High School Students Addressed Need By Staging Their Own Event And Showing What The Class Of 2020 Is Capable Of

By EJ Holland for DyeStat

Back in early April, I shot off a text to Matt Strangio before heading out for a run. 

Having had my own season ripped away as a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was eager to race, and curious to see if we could make something special happen. 

I proposed an idea for a race: A small event, sometime in late May, with one purpose – to get as many people under four minutes in the mile as possible.

Strangio, a three-time NXN All-American from Sacramento's Jesuit High, agreed and said that we needed to invite every big name in high school distance running west of the Rockies. The two of us reached out to everyone we could think of.

We knew some would say, “no,” whether due to health concerns or the inconvenience of traveling hundreds of miles when air travel is down nearly 90 percent due to the pandemic. All we needed were a handful of competitors and a couple of capable pacers.

Originally, the plan was to hold the race at the Robert Julian, Sr. Track in Ashland, Ore. – my hometown. But soon, that fell through after the Governor issued an order to close all high school athletic facilities. While scrambling for another venue, counties around Sacramento in Northern California began rolling back stay-at-home orders, and that meant opening local tracks.

Strangio took the reins from there. He began to ask around for a place that would be willing to host a small mile race. After sorting through a few options, Oak Ridge High School checked all the boxes.

Unfortunately, a few weeks prior to the event, both myself and Matt had some minor setbacks in training that caused us to sit out the race. Instead, Matt forged ahead and organized the meet, since he had connections in and around Sacramento.

After a brief discussion among the verified participants, it was decided that, if possible, the race should be conducted as officially as possible. That way, if anyone did break four minutes, it would be counted in the record books. Matt found a timer and a local track official to start the race – both keys to legitimizing the attempt. 

Thanks to an Instagram poll, the name was decided: The Quarantine Clasico. 

You all know what happened next. Eight high schoolers from across the West descended upon Matt's living room and then Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills. 

Leo Daschbach made history, crashing through the four-minute barrier in 3:59.54 to join an exclusive club that now numbers 11. Daschbach, from Highland High in Arizona, is the first high school boy to break four minutes in three years, since Reed Brown of Texas did it at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis.  

With 600 meters to go, Daschbach heard the announcer and assessed his remaining energy.

In a season wrecked by the Coronavirus, it had come down to a lap and a half on a faraway track for a chance at history. 

“I didn’t think about pace until 600 to go, when I heard the announcer say ‘They need 1:27 to break it!’ and I just thought ‘I can do that!’” Daschbach said.

Daschbach was one of several racers eager to bounce back from misfortune. His historic 2019 cross country season was cut short just before the postseason due to a small injury sustained in practice.

Thomas Boyden of Skyline UT was trying to erase the memory of last year's Brooks PR Invitational Mile, when he was caught up in a crash and fell in the second half of the race. 

Easton Allred of Corner Canyon UT hoped this spring would be "the one" after having struggled with injury and illness for the last year and a half. After a healthy end to his cross country season, and a near-perfect build up to the spring, it looked like it could be the Allred Revenge Tour. Even without a conventional season, it still was. He was able to dip back under nine minutes over 3,200 meters during a time trial (at altitude) in April, and at the Quarantine Clasico, he blazed a 4:05.67 mile.  

The Quarantine Clasico offered something sorely lacking in time trials – the feeling of being in a race instead of measuring fitness against a clock. Cole Sprout had already run an incredible 8:49 3,200 meters at altitude – something no one in Colorado had ever done.

Daschbach, likewise, had run 1:49.9 in a hand-timed 800. 

Saturday night's race was something different and it may have also shown the way forward with small, controllable track events that offer competitive opportunities in a moment when we are starved for them.  A combination of near perfect conditions, star-studded competition, and even a small crowd, allowed the guys to churn through four laps on 60-second pace. 

As the field was introduced, the pre-race jitters were noticeable. A single shot at history was just moments away. Nobody wanted to waste the time, effort, expense and planning of the event. 

The high pitched pop of the starter’s gun could be heard, at last, after more than two months of quiet. 

“The race got out smoothly and coming through the first lap I noticed we were a touch slow,” Sprout said .

The opening 880 yards was clocked in at 2:02, four seconds off the planned pace. 

For Sprout, the slow pace was especially concerning.

“I was definitely worried how it was going to affect the rest of the race because for me, personally, I’m not much of a sit-and-kick guy,” he said. 

With 600 meters to go, Daschbach, Sprout and Boyden began to pull away, with Boyden leading the charge.

“Once the pacers stepped off, we got going again, but still came through (three laps) at 3:03ish and from there it was just a sprint,” recalled Sprout.

As the dinner bell rang to signify the last lap, the leaders knew it would take a 56-second last lap to break four.

“I just knew I had to give every last drop once we hit 300 to go,” said Daschbach, who produced a 1,600-meter split of 3:58.20.

“I sat on (Boyden) for the curve, and once we hit 270 meters to go, I just sent it home.” 

Charging down the homestretch, he crossed the line, broke the barrier and ripped the covering off the 2020 season. 

Sprout followed close behind in 4:02.42, also running under 60 seconds on the last lap. It was an all-time state best for Colorado. 

“I was just thinking ‘I actually did it. You’ve got to be kidding, that’s absolutely crazy,’” said Daschbach, recalling the first thoughts he had after the amazing feat.

“Having the guys there to race made all the difference. I wouldn’t have broken it if it weren’t for Thomas and Cole.”

In addition to Daschbach and Sprout’s blazing times, the whole field came away with personal bests. Five ran under 4:09. In 2019, only the Brooks PR Invite and Music City Distance Carnival had as many. 

The success of the Clasico might encourage other meet hosts to reschedule, or host pop-up events like this one. In addition, teaser races like these remind all track fans just how much a lost season has hurt. If a snowball effect is in order, perhaps this is just what U.S. athletics needed to get it rolling.