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Top High School Boys Performances - 2020 Indoor Season

Published by
DyeStat.com   Mar 16th 2020, 12:48am
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Nico Young's Record-Breaking 3,000-Meter Run In New York Stands Out Among Season's Best Performances

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Editor’s Note: We’ll never know. Over this weekend, where the tracks was empty at The Armory in New York, high school athletes from all over the country were prepared to go off. To see months of work pay off. To peak. Of the many things lost this weekend in the U.S., a Sunday session at New Balance Nationals Indoor was something special. It was a lost opportunity to shine and to make history as a result of the cancellation of several championship events. But we can’t forget the season that abruptly ended Wednesday night.

Here are the 10 best high school boys performances from the ill-fated 2020 indoor track and field season.


1. Nico Young, Newbury Park CA, 3,000 meters – NYRR Millrose Games, Feb. 8

After rolling to an impressive victory at Nike Cross Nationals in early December, there was no doubt that his next move onto the track might be spectacular as well. Californians don't run a lot of indoor meets, but the Newbury Park senior deserved a chance to etch his name in the history books and in the one opportunity presented, he made the most of it.

Young took only one day off after NXN and he maintained his training focus on the goal of breaking the national high school record in the 3,000 meters at the NYRR Millrose Games. It was no easy task. Drew Hunter's time of 7:59.33 from 2016 isn't soft, for starters. And he'd do it in a professional field that could possibly run away from him if he lost concentration. 

Young showed that he is the class of the 2020 senior class of distance runners and perhaps one of the greatest of all-time with his 11th-place finish in 7:56.97. His ability to block out pain and push through the latter stages of races is not only becoming a hallmark, it's also inspirational. 

2. Sean Dixon-Bodie, Bloomfield CT, Triple Jump – NYRR Millrose Games, Feb. 8

The lack of an indoor national championship protected the 32-year-old high school record for at least another year. Dixon-Bodie seemed to have all the ability necessary to go and challenge it this weekend. Back at the NYRR Millrose Games, he jumped a career best 52 feet, 1.75 inches (15.89m) that put him ahead of Christian Taylor and Marquis Dendy on the all-time list at No. 3.

Dixon-Bodie anticipated a record attempt at NBNI, but his mark at Millrose was the longest in the U.S. in 22 years, trailing only Keith Holley's 52-7.50 (16.04m) record in 1988 and Greg Yeldell's 52-2.75 (15.91m) from 1998.

Dixon-Bodie didn't have the luxury of taking many more attempts in his best event because Connecticut doesn't offer triple jump at its state championships. 

3. Cameron Rose, Hickory Ridge NC, 300 meters Virginia Showcase, Jan. 19

In one of the biggest high school races of the winter, Rose went toe to toe with Justin Robinson and beat him in the 300 meters at the Virginia Showcase as both tried to take down Brian Herron's 2018 record of 32.64 seconds. Rose finished in 32.84 seconds to tie the second-fastest performance of all-time and was .03 seconds ahead of the standout from Missouri, the NBNI champion at 400 meters.

Rose, a Virginia Tech signee, also ran a US#1 time in the 200 meters, clocking 20.94 seconds at the Bob Pollock Invitational on Jan. 25 on the Clemson track. That performance moved him to No. 5 all-time in that event.  

4. Cruz Culpepper, Niwot CO, Mile – Washington Indoor Husky Classic, Feb. 15

Running on his future home track, Culpepper took two great attempts at a sub-four mile at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle. The last one, at the Husky Classic, was achingly close as the Niwot CO senior crossed the line in 4:00.10. 

Culpepper's effort to join the high school sub-four club began with his victory at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, where he won in 4:11.44 in a high school-only race. Then, he went to Seattle for the first time Feb. 1 for the UW Invitational and lowered his time to 4:01.66. 

That made the third attempt seem all the more realisitic. Running unattached against a high-quality college field, Culpepper was in the right race to make it happen. The top five finishers all crashed under the four-minute barrier. Culpepper gave it everything he had and his time put him No. 4 on the all-time list, right behind 2018 close-call Brodey Hasty, who ran 4:00.05.

5. Justin Robinson, Hazelwood West MO, 300/500 meters – Virginia Showcase, Jan. 19

The standout quarter-miler with Olympic Trials potential raced sparingly indoors but he performed well in under- and over-distance races in mid-January at the Virginia Showcase. 

