Slagowski crashes the HS sub-four club

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The only concern that Michael Slagowski had on Friday -- and it was slight -- had to do the the weather at the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays. 

WATCH THE RACE

Four laps and a little bit extra? It was no problem for the soft-spoken senior from Meridian, Idaho who became the ninth prep runner in U.S. history to join the sub-four miler club by running 3:59.53 on cool, wet evening at Jesuit High School in Portland. 

Slagowski became the fourth high schooler in the past 12 calendar months to join legendary names like Jim Ryun and Alan Webb. 

"It's amazing," Slagowski said. "It's becoming the new standard for high shool distance runners. It's awesome to join that club. I never thought I'd be here my freshman and sophomore year."

Slagowski won the invitational mile in 2015 at Jesuit when the pacing fell apart early and prevented fast times materializing. 

This year, Slagowski's teammate, Anthony Ghiorso, led the charge through 880 yards. And he completed two laps right on pace, just a hair over two minutes. 

Slagowski pressed himself on the third lap, knowing it's the quarter where sub-four dreams often die. He came through three-quarters in 3 minutes.

A Jesuit crowd that was only marginally aware that the kid from Idaho was poised to do something historic, rose to its feet and implored him around the fourth lap.  Slagowski came down the homestretch to thunderous applause. 

Less than an hour before the race, a downpour drenched meet -- one of several hard showers that kept the track wet.

Unlike most of the other sub-four preps, Slagowski does not approach the mile from a distance monster's well-beaten path. Andrew Hunter, Grant Fisher and Matthew Maton were all cross country stars. 

Slagowski, a Penn State commit, has top end 800 meter speed and ran 1:48.70 three weeks ago. 

And even after racing to a six-second PR and making history on the track, Slagowski's evening was not done. 

Hours after running his sub-four mile, Slagowski got back into the action and ran a 49-point anchor carry for the Rocky Mountain 4x400 relay team. 

The possibility now looms for a Slagowski vs. Hunter showdown in the mile, most likely at the Brooks PR Invitational in June. 

"I think it'd be a really interesting race," Slagowski said. "I think I could put up a good fight against him."