Jordan McNamara hugs Grant Fisher (above) as Fisher became the 7th high school athlete to run under four minutes for the mile at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis Thursday evening. (Mike Newman Photo)

3:59.38 brings down the house at St. Louis University High; Long runs US #1 in 800; Jenks 3-peats in Girls Mile; Illinois dominates Boys Mile with Richards - Davis wins

By Michael Newman

DyeStat IL Editor

[email protected]

St. Louis --- There are moments at a track meet where time stands still for both the runners in the race and the fans watching it. For Grant Fisher, time stood still at 3:59.38.

The Grand Blanc MI graduate wrote another chapter in his legendary high school running career and cemented himself in running immortality Thursday night as he became the seventh American high school runner to go under four minutes for the One Mile Run. His time of 3:59.38 at the Festival of Miles gave him third place in the last event of the evening the Pro Miles. Even though Jordan McNamara won the race with a final charge down the home straight away, the spotlight was on Fisher as he crossed the line under four minutes. Fisher is the second prep runner this year to go under four minutes. Coincidentally, Oregon's Matthew Maton ran the exact same time last month when he also went under four minutes for the distance.

The atmosphere for the meet and this race was conducive for fast times. Meet organizers allowed fans to be on the outer lanes on the back stretch. For the Pro Mile race, fans were allowed on the infield running back and forth yelling and screaming at the runners offering support. It was a rock concert atmosphere on the St. Louis University track for Fisher who has become a rock star among the runners whether they are high school peers or the professionals he ran with.

“It is amazing. We were going through the airport at Minneapolis on our way here and people recognized him,” his coach Mike Scannell said afterwards. “We were going to go out this morning and walk around our hotel and there were people downstairs looking for him.”

What was a wall of noise after Fisher crossed the line was the exact opposite when he stepped to the line four minutes earlier. As the starter called the runners to the line, not a sound could be heard. If a pin dropped, you would be able to hear it. Crickets in the fields around the track stopped chirping in respect to what was about to happen.

Fisher found himself in the middle of the pack. For most of the races this season, he has been on an island by himself having to do all of the work. It was not happening on this night. Pace setter Daniel Stockberger went through the first 400 in 60.3 with Jordan McNamara close on his side. Fisher passed in 62.1. On the south curve heading towards the back stretch, the pack started to string out almost separating Fisher from the runners ahead of him.

“I was on the back straight. I was yelling at the group to get the pack back together,” Scannell added. “The last thing we wanted to happen was Grant to be bridged away from the front runners.”

By the time they got to the north curve, the runners were close together giving hope to a sub four attempt. They were still on pace as Stockberger stepped off the track leading the pack through the first half in 2:00.7. Fisher was at 2:02.1 running lap two in 59.9.

Fisher has had the tendency this year to go out fast only to let the pace lag on the third lap. With the runners that were around him, that simply would not happen. Fisher went through three laps in 3:00.9 with McNamara right in front of him in fourth place. The silence that started this race had grown into unabated yelling at the runners pushing the runners towards their goal.

On the final turn, Tyler Pennell had the lead with Fisher less than a second back. McNamara was coming around on the outside. Fisher found a gear that he did not realize he had. McNamara crossed in 3:58.81 with his second Festival of Miles win in a row. Then came Tyler Pennel running under four minutes for the first time (3:58.99). A split second later it was the high school runner. The crowd knew he had done it because the clock had not hit four when he crossed the line. 3:59.38 appeared under Fisher’s name and the celebration began.

Fisher first got a high five from Scannell who perhaps ran across the track faster than his star pupil ran the final 200. McNamara then embraced Fisher welcoming into the club. The moon in the sky above was nearly full. Fisher’s smile on his face was bigger than that.

“I never really thought of sub-four as a thing.  Even going into this race, I never said it was a sub-four shot. I just wanted to come here and race,” Fisher said afterwards. “The field obviously pulled me through to a sub four. I never said that I was going into a race and said that sub four was my goal.  I’ve gone into the race wanting to race. I have never put a time barrier on me.”

“I am glad that he got this monkey off of his back,” said Scannell. “We can concentrate now on racing and the bigger goals ahead.” Fisher will be running next week defending his title in the Dream Mile in New York. He will then get ready for the USATF Junior Championships at the end of the month.

Fisher’s parents were not there for the race but were symbolically. He wore his dad’s singlet in this race. “It felt so good. I looked up at the clock and I saw 3:50. I was on the straightaway and thought maybe I can get this,” Fisher added. “I was pushing trying not to look at the clock.  I just wanted to keep going and going. As I got to the line I saw 58 and when I crossed 59. It was a great feeling that I did something really special today.  My family is not here but I am wearing my dad’s singlet. I hope I made him proud.”

