Varghese arrives at the top after near-tragic childhood accident

By Brian Towey for DyeStat

When Ben Varghese stepped off the track Friday night following an emphatic 5,000-meter victory at the New Balance Nationals Indoor, he offered a brief introduction.

"Indian born, Irish trained."

The orange, green and white flag of Ireland composed his running shorts.

And steps away, Ray Jones, one of Varghese's coaches from Daniel Boone High School in Gray, Tenn., and an Irish runner who came to America to run at East Tennessee State in the 1980s, struggled to compose himself.

"You don't always get what you want," Jones said, his Irish brogue tinged with a hill country lilt.

"But he got what he wanted."

It wasn't the first time Varghese has performed on a big stage. He is the reigning Tennessee state 3,200-meter outdoor champion and a two-time qualifier to Nike Cross Nationals.  

But Varghese's inspiring 14:47.25 run Friday was a breakout performance and his first national championship. It was also vindication for an athlete that does not take his participation in track and field for granted. 

At 4 years old, Varghese suffered a terrible accident when a lawnmower blade sliced into his lower right leg.

"Seventy-five percent of his right leg was cut off near his right ankle," Daniel Boone coach Len Jeffers said. "It severed all the bone and tendons."

Doctors considered amputating the leg. Varghese's parents, immigrants from India, wouldn't have it.

"His parents begged the doctors to reattach the leg," Jeffers said.  

In the interview room at The Armory, Varghese showed the deep scar above his right ankle.

"I want to tell you something," Varghese said as he launched into his story.

Varghese cannot do a simple squat. His tibia and fibula in his right leg are fused together, making this position impossible. Nor can he bend the arch of his right foot. But still, he can run.

"The coolest thing about this is that kids are so good at rebounding," Varghese said. "(Otherwise) I'd be hopping around on a prosthetic leg."

The genesis of Varghese's 5,000 victory has roots back in December. As runner and coach returned from Nike Cross Nationals, where Varghese had placed 34th overall (Daniel Boone finished 14th as a team in 2014), the senior lamented a lost opportunity.

"He was pissed," Jones said.

They hatched a new plan:  Varghese would run for a national championship.

"I told him, 'OK, give me 21 days (of training)," Jones said.

The plan to run the 5,000 came later.

"He came to me one day after a workout and said, 'I'm going to run the five (thousand)," Jones recalled.

Varghese's training suggested he was fit. He had run a 9:02 HOKA Postal Nationals 2-mile leading up to Nike Cross Nationals. More recently, he had run a 4:18 1,600-meter split on Boone's distance medley relay.

To date, Varghese's biggest performance had come last spring in the 3,200 at the Tennesse state championships. In that race, he beat a field that included All-American Brodey Hasty of Brentwood with a withering kick. He sprinted to the lead on the final lap. 

"He can close (the final 400 meters) in 54 seconds," Jones said.

Jones came to eastern Tennessee in the 1980s as part of a wave of Irish runners. He was a junior national steeplechase champion who ran for coach Davie Walker at East Tennessee State. Jones trained with runners like the Irish mile legend Ray Flynn, who also happens to be his next-door neighbor.

"I was originally Irish-coached," Jones said. "I came here (to America) to run in college."

Jones was, by all indications, a great talent. But he admits he lacked seriousness.

"I tell the kids: 'You have an opportunity,'" Jones said. "I (squandered) my running career, but I tell them, 'You can do anything, but you have to sacrifice.'"

Jones combined forces with Jeffers at Daniel Boone. He had been serving as a private coach for Adam Barnard, who finished fifth at Nike Cross Nationals in 2014.

"He had been working with (Barnard), who was a cross country All-American, so the timing was perfect,"  Jeffers said. "That's when one boy bought in (to the program). And then the next year another boy bought in. And the next year three or four boys bought in. That's what really developed with that team that went to Nike Nationals. And it continues to grow."

As the 5,000 unfolded Friday, with Varghese running in a tight lead pack, his coaches knew the pace was in his favor.

"We were hoping for a top-six finish," Jeffers said. "We felt like if the pace was just right, like the 3,200-meter race (at last year's state championship), who knows how it plays out over the last 1,000 meters?"

Varghese held eye contact with Jones during the entire race, tipping off his coach that a big finish awaited.

"I knew at a mile and half (that he was going to win) because he kept looking at me," Jones said.

With three laps to go, Varghese sprung. He opened up a 15-meter gap on the field.

Then, he was gone. He ran the last 800 in 2:06. 

Varghese's Irish-flag running shorts fluttered as he sped to the finish. It was a page of out Irish running lore.

"We've been showing him tape of the great Irish kickers, guys like Eamonn Coughlan and Ray Treacy," Jones said.

"Those Irish runners, they were tough guys," said Varghese, whose workouts focus on leg turnover to stimulate a late kick. "And I think I've put that into my training."

Gathered around a computer, Varghese's Daniel Boone teammates rejoiced as he sped to victory.

"This is so much about him, but also so much about our school and community," Jeffers said. "My phone's been blowing up, with everyone from parents to administrators to the local news station."