It wasn’t normal when I was in school in NY long ago (70s-80s). If your birthday was in Sept, you were turning 15 at start of 10th grade. I think it went by calendar year back then. Probably varies by region and cut off dates probably change over the years also.
It looks like if you go back to rankings in athletic.net for 1600 and 3200 for 2019 - the top 20 freshman boys in both of those events - basically all have had successful prep careers and 95% seem to have committed to top programs to further their running and educational careers. Isn’t that a positive and the ultimate end goal?
I think a good litmus test is if your kid is consistently improving year over year, doesn’t get injured, loves to run, doesn’t look like a grown man in 8th/9th grade and isn’t 16 as a freshman, they probably have a bright future and at least will get a chance to run in college if they so choose.
Cant we just enjoy his and others success? Like someone said, it is a fantastic time even if he was senior!
Freshmen Boys Outdoors (from MileSplit) - Both 3200m & 2-Miles
3200 Meters 1 - 8:52.96 - Keegan Smith - TN -Knoxville Cath - Eastern Relays -1st - Apr 23, 2022 2 - 8:58.67 - Eli Krahn - MN -Stillwater - Minnesota State Track -2nd - Jun 8, 2013 3 - 9:01.68 - Sintayehu Taye - MA -Portland - New England Championsh -2nd - Jun 11, 2005 4 - 9:01.97 - Vincent Recupero - WA -Bishop Blanche - WIAA 2A, 3A, 4A State-2nd-May 28, 2022 5 - 9:04.78 - Elijah Armstrong - ID -Pocatello - Arcadia Invitational -3rd - Apr 7, 2012 6 - 9:06.80 - Rob Finnerty - MN -Burnsville - MSHSL State Track & Fi -1st - Jun 11, 2005 7 - 9:07.78 - Patrick Koon - FL -Leon HS - FHSAA 1A/3A Outdoor St -2nd - May 7, 2021 8 - 9:08.87 - Ty Garrett - CO -Unattached - I - Desert Dream-Last Hurr -1st - Jun 13, 2020 9 - 9:09.13 - Landon Pretre - CA -Menlo School ( - CIF-Central Coast Sect -2nd - May 21, 2022 10 - 9:10.13 - Aidan Puffer - CT -Manchester - CIAC State Championshi -1st - May 31, 2019 11 - 9:10.32 - Kole Mathison - IN -Carmel - Summer Finale Distance -3rd - Jul 23, 2020 12 - 9:10.88 - Brennan Draper - CO -Unattached - C - NIKE Chandler Rotary I -6th - Apr 10, 2021 13 - 9:11.56 - James Rosa - NJ -West Windsor-P - NJSIAA Meet of Champio -6th - Jun 5, 2008 14 - 9:11.97 - Futsum Zienasellasie - IN -North Central - Indiana Outdoor T&F St -1st - Jun 6, 2009 15 - 9:11.99 - Philip MacQuitty - CA -Palo Alto (CC) - CCS Finals -1st - May 25, 2007 16 - 9:12.10 - Marcelo Parra - TX -Celerity Perfo - TTFCA Meet of Champion -2nd - May 15, 2021 17 - 9:12.66 - Matt Pereira - IL -Lake Zurich - 3A Palatine Sectional -1st - May 22, 2014 18 - 9:12.89 - Ty Steorts - WV -Hurricane - WVSSAC Class AAA State -2nd - May 20, 2022 19 - 9:13.06 - Nathan Weitz - WA -Shadle Park - Washington 2A-3A-4A Ou -3rd - May 30, 2009 20 - 9:13.19 - Aiden Johnson - ND -Sheyenne - North Dakota State T&F -5th - May 29, 2021 21 - 9:13.26 - Blaise Ferro - NJ -Christian Brot - NJSIAA State Meet Of C -13th- Jun 5, 2013 22 - 9:13.87 - Dustin Horter - OH -Lak. East - OHSAA State Track and -5th - Jun 6, 2015 23 - 9:14.09 - Craig Lutz - TX -Lewisville Mar - Texas Relays -1st - Apr 5, 2008 24 - 9:14.17 - Gavin Sherry - CT -Conard High - CIAC State Championshi -2nd - May 31, 2019 25 - 9:14.61 - Doug Smith - NJ -Roxbury HS - New Jersey Meet of Cha -4th - Jun 14, 2006
2-Miles 1 - 8:57.20 - Tom Hale - CA -Campolindo (NC - CIF State Track and Fi -4th - Jun 5, 1971 2 - 9:09.93 - Keegan Smith - TN -Knoxville Cath - Volunteer Track Classi -1st - Apr 16, 2022 3 - 9:16.10 - Eric Hulst - CA -Laguna Beach ( - CIF State Track and Fi -9th - Jun 2, 1973 4 - 9:18.27 - Francis Hernandez - NH -Bishop Guertin - Hartford Public Invita -2nd - May 9, 2009 5 - 9:19.07 - Nick Dahl - CT -Germantown Fri - New Balance Outdoor Na -1st - Jun 15, 2014 6 - 9:19.16 - Gavin Sherry - CT -Conard High - New Balance Nationals -14th- Jun 16, 2019 7 - 9:20.21 - Fred Carley - FL -Niceville HS - FHSAA Outdoor State Fi -3rd - May 10, 1980 8 - 9:24.62 - Luke Athay - ID -Idaho Falls - The Outdoor Nationals -18th- Jul 3, 2021 9 - 9:24.82 - Louis Colson - VA -Thomas Edison - New Balance Outdoor Na -1st - Jun 18, 2011 10 - 9:25.51 - Noah Carey - NY -Guilderland - New Balance Outdoor Na -2nd - Jun 15, 2014
There was an 8th grader than ran 1:56 in that race that Keegan went 1:54. His name is Owen Clemons and he will break all of my school records. He also ran 4:27 for the full mile. Wait until Tinman gets ahold of him!
There was an 8th grader than ran 1:56 in that race that Keegan went 1:54. His name is Owen Clemons and he will break all of my school records. He also ran 4:27 for the full mile. Wait until Tinman gets ahold of him!
Saw this kid at RunningLane. People in the stands were commenting that kid looks like a grown man already.
It's a person's age that matters, not their grade. There was a guy in my 6th grade class who was 2 years older than me and twice my size. Heck yes that makes a big difference.
There was an 8th grader than ran 1:56 in that race that Keegan went 1:54. His name is Owen Clemons and he will break all of my school records. He also ran 4:27 for the full mile. Wait until Tinman gets ahold of him!
Saw this kid at RunningLane. People in the stands were commenting that kid looks like a grown man already.
I remember when Elliott McArthur was in 8th grade, and he looked like he was a college student height wise. He ran a 4:22 in the 1600 that year. He was the fastest Minnesotan that year, now there are at least 3 nonseniors who are faster than him - Gilles, Breker, and Scott.
Saw this kid at RunningLane. People in the stands were commenting that kid looks like a grown man already.
I remember when Elliott McArthur was in 8th grade, and he looked like he was a college student height wise. He ran a 4:22 in the 1600 that year. He was the fastest Minnesotan that year, now there are at least 3 nonseniors who are faster than him - Gilles, Breker, and Scott.
Fastest Minnesotan for 8th graders I meant. Elliott will be a senior next year.