembled one of the best overall prep seasons in the country. He ran PRs in the 800 (1:55.14), 1,600 (4:05.59) and on May 28 at the Mountaineer Showcase, broke the all-time state record that had stood since 1989 when he clocked a personal-best time of 8:49.04. The next fastest competitor came through the line in 9:24.02. 

“I was looking forward to that state record that had been there since the late 80s,” Edwards said. “It’s one of those things, I've said this before, there’s a difference between the best every four years, and then trying to be the best of all-time, and that's what i'm trying to do here in West Virginia, be good and honest and the best of all time.”

Edwards concluded the regular season with an historic Class AAA state meet, winning the 1,600 (4:12.02), running on the winning and state-leading 4x800 relay (8:00.18) and set a meet record in the 3,200 of 8:52.82, surpassing the 2012 record held by Cabell Midland’s Jacob Burcham. 

Frohnapfel said he saw these times coming from Edwards, who will have a chance to lower the overall state record this Friday. And whether he wants it or not, the spotlight could find him in Seattle. 

“It’s one of those things where it’s cool if people recognize what I’m doing, but at the same time it’s like I really don't need other people's validation to know what I'm doing is right, and I’m happy about it,” Edwards said.