I can't imagine being the top 800 HS runner (or any track event) in the US as a 9th grader. Uncharted territory for this talented young man. Smart racer with a great final 200m.
I don't recall whether the freshman record before him was 1:50 or 1:49, but he has now dropped the record by at least two seconds. It does look like the high school 800m record is on borrowed time. I believe that he just missed the age 15 world record of Max Burgin, if that is his age.
14 1:51.23 Brandon Miller USA 30 Jan 02 Humble TX 3 Aug 16
15 1:47.50 Max Burgin GBR 20 May 02 Manchester 12 May 18
16 1:47.27 Krzysztof Różnicki POL 29 Aug 03 Sopot 3 Jul 20
17 1:44.51 Krzysztof Różnicki POL 29 Aug 03 Chorzów 20 Jun 21
18 1:44.14 Max Burgin GBR 20 May 02 Ostrava, CZE 19 May 21
19 1:43.55 Donavan Brazier USA 15 Apr 97 Eugene OR 10 Jun 16
I'm sure McLaughlin was the #1 hurdler in the US as a freshman. Heck, she made the Olympics after her junior year.
I was referring to Boys, though. I know a few HS girls were complete phenoms as 9th graders. Not sure a HS Boy has been #1 in his event as a frosh; maybe Mondo?
Sad to see Ali didnt get her 4 peat. Kind of mean Sadie deciding to blow that up for her in her final year. Of course I mostly mean that in jest since I can understand why she wanted to drop down in this meet to test herself after focusing so much on the 1500/1600/mile in the past few months. And after all, you can make the argument that Ali got a pass for her win in 2022 when two of the greatest high school half milers of all time chose to run the 400 (Willis) and the mile (Whittaker) at Brooks because they were both going to be running the 800 at the U20 Championships that year and didnt want to overdose on 800s just like Sadie has been focusing so much on trying to qualify for the 15. What goes around comes around... May Ali have a great career at Oregon.