Baker is King of Track and Prom
High school athlete of the week
By Marc Bloom, Running Times
Athlete: Brock Baker
Year: Senior
School: Oakland High School
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Mile PR: 4:06.77
3200m PR: 8:51.75
With his 4:06.77 on April 27 in Louisville, Brock Baker of Oakland High in Murfreesboro, Tenn., became the nation’s third-fastest Miler of the season. While the recent Penn Relays, Drake Relays and Payton Jordan Invitational commanded national attention, Baker was winning the Eastern Relays Mile with a big PR and State record in Kentucky. Baker is also class valedictorian and prom king. He quotes scripture verbatim, speaks in complete paragraphs, calls adults “sir” and has a sharp sense of humor. With the purity of a young Jim Ryun together with the cunning of a Marty Liquori, Baker is poised to try for a 4-minute Mile later this season.
Peak performance: Baker called his 4:06.77 victory against several national stalwarts his best run ever. He ran his last quarter in 59.36 to edge Jacob Thomson, the hometown favorite from Holy Cross of Louisville, who ran 4:06.98 (Kentucky State record). Jacob Burcham of West Virginia, the national sophomore record holder for 1500m (3:46.55 in 2011) was third in 4:08.85 with Ohio’s Jacob Dunford fourth in 4:10.45.
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