They talked in the dining hall at Shippensburg University in May. One season was over for Cooper Hollinger. His final high school season was still ahead.
Hollinger had big dreams. Matt Bomberger, Warwick’s distance coach, was listening. To get those dreams, Bomberger told his top runner, he needed to become “obsessively consistent.”
Those words sent Hollinger into his offseason training.
“He totally took to that all summer,” Bomberger said. “He came out for cross country and was a whole new runner. It’s really fun to see his hard work pay off.”
Hollinger finished in 4:20.17 and took first place in the mile at the Lancaster-Lebanon League PAL Indoor Track and Field Championships at Alvernia University Sunday.
Warwick’s senior is the best distance runner to receive little attention. He has been stuck in the shadow of Lampeter-Strasburg great Colin Whitaker, now at Notre Dame, and Manheim Township seniors Adam Kingston and Cole Stevens.
Hollinger posted a PR of 4:18.85 while placing sixth in the L-L 1,600 during the outdoor season. He qualified for the PIAA championships despite finishing 10th in District Three Class 3A.
That’s the thing about distance running today. There has never been more competition to overcome.
Whitaker and Kingston spent last spring trading the league record in the 3,200. Six L-L runners broke 4:20 with three under 4:15 in the 1,600. Times that used to win the state championship sometimes aren’t fast enough to medal now.
Hollinger knows all about the challenging landscape. It’s why he’s grinding through the indoor schedule. He’s hoping to gain ground on Kingston and Stevens, who are swimmers this time of year. Every race, Hollinger hopes, will make him a little better.
“I don’t think I could go a whole season without competing,” Hollinger said. “It’d be boring just training. It could cause a blockage if I don’t compete and I’m not seeing progress through races.”
Hollinger’s rise has been fast and unexpected. Even to him. The senior ran 5:05 in the 1,600 as a freshman and 4:35 as a sophomore. To go from there to 4:18 in two years is unusual.
As Hollinger’s times kept getting lower, his motivation kept growing stronger. He realized he wasn’t stuck in the pack. He could challenge the runners who were leading it.
"I can hang with them,” Hollinger said to himself. “I’m actually meant to be here now. It was definitely a good feeling.”
What’s ahead is the most difficult climb of them all. Hollinger wants to break 4:10 in the 1,600 and 9:10 in the 3,200. Those times would place him alongside some of the L-L’s all-time greats.
When Hollinger returned to competition in August, three months after his talk with Bomberger, he was better than ever.
The senior placed third at the Warrior Twilight Tune-up, a 3,000-meter race that dovetails into the cross country season. McCaskey’s Matthew McNair was the only L-L runner ahead of Hollinger.
“He has very big goals and he often proves me wrong,” Bomberger said. “I give him times to go after and he’s always a few seconds faster, which is really cool to see.”
Hollinger is all-in. His mission is a PIAA medal in the 1,600 on Memorial Day weekend. How difficult is that to achieve? Whitaker placed eighth last season, grabbing the final spot on the podium.
The difference between running 4:18 and 4:10 might seem small. It’s only eight seconds, after all. Those seconds are extremely hard to erase.
“It’s less about training; it’s more mental,” Hollinger said. “If you go two races and you don’t improve by that much, you’ve got to keep focusing. If you’re not there mentally, you’re not gonna improve like you want.”
No one has made faster strides than Hollinger over the course of his career. The steps ahead will be the toughest of them all.
