3:59.30 for Reed Brown--Texas high school athlete goes sub-4:00

On a Thursday evening (1 June 2017) in Saint Louis, Missouri at a little track meet called the Festival of Miles, Reed Brown won a one-mile race on the Saint Louis University High School track in 3:59.30. In the 60-plus years since Roger Bannister first ran the distance in under 4:00, sub-4:00 miles have lost some of their luster. But Reed Brown was a high school senior at Carroll High in Southlake, Texas. Not many high school milers crack four minutes. In fact, only ten Americans, including Brown, have managed the feat. Brown's 3:59.30 makes him the fourth fastest in that group of ten. Here's a list of that elite group, with their mile times, their schools, the location of those schools, and the year they logged their performance:

America's First Ten Sub-4:00 High School Milers
Time	Athlete	High School	City	State	Year
3:53.43	Alan Webb	South Lakes	Reston	VA	2001
3:55.3	Jim Ryun	East	Wichita	KS	1965
3:57.81	Drew Hunter	Loudoun Valley	Purcellville	VA	2016
3:59.30	Reed Brown	Carroll	Southlake	TX	2017
3:59.38	Matthew Maton	Summit	Bend	OR	2015
3:59.38	Grant Fisher	Grand Blanc	Grand Blanc	MI	2015
3:59.4	Tim Danielson	Chula Vista	Chula Vista	CA	1966
3:59.53	Michael Slagowski	Rocky Mountain	Meridian	ID	2016
3:59.71	Lukas Verzbicas	Sandburg	Orland Park	IL	2011
3:59.8	Marty Liquori	Essex Catholic	Newark	NJ	1967
Drew Hunter's performance was in an indoor race. All of the athletes were seniors except for Luka Verzbicas, who was a junior.

Note that these are United States athletes. Young runners from other countries have managed gone sub-4:00 at high school age as well, notably Canadians Kevin Sullivan and Nate Brannen, each of whom lived in Tallahassee for some time.

The Saint Louis Festival of Miles is a track meet that showcases one event--the one-mile run. In 2017, its tenth year, it has become an evening of invitational mile races at the junior high, high school, and pro level. Somehow a couple of 800-meter races slipped into the program, and in 2017 Caitlin Collier of Jacksonville, Florida Bolles High School won the women's 800 in a stunning 2:03.32.

Saint Louis Festival of Miles High School Mile Champs, 2011 - 2017
Date	Men	Women
1 June 2011	4:07.68, Daniel Everett	4:52.83, Colleen Quigley
31 May 2012	4:11.97, Amos Bartelsmeyer	4:56.99, Hannah Long
30 May 2013	4:12.23, Spencer Haik	4:47.43, Stephanie Jenks
5 June 2014	4:05.98, Spencer Haik	4:46.67, Stephanie Jenks
4 June 2015	4:09.47, Bryce Richards	4:47.82, Stephanie Jenks
2 June 2016	4:05.29, Jon Davis	4:46.89, Cailie Logue
1 June 2017	3:59.30, Reed Brown	4:50.66, Madison Mooney
From 2008 to 2010 there was no high school mile at the Festival of Miles.

Links

• The Saint Louis Festival of Miles
  http://www.stlfestivalofmiles.com/
  
  
• Tallahassee's own Festival of Miles, the Gulf Winds Track Club Mile at the Breakfast on the Track
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/08/breakfast-2016.html
  
  
• Find your next race, one mile or many, on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1990