Connor Burns, Simeon Birnbaum and Rocky Hansen Set Burnish Legacies, Chase History In St. Louis 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Lily Dozier photo

For the first time, an elite high school boys race will feature three sub-four milers even before the starting gun fires.

Connor Burns of Southern Boone MO, who made history in last year's HOKA Festival of Miles when he became the first 11th-grader since Jim Ryun to break the barrier, will be joined by South Dakota champion Simeon Birnbaum, who also broke through in 2022, and Rocky Hansen of Christ School NC, who became the 18th and most recent member of the exclusive club April 30. 

The Big River Running High School Boys Championship Mile is, perhaps, the main event at Thursday night's two and a half hours of racing at St. Louis University High in Missouri. 

WATCH THE FREE HOKA FESTIVAL OF MILES WEBCAST LIVE ON RUNNERSPACE

In years past, high school standouts were sometimes invited into the men's field, and a race that became a proving ground for Grant Fisher in 2015 and Reed Brown in 2017, and Gary Martin and Burns last year.

This time, it'll be an all-high school field of racers, but the pacer is one of the best in the world: Erik Sowinski. 

"It worried me at first that it was going to be a high-school only race, but when I heard Erik Sowinski was going to be our pacer, it kind of eliminated all fears of the pace slowing, or us just racing for the win," said Birnbaum, who graduated from Rapid City Stevens SD. 

Since three runners have already checked the sub-four box, the new target is ambitious: How close can they get to Alan Webb's high school record 3:53.43, which was achieved May 27, 2001, at the Prefontaine Classic. 

If Sowinski can get the pace rolling at a 58-second per 440 yards clip, the trio of sub-four milers will see if they can hang on. 

Webb's record, incidentally, is faster than the pro men's meet record of 3:54.24 by Jordan McNamara of Nike Oregon OTC in 2014. 

Other top preps seeking a first sub-four mile include Jackson Heidesch from Dowling Catholic IA, Devan Kipyego from St. Raphael RI, Tayson Echohawk from Orem UT, Tinoda Matsatsa of St. Andrew's Episcopal MD and Clay Shively from Wichita Trinity Academy KS.

Newbury Park's Aaron Sahlman is on the entry list, but posted on his Instagram last week that he has suffered an injury and may not race again this season. 

The high school athlete who will get an opportunity to step up and run against pros is Tatum David of Olney (Richland County), the 2022 high school girls champion and record holder at 4:42.15. 

David will be running in a field that includes Hanna Hermansson of Valor Track Club, Abby Nichols and Krissy Gear of NAZ Elite, Alexina Teubel of Tracksmith and Rachel McArthur. 

The high school girls race has 15 competitors from around the country, including Cuthbertson NC teammates Charlotte Bell and Stella Kermes, Flower Mound TX twins Samantha Humphries and Nicole Humphries, Ella Johns from Fort Collins CO, Paityn Noe from Ballard IA, Abby Faith Cheeseman of The Webb School TN, Leah Stephens from Our Lady of Good Counsel MD, and Ali Ince of Normal Community IL, who is ranked US#2 in the 800 meters. 

At the top of the men's pro mile entries are Thomas Vanoppen from Belgium, Jack Anstey from Dark Sky Distance, Brett Meyer of Altra Running and Olin Hacker of NAZ Elite. 

A pair of sub-2:10 runners are in the high school girls 800 meters: Elyse Wilmes of Father Tolton Regional Catholic in Missouri and Becca Heitzig of Lincoln IL. 

Daniel Watcke of Hinsdale Central IL, a future teammate of Birnbaum, Burns and Echohawk at the University of Oregon, is the top entrant in the boys 800. Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central IL and Alexander Waldie of Saint Thomas Aquinas KS are also contenders who have run faster than 1:51. 

The cross country and track teams from the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience (Collegiate) are the beneficiary of this year's Festival of Miles Foundation charity. Those teams include students from Collegiate and Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (CVPA).

On Oct. 24, 2022, tragedy struck when a gunman entered the shared campus and opened fire inside CVPA. A CVPA student of dance and a beloved teacher were killed. The teacher was Jean Kuczka, who served as both the CVPA PE teacher and the Collegiate cross country coach.