In the 500 meters, Robinson won it in 1:02.39. It was the first 500 that he's run in high school and the time moved him No. 5 in prep history. He also finished second to Rose in the 300, clocking 32.87 for No. 4 in prep history. 

Robinson's only other indoor appearance was a 300 meters against professional Rai Benjamin at the NYRR Millrose Games, where he finished in 33.17 but picked up valuable experience.

6. Reheem Hayles, Springfield Gardens NY, 600 meters – NYSHSAA Indoor Championships, March 7

Hayles was one of the standout performers in New York this winter and his winning time of 1:18.48 at the state indoor championships placed him at No. 6 on the all-time list. He was undefeated in six attempts in the three-lap race and he also ran 1:18.59 to win Feb. 8 at the NYRR Millose Games.

The state meet, at Ocean Breeze, just one week before nationals, offered Hayles a chance to step on the gas as he took stock of his training and evaluated his chances to go after a title at NBNI. 

After his state meet victory, Hayles announced his college decision and signed with North Carolina A&T.

7. Trey Knight, Ridgefield WA, Weight Throw – Simplot Games, Feb. 14

The national record that Knight really covets is the hammer, an event contested outdoors.

But for four years, Knight has been a major player in the indoor weight throw and he came into the winter as the No. 2 performer all-time behind Conor McCullough. After two New Balance Nationals Indoor titles, Knight took a different approach to his senior year. He played football for the Ridgefield Spudders and found that he was a really good defensive lineman. That effort cost him a bit of missed time in the weight room, but he circled a couple of dates on his calendar to launch the weight and see if he could crack the 90-foot barrier something only McCullough has done. 

At the Simplot Games, with the season more than half over, Knight took his initial throw of the season and secured the US#1 mark on his first attempt. He built up to 83-11.75 (25.59m) not quite as far as he threw to break the meet record in 2019. In the finals, all three of his attempts sailed left of the sector line and were fouls. The final attempt left a chalk mark on the Holt Arena artificial turf that was estimated at 89 feet. 

A week later, Knight tried again at the UW High School Invitational, but couldn't find the groove. He'll go into the record books as No. 2 in the weight throw. And he'll hope to have an opportunity to go for Rudy Winkler's hammer record of 260-5 (79.37m).

8. Justin Braun, Thomas Worthington OH, 400 meters – OATCCC Division 1 State Championship, March 7

As a freshman, Braun won the Ohio Division 1 state title in the 400 meters in 46.76 seconds. How's that for a debut?

Braun was back at it this winter, improving in the 60, the 200 and in the long jump. But the state indoor championship is where he pooled his concentration and he ran a US#1 time of 46.77 at the SPIRE Institute. That's a 300-meter oversized flat track, which makes it a little bit different than a 200-meter oval. But it's still very fast and it earned him a spot on the all-time list at No. 10.

He would have come into NBNI this week as a favorite to win the 400 meters, and his race against Hayles would have been compelling. 

9. Jaden Price-Whitehead, Upper Dublin PA, Long Jump – TFCAofGP Meet of Champions, Feb. 22

Only a junior, Price-Whitehead joined a select club indoors when he jumped 25 feet (7.62m) at Lehigh. That put him in a tie for No. 19 all-time and gave him the longest jump of the season in the U.S. It was also make him the third-farthest jumper indoors in Pennsylvania history.

Price-Whitehead went on to win the state title with 24-3.25 (7.39m). He also finished third in the triple jump and was a finalist in the 60-meter dash, taking seventh. 

In a year where there were only three jumpers past 24 feet this winter, he would have been one to watch this weekend at NBNI.

10. Scott Toney, St. Francis (Mountain View) CA, Pole Vault – National Pole Vault Summit, Jan. 18

By Mondo Duplantis and Chris Nilsen standards, 17-4 (5.28m) in the pole vault may not seem like a headline-making achievement any more. We've been spoiled. But it's still a long ways up there and for Toney, who jumped that height at the UCS National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, it held up as a US#1.

For Toney, 17-4 was an enormous breakthrough. His previous best was 16-1.50, set in 2019. He finished his junior year with third place in the California state meet (16-1). His performance at Reno left him just one inch away from cracking the Top 20 all-time indoors. 



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