Bailey Roth breaks 35 year old steeple HSR!

Future GOAT?

Can someone at the meet confirm that this is just Mehdi Baala with glasses and a fake nose/mustache?

5 603 Mehdi BELHADJ FRA FRA 8:58.87 Q

"What's your name?"

"Mehdi Baalll....hadj. Si. Mehdi Belhadj."

What size barriers do high school boys use? Any conversion chart for men's barriers?

Skeptic/Sceptic wrote:

What size barriers do high school boys use? Any conversion chart for men's barriers?

36 inches. The same as the Seniors.

Expected. He improved the national 2000 meter steeple record by 2 seconds this year.

5:41.67 at NB, but that time isn't listed on his IAAF profile.

He should go even quicker in the Finals.

Absolutely phenomenal. I never thought this would be broken. I ran close to 9-flat to place 3rd at US National over 10 years ago and always looked at that national record as crazy fast.

Congratulations, Bailey Roth. That's a big-time record and best wishes in the final to lower it again.

Where is he going to college? That's an automatic point scorer in Division I!!

University of Arizona

T;lw wrote:

Absolutely phenomenal. I never thought this would be broken. I ran close to 9-flat to place 3rd at US National over 10 years ago and always looked at that national record as crazy fast. !!

WTF? The HS steeple record was very weak. Should be at least 8:35 to 8:40.

Yeah, that's why you couldn't break it and why it's been around 35 years. I think it was Jeff Hess from Univ. of Florida.

Think about it, malmo, it's a pretty stout time. 8:35-8:40 is equivalent to about an 8:35-8:40 for 2 miles, which has only been done by 2-3 kids in this country's history.

Too lazy to look it up...does Rickey Pittman still hold the US Jr record--8:27?

What are this kid's mile and 2 mile times? And what were Jeff Hess's?

It's a weak record and stood for years because very few high schoolers run the steeple and the ones that do aren't the 8:40-8:55 runners. The US junior steeplers usually are 9:00-9:10 runners that wouldn't be competing for high school national titles at 3000-5000 meters.

Certainly this kid is a sub-8:50 two miler who concentrated on the steeple for a couple years. But I don't know. I also know Henry Marsh never ran 8:09 for 2 miles (which would have been a world record) or 7:32 for 3000 meters. And I don't think he was capable of that.

I recall Rickey Pittman running one steeple in high school when he was an 8:49 two miler and ran around 9:20.

Also around that time Andy Martin who was a 9:05 two miler ran the steeple his junior year in 9:04.

So it accurate to assume that if more of the 50 plus high school runners that were 8:40 to 8:50 two milers focused on the steeple the record should be around 8:40.

Nonetheless any national record being broken that stood for 35 years in impressive.

alcoholidays wrote:

Too lazy to look it up...does Rickey Pittman still hold the US Jr record--8:27?

Pittman did run that time as a freshman at NCAAs but he must not have been a junior by age because the AJR is 8:33 by Gregorek.

Roth broke the HSR because he lives and trains at altitude, which is a particular advantage for the steeple. He's giving up that advantage (at least somewhat) by going to Tucson.

T;lw wrote:

Yeah, that's why you couldn't break it and why it's been around 35 years. I think it was Jeff Hess from Univ. of Florida.

Think about it, malmo, it's a pretty stout time. 8:35-8:40 is equivalent to about an 8:35-8:40 for 2 miles, which has only been done by 2-3 kids in this country's history.

Why would I have been able to set the hs record? 1) I never ran it and 2) I was a 4:16/9:10 hs runner. Those times don't even come close to what you need to become a hs record holder.

Its clear you don't know much about the steeplechase at all. You don't need to be anywhere near 8:35 to run an 8:35 steeplechase.

Roth is 18y 7m old. When I was a 18y 8m college freshman I ran an 8:52sc on a crappy asphalt track the very first time I tried the event (winning by 20s). My best flat times were 4:08/8:55. As a 19yo I ran 8:40sc with flat prs of 4:06/8:52.

The hs steeplechase record is very weak. It should be about 8:35-8:40.

8:10 3K runner who trained for the steeple, given opportunities to race it and the H.S. record would be 8:40 or better.

Gregorek was 8:56.9 in HS and improved over 23 seconds in one season.

He also had a good mile time and PR of 8:18 in the steeple.

It's completely stupid that kids about to start college can set "high school" records. That window should close on graduation or June 15th or some reasonable date.

It is clearly a great time though. I'm certain that the rarity of the event being contested has led to it standing for 35y however.

rodger wrote:

It's completely stupid that kids about to start college can set "high school" records. That window should close on graduation or June 15th or some reasonable date.

It is clearly a great time though. I'm certain that the rarity of the event being contested has led to it standing for 35y however.

How is it stupid? You arent in college until you are in college. Why should high school kids have a no-man's land in the Summer where they don't count for anything? That would be stupid.

Once you graduate from hs, you are no longer in hs. Correct?

Also when you finish X grade in school and are promoted to x+1 grade, that's what you are. X+1. On that day.

But you are running off of HS training in almost every case.

rodger wrote:

Once you graduate from hs, you are no longer in hs. Correct?

Also when you finish X grade in school and are promoted to x+1 grade, that's what you are. X+1. On that day.