Bauer's wild season ends with a scholarship

After a runner-up finish in October's Disney World Classic, Connor Bauer left the Happiest Place on Earth in a sour mood.

"It was the worst race of my life," Bauer recalled Thursday, "and then the whole season I was questioning myself and wondering why I was posting these times."

One signature performance at states changed that outlook. And now, the Sebring senior is headed to the University of South Florida on a dual scholarship.

Bauer signed a national letter of intent Thursday to run both track and cross country for the Bulls next season, saying it was a "bittersweet ending" to a senior season that failed to live up to his soaring expectations.

Until the very end.

At the Class 3A meet in November, Bauer cruised around the 3.2-mile course and finished seventh after a season-best time of 16:00.53. At the time, his coach, Jeff Shoemaker, said it was the best race of Bauer's life.

Three months later, he went a step further.

"That's kind of him," Shoemaker said. "He just gets it together and manages the best performance at the best time. There's a lot of talent out there, but to have your best performance when it counts the most, that's deeper than an ability to run. That's an emotional, mental aspect that's special for any athlete."

Bauer never put much stock in local high school meets, which he won with stunning regularity. He often finished two minutes ahead of his nearest competitors, so he instead raced himself.

After a few weeks he had knocked five, 10, 15 seconds off his pace, every race a calculated attempt to train his body for the postseason. Still, the 16:32.48 he posted at the district meet wasn't good enough. Neither was the 16:32.32 at regionals, a race in which he fell during the first mile, dropped to the back of the pack and recovered to finish second.

The culprit, he says now, was "lots of personal stress." Sleep problems, too.

The state meet proved cathartic.

"He's the whole package," Shoemaker said. "He works hard. He's got the physical ability. His future is brighter than bright."

Within days of his state appearance, Bauer headed back to the track for some speed work, where he was pleasantly surprised by his newfound strength and quickness.

"Definitely going to make some noise this year," he said.

Bauer also seems intent on cobbling together an unbeatable 4x800 relay team, which is a perpetually weak event in 3A. (Yes, he's done his research.) His goal is to make state in three events - the 800, the 1-mile and 2-mile - and to medal in each, further showcasing his versatility to USF coaches who will surely keep close tabs on their incoming recruit.

When Bauer arrives in Tampa in August, he intends to pursue a degree in civil environmental engineering, which is merely an extension of his upper-level course work in physics and calculus.

Indeed, this isn't your typical freshman workload: Learning aerodynamics while juggling two collegiate sports.

Bauer just smiled, clearly in a happier place now - even without a golden Mickey Mouse trophy on his mantle.

"It'll keep me busy," he said.