Mile News


Hobbs Kessler Crushes U.S. High School 1500 Record

May 30, 2021

“I thought the clock was off for a second. It was cartoonish. It just didn’t seem real.”

By Jeff Hollobaugh, Track & Field News

Enough talk about potential. On a Saturday night in Portland at Lewis & Clark’s Griswold Stadium, Hobbs Kessler (Skyline, Ann Arbor, Michigan) proved to the world that he is the real thing. Just 76 days after turning 18 he ran a gobsmacking 3:34.36 to destroy the American Junior Record that Jim Ryun set 55 years ago (3:36.1); he also demolished Alan Webb’s U.S. High School Record from 2001 (3:38.26). Neither of those milestones were the goal.

Kessler entered the Portland Track Festival race with just one objective, the Olympic Trials standard of 3:37.50. He crushed that and also made the Olympic standard to place 5th in a race full of pros where the top 11 all bested 3:36. Up front, Craig Engels PRed to top Britain’s Charlie Grice, 3:33.64–3:33.82, with Jake Heyward scoring a big PR 3:33.99, while Henry Wynne took 4th in 3:34.08, also a PR.

Kessler and his coach, Ron Warhurst, had hoped the race would be fast enough to put him at 1200 in 2:55. They figured he could qualify from there. The morning of the race, they spent time with Kiwi Mile legend and two-time Olympic medalist Nick Willis, watching videos to study how to handle the crowded first 200.

Later on, he got a text from one of the assistants at Northern Arizona, where he is signed to run this fall: “He said, ‘Put yourself in the race.’ I really took that to heart. I didn’t want to do what I’ve done in these other races and go straight to the back. I wanted to be in it and feel the momentum of the race, like ride the wave a little bit.

“I really wanted to get off the line. I went through 100 meters in 13-something. I wasn’t dead last, but I was in the back. But then everyone slammed on the brakes. I worked my way up and got in a good spot in the top 5 or 6, somewhere in there. A few guys and the rabbit in front of me and that’s where I wanted to be.”

He passed the first 400 in 56.6. “I did that and I was like, ‘OK, I’m good.’ I’m on the wave, I’m in line, I’m on the rail. Then like three guys went by me and I kept letting them in. They were getting into my space and I didn’t know how to keep them away. They just put themselves there and I’m like, ‘Oh crap. There goes another guy.’”

A second lap in 58.6 brought him to 800 in 1:55.2. “I kept trying to move out and move up. I moved up a little bit going into 800 and I knew I was good. I was feeling really present. At 500 to go, [training partner Mason Ferlic] went by me and I tried to go with him.” Ferlic had won the steeple the night before in 8:18.79.

“I went into lane 3 to try to go with him. Then this Brooks Beast kid [Henry Wynne]… I tried to go wide and I got shut down. So I tucked in.”

He hit the bell in 2:38.9 — he would need a 58.6 closer to make the Trials mark. He told himself, “I’m in it. I can qualify. I’m in it, I’m in it.”

Still, the precocious teen made no sudden moves. He passed 1200 in 2:53.5, well-ahead of his hoped-for pace. “Burned into my mind was Mason passing me, and seeing Mason ahead. I’m like, ‘I cannot let Mason beat me.’

“There was a guy on the inside, a gap, Mason, and some other guy. I charged through that gap and passed Mason and thought, ‘I’m going to get as many people as I can. Let’s run them down.’ Time to go for it.”

Continue reading at: trackandfieldnews.com

Photo credit: Nike Portland XC

Full race video below with Kessler impressively closing well over the final 100 meters.

Tags: ron warhurst (4) , hobbs kessler (21) , high school record (21) , craig engels (43) , american junior record (2)

Facebook Comments

Return the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.

ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.

CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance,
to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.

Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!

Join Us

Thanks for joining the movement and being a Mile Maniac. We'll keep you up to-date with our Mile wires as well as exclusive contests and opportunities. Help us spread the word by sharing our site and joining us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!