Fisher was then ushered to table to sign autographs.  “We could be here until midnight but that is okay,” his coach said. He took pictures with kids who were in awe of the runner in front of them. He did it humbly embracing the moment. That is what made this night so refreshing.

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Fisher’s race was the cherry on top of the sundae of great performances in this meet.  Hannah Long (Eureka MO) ran the fastest time nationally (non-Efraimson) this year when she crossed the line in a four second lifetime best (2:04.23) in finishing fifth in the Women’s Pro 800 won by Latvia Thomas (2:00.99) who established a new meet record. It was sensed that Long would run fast as she crossed the first 400 in a sizzling 59.7. “I was feeling really good,” Long said. “My legs felt awesome.  I could see the clock and I just sprinted all the way down. “

In the Girls 800 held earlier in the evening, Karina Liz (Aurora, IL) took the pack through the first 400 in a quick 64.4. Larkin Chapman (Muscatine IA) overtook Liz and crossed the line with the meet win in a personal best 2:09.90. Paitlyn Howat (St. Joseph MO) and Michaela Hackbarth (Downers Grove IL) finished second and third two seconds back.

Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar IA) won her third straight Festival of Miles Championship in the Girls Mile. She opened up a four second lead on the pack at the half mile and cruised to a five second win (4:47.82) ahead of Anna West (Wildwood MO). Seven runners in that race ran under five minutes. Earlier in the meet, Grace Klausen (Blue Springs MO) passed Melissa Menghini (Rockwood MO) in the final ten meters to win the Girls Developmental Mile. Klausen’s time (5:02.13) was just a half a second ahead of that of Menghini (5:02.77).

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Carlton Orange (Memphis TN) is the state’s 400 Meter champion and had not run in the 800 since the Mt. Sac Invitational a month and a half prior to this meet. The rust did not show in Orange as he pulled away from the pack early going through the first 400 in 54.1. He moved from there crossing the line in a new meet record (1:50.45) more than two seconds ahead of Nolan Teubel (Mt. Vernon IA). Orange’s time is currently the third fastest nationally in the event. “I did want to go out in 53. That was the plan to go for it,” Orange said after his race.

The two mile races were dominated by wins by Illinois runners. The Boys Elite mile race started out quickly as pace setter Jack Sullivan took the pack through in 2:04.4. Thomas Pollard (Gilbert  IA), Heath Warren (Springfield IL), and Sean Conlin followed close behind a second back. Pollard started to push the pace on the third lap and into the final circuit around the track. Warren took the lead with 150 meters to go and looked like he had the win but his legs started to give out underneath him in the final 40 meters of the race.

Meanwhile in the middle of the pack, Bryce Richards (Mundelein IL) was close to three seconds behind Warren, Pollard, and Sean Conlin (Fort Zumwalt MO) with 100 meters to go. Richards move into lane four and unleashed an unreal kick just catching Pollard at the line. Only one hundredth of a second separated the two (4:09.47 – 4:09.48) with Richards getting the win on the lean. Richards, who will be attending the University of Kansas this fall, was the fifteenth and last runner to get into the elite heat. At the end, it was Richards who was first. Warren did run a personal best finishing seventh overall.

“My coach told me to stay in the middle of the pack because we knew the pace would go out quickly,” Richards said.  “I have a kick at the end of every mile race that I have been in.  I just left it to my kick. With 200 to go, I heard someone yell 3:40. I told myself all I needed was a 29. I do that all the time in practice. I just kicked it in as hard as I could.”

Save a spot in the 2016 elite field for Jon Davis (Fithian IL). He ran a four second personal best in winning the Boys Developmental Mile in a yo-yo type of a pace race. It did not look like the runners would break 4:20 in this race as the pace setter brought the pack through in a severely sluggish 65 seconds.  Wes Schoenthal (Edwardsville IL) took the lead pushing the pace with the pace setter staying on the inside lane. Schoenthal ran the second 400 in 62 seconds. Davis stayed off the pace letting Schoenthal do the work. With 300 to go, Davis took the lead pushing for the win. He did so crossing the line in 4:11.34 in a new meet record. He finished three tenths ahead of second place  Ben Weisel (Nashville TN).  Schoenthal finished in fifth.

“We came in at 65 seconds for the first 400 which was way off pace,” Davis said afterwards. “I’ll admit that I was a little frustrated (with the pace). Things just worked out for me. I stuck behind the leaders until 300 to go. I knew my kick would be lethal.”

One runner to watch in the future is Brandon Miller (St. Charles MO). He is only in seventh grade yet he set a new meet record in the middle school race running a head shaking 4:32.66. It was the way that he ran it that impressed me running the first half in 2:15 and coming back with a 2:17 second half. Perhaps he will be the eighth runner to go sub four minutes. Only time will tell. He does have the potential to achieve that.