LEX MF YOUNG 13:34

Just a side note. The resemblance in looks between him and the Australian Cam Myers is uncanny!

Easy, everyone, let the Youngs (and Sahlmans) of Newbury Park be. A degree of privilege and good fortune to live and train in Southern Cal? Of course. But literally hundreds of thousands of other youngsters from well-to-do and good weather locales in the U.S. have enjoyed the same over the decades. These kids have made the most of their opportunities; as the cyclists say in Europe, 'chapeau' (hats off) to them. They have given plenty to their school already; what they have done with their senior year is their right.

As fans of distance running, it is equally okay to lament what could have been, however. Even if you add, say, two seconds per mile for use of super shoes/spikes (a rough guestimate, but a reasonable one after so much data accumulation these last few years), you're still looking at ludicrously great performances by two sets of brothers on one team at one time, plus a host of other very good runners.

For me, the biggest 'what-ifs' among the 5 Youngs/Sahlmans are Leo and Aaron. Despite their historically excellent performances at 1500 (Leo) and 800 (Aaron), I believe both are even better 5000 runners at this stage. On the right day with the right competition at peak performance, Leo could have run anywhere from maybe 13:28 to 13:32 for another new record, while Aaron could have perhaps raced 13:40 to 13:50. In terms of relay potential this year, Leo & Aaron & Lex & Seymour could have reasonably achieved 16:25 or faster for a new 4 x 1 mile national record, and as low as 9:45-9:47 in the distance medley for another. So, our loss as fans. And the 3200/2 mile by itself? Shoot, Maybe Leo approaches or slightly breaks Verzbicas' 8:29.46 2-mile mark, while Lex and Aaron manage say 8:32 to 8:36 at best. Incredible, right?

Meanwhile, time waits for no one, and there will always be other amazing runners in the pipeline to come. But we'll likely never see the likes of this Newbury Park team again.

Incredible record, if they told me I wouldn't believe it

Jim Ryun ran a number races outside of his home state in HS, including his first sub-4 at the CA Relays and his 3:55. I think only one of his 5 HS sub-4s was run in Kansas. I guess that means he was privileged AF.

Didn’t Rupp run his 13:37 in a pro meet in Rieti?

One other point: When Ryun became the first HS runner to break 4 he finished 8th the race, dragged along by faster guys.

When Lex goes 12:46.95 in the 5,000. I'll take him seriously.

Sure they are - the schools pay for it. DeMatha basketball team, as well as Gonzaga and St. John’s, all in the DC catholic league, play more than 50% of their schedules in national tournaments. St John’s played in Hawaii this season.

One kid traveling anywhere in the US for a track meet is nothing and irrelevant.

Well, technically they were not pros when he was in HS because they received no compensation or sponsorship for competing. But you are right in that he did compete often against older and more experienced national and international runners.

So did Ryun, Liquori, Decker etc. What today's HS runners are doing is essentially no different than what top HS runners have always done, whether it be the AAU or Sound Running.

But he didn’t miss any of his high school meets to do them.

Great job, Lex! Does anyone have his splits?

The kid runs 13:34.9 as a 18yr old HS senior and some people take shots?? Hysterical!! Too funny. BTW, Rupp was also in an open race when he set records at 3k and 5k. Hoovered along. He was simply 3 seconds slower than Lex Young. Same with Webb's mile. You are not going to get many National records in HS only fields.

I've never cared about NP much, one reason being they weren't actually breaking records. Many often said that a big list of US HS records could be broken by these guys, but that of course was said about Rupp and the 1/2 and full ARs. All the theoretical performance didn't attract my attention but this literal one did. So, I wasn't the guy on here pro-or anti-NP. I just kind of ignored the hype (a whole bunch of guys trying for a whole bunch of years to break that Fernandez XC course record but not doing so) until now. Since I thought this was cool, I clicked. This run is more noteworthy than many previous NP exploits in my book.

I agree with much of the Board sentiment. They have very well-off families and that matters a lot (these guys aren't picking crops after school). However, it only buys you a record or championship if you can physically do it. That sound like arguing with 2 competitng factions in the thread, but I don't think they really disagree. You need A. The ability; and B. The means. One camp has been saying A. wihout B. gets you a small, remote State title but little else. I completely agree. The opposition says B. without A. gets you squat. Also true.

I agree completely with the few who say it is OK to run unattached and not for your school. I did exactly the same, although there was no social pushback back then (imagine how old I must be now if this didn't bother anyone!) and the track coach gave us no static. We never even met, so the school got no glory for anything the distance gang did. So I approve of these guys ditching the school's team, coach, and practices, and meets too. But that's a segue into my contribution to the discussion.....

Was this done in an official Newbury Park Jersey? And if so, why would he want to appear to represent the school and their program? More importantly, why does he have one? Does the school realize he took one? Did he actually buy it so he is allowed to keep it? In my school days, you couldn't graduate without the librarian signing a form saying you didn't keep anything. Ditto with the sports department if you played one. If you weren't actually on a team currently in-season, possession of a uniform was stealing. Same with the music department if you were in a band. They didn't hand you the diploma intil you proved you hadn't stolen anything. Don't know how NP does things....

Newbury Park is also the name of the city and the separate track club he runs for.

Call me old-fashioned but I don't think any of the HS records set outside of HS only meets should be considered HS records. Or set after HS graduation. What are the HS only records set at HS only meets? Granville 880, Ryun mile, Prefontaine 2 mile? I discount 1600 and 3200 records as they are short.

You're old fashion.

If you're in HS you should and can get HS records. Things are changing in HS track, just like other club sports. You will see more and more athletes not running for their HS teams and running for a club in order to get trained better and have better racing opportunities.

Nevertheless, the shirts these guys have been wearing recently appear to be the official school-issued ones. Or at least they have a very similar appearance to what the actual school-sponsored team has worn over the seasons.

Why is this a topic? Why am I stuck on this particular point? First let me say that I think this performance is cool. That's why I checked out this thread. There was once a day with 9 different NP threads on the 1st page. I didn't look at any. They hadn't actually done anything at that point. They (primarily the coach perhaps) were excellent at generating press. But now, credit goes where it is (finally) due. I am impressed now. That's out of the way.

But the uniform thing.... Back when I was in high school but running unattached, I did not want the school, which did not support my efforts in any way, nor the coach I never met, to get any credit for my exploits. More significantly, perhaps, I couldn't have gotten my hands on an actual, official school outfit. I mean, that would have required breaking into a building, etc.

So these guys very openly, vocally, and proudly (and wisely) leave the school program behind. They are very clearly running unattached, with no school sanction. Yet, they wear the same thing these last few months that they wore the last few years. Giving the school a shout-out with a possibly checked-out-but-never-returned (some would say 'stolen') shirt?! I don't get it. At least it looks the same....

Those Nike Singlets and not Newbury Park HS uniforms. They are the Club team Newbury Park Athletic Club. Schools colors are black and yellow. All their races this spring have been under Newbury Park Athletic Club.