High School Standouts Gary Martin And Natalie Cook Racing Professional Mile Fields In St. Louis

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Gary Martin and Natalie Cook have shown what they can do on high school tracks this spring when they are pushing themselves ahead of the pack and racing the clock. 

On Thursday at the HOKA Festival of Miles, Martin and Cook will get the chance to tuck into fast professional fields, compete, and see where their training takes them. 

Martin, already No. 6 on the all-time high school mile list, ran 3:57.98 on May 14 at the Philadelphia Catholic League Outdoor Championships. Subsequently, he won Pennsylvania state titles in the 800 and 1,600 last weekend. 

WATCH THE HOKA FESTIVAL OF MILES FREE ON RUNNESPACE | HEAT SHEETS

Martin's mile is the fastest ever run in a high-school only race. On Thursday, he'll run in a field that includes former Iowa State NCAA champion Wesley Kiptoo (HOKA NAZ Elite), former Washington State runner Paul Ryan and former University of Portland runner Caleb Webb. 

Additionally, Missouri high school standouts Connor Burns and Daelen Ackley will run with the pros. Last weekend at the Missouri state meet, Ackley defeated Burns in the Class 3 1,600 meters final, 4:05.96 to 4:06.49. 

Burns ran the fastest prep mile in Missouri history in February at the Iowa State Classic indoor meet when he ran 4:02.96. The Missouri all-time best in the high school mile outdoors belongs to Jason Pyrah, who ran 4:04.25 in 1987.  

Two high school runners have run sub-four at the Festival of Miles to join one of the most exclusive lists in all of track and field. Grant Fisher, now the U.S. record holder in the 10,000 meters and an Olympian, did it in 2015 when he ran 3:59.38. Two years later, Reed Brown from Texas went even faster with 3:59.30.

Cook, who established herself as the nation's premier high school cross country runner last fall when she won both the RunningLane and Eastbay Championships, has a 1,600-meter best of 4:36.95 this spring and is among the top 15 all-time with the mile conversion. 

She will compete in a field with Sweden's Hanna Hermansson, Karisa Nelson (Atalanta), Susan Ejore and Jenn Randall of Cascadia Elite, Katie Wasserman of HOKA NAZ Elite, and Katie Follett (Elevated Performance).

The fastest mile by a high school girl at Festival of Miles remains Stephanie Jenks' 4:46.67 in 2014. 

In the regular high school miles, Iowa state champion Jackson Heidesch comes in with a 1,600-meter best time of 4:07.30. And in a loaded girls race, Camryn Wennersten of New Jersey, MaryEllen Eudaly from Florida, Ali Ince from Illinois and Cook's teammate at Flower Mound TX, Samantha Humphries, are among the top entries. 

In the high school girls 800 meters, Oklahoma Class 6A runner-up Deborah Mazzei and Illinois 2A champion Becca Heitzig are the top entries. Mazzei has run 2:09.86 and Heitzig 2:09.99. 

Daniel Watcke, the runner-up in the Illinois 3A state final, is the top entry in the boys 800 with a personal best of 1:50.34.