Tim Rackers has a whole laundry list of virtues.
Punctuality isn't one of them.
The St. Louis University High standout long distance runner, who hails from Hazelwood, is notorious for being late for track and field practices. He's so consistently tardy that it's become a running joke on the team.
"We always tell him that practice will start 15 minutes earlier than we tell everybody else," said SLUH coach Joe Porter of his senior.
"For some reason, I try to crowd too much into my day," Rackers said. "I can't budget my time very well."
Porter can't complain about what Rackers does when he gets to practices, though. He's an extremely hard worker and, to his credit, is one of the last to leave practices.
"He's completely driven," said Porter. "He's always looking to see if he's doing everything right and just trying to get the most out of his body."
The hard work Rackers has put in the past couple years has helped the 18-year-old become one of the top long distance runners in the state in a relatively short period of time.
Rackers was home schooled through his freshman year. He then went to SLUH as a sophomore but didn't go out for cross country that fall. He did go out for track in the spring but he was faced with some stiff competition on his own team. He didn't qualify for state but he made a good impression and was urged by his coaches to go out for cross country his junior season.
Still not sure if running was his bag, he didn't decide to become a SLUH harrier until after three practices had already been held.
"My friend (Adam Boehm) called me and got me into motion and I showed up for practice the next day," said Rackers.
He's very glad he did now. Rackers became a mainstay on that squad which went on to excel to say the least. The Junior Billikens won the Class 4 state team title that fall and Rackers was a big reason why. He amazingly finished fifth overall with a time of 16 minutes and 41 seconds.
"It was an amazing feeling," said Rackers, who collapsed after the race, his eyes rolled back in his head and his parents looked on fearing for his well being. "That race was intense. I pushed myself so hard."
Rackers recovered. And as good as he was that day, Rackers was even better as a senior at state. He finished fourth this past fall with a time of 15:45.70, which helped him garner the Post-Dispatch male cross country runner of the year award.
He's excelled in the spring in track the past two years, too. Last year, he was on the 3,200 relay team that finished first, he took fourth in the 3,200 run and was 15th in the 1,600.
This past Saturday, Rackers again qualified for state in all three of those events. He would like nothing better than to help the relay successfully defend its title and do well in the other two open events.
"I want to win but that's what everybody in the state wants," Rackers said. "If I have my day, I think I can win the mile or the two mile."
Rackers, whose only taste of long distance running as a youngster was playing soccer, is a great finisher. At the district meet at McCluer North, Nick Stewart from the host school stayed with him stride for stride until late in the race when Rackers blew him away. Porter hopes Rackers' fabulous finishes will serve him well at state.
"We're hoping that at the state meet he can unleash that kick and be in the hunt to win," Porter said. "I think he can go 20 seconds faster when the pace is faster. With a faster pace, I think he'll run pretty special times."
Rackers, who is an outstanding student who has a 4.3 cumulative grade point average, has already nailed down a scholarship with the University of Tulsa. Now, he just wants to finish out his high school career with gusto.
"I'm a little surprised with myself," he said. "But I'm just along for the ride. I'm about as surprised as anyone. I did know I was good but I didn't know I was state caliber."
