Strand shatters NCAA indoor Mile record
“I only wanted to come in and open up the season, get qualified in case I wanted to run the Mile at nationals. So to come out here and run that right now is pretty cool.”
By Tim Stephens, Vestavia Voice
Ethan Strand made track & field history — again.
The Vestavia Hills native and University of North Carolina distance star shattered the NCAA indoor Mile record Saturday at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic, clocking 3 minutes, 48.32 seconds.
Strand’s time broke the previous collegiate indoor record of 3:50.39, set by Cooper Teare (University of Oregon) in 2021, making him the first NCAA runner to run under 3:50 indoors or outdoors. His performance now ranks him as the third fastest man all-time indoors for the Mile.
“I didn’t quite know what today was going to be,” Strand told reporters at the meet. “I only wanted to come in and open up the season, get qualified in case I wanted to run the Mile at nationals. So to come out here and run that right now is pretty cool.”
Unlike his NCAA record-setting 3000m race earlier this season, this wasn’t a race where he expected a historic time.
“For the 3K, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to do that.’ But this one, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready to do that,’” Strand said. “So no, this time I definitely was not trying to come and get the collegiate record.”
Strand surged past the competition in the final laps, making decisive moves to pass Colin Sahlman and Robert Parkin. The race featured professional athletes chasing the world standard, pushing the pace to an unexpected level.
“The two pros up front obviously wanted the world standard, and so they weren’t going to let it go slow,” Strand said. “I just hung tough and tried to win the race.”
A two-time Alabama Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year, Strand was a dominant force at Vestavia Hills High School before joining North Carolina’s powerhouse distance program. His pedigree in the sport runs deep — his father, Scott Strand, who ran at Auburn, has a 4:00.01 Mile personal record, and was the former head coach of UAB’s men’s track team, while his mother, Lori Strand, coached cross-country at Samford.
With two NCAA records in his possession, Strand now faces a critical decision about how to approach the NCAA Championships.
Continue reading at: vestaviavoice.com
