American Fork of Utah senior standout edges Neil from Bozeman High in Montana by 8:34.96 to 8:35.32 margin, leading 37 athletes in invitational 3,200 field to sub-9 efforts, including six state records

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

ARCADIA, Calif. – Flashbacks of last year’s boys invitational 3,200-meter race began appearing in Daniel Simmons’ mind when Simeon Birnbaum outkicked him over the final 50 meters to claim the Arcadia Invitational title.

Heading into the same final straightaway in the same race a year later, the senior from American Fork High in Utah found himself in a similar situation, but with Nathan Neil of Bozeman High in Montana on his heels instead.

This time, Simmons wouldn’t be denied.

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Simmons held off Neil’s late charge over the final few meters to run 8 minutes, 34.96 seconds Saturday night in the marquee race of the meet’s 56th edition at Arcadia High to capture an elusive title he’s been after since finishing runner-up at last year’s meet.

“Last year, I said to myself, ‘I’m doing all I can, so whatever happens, happens,’” Simmons said. “And I think that took power from me and Simeon caught me at the finish line. But this year, I went into the race believing that I could do all things through Christ.”

Simmons wasn’t the only one with belief coming in.

He and 68 other athletes found themselves all under 9 minutes between all six 3,200 races contested Friday and Saturday, including 37 coming from the invitational section. That total of 69 sub-9 performances far surpassed the previous meet record of 44 from last year’s showcase.

“It was so fun actually,” Simmons said. “Not just running alone like in a 5K kind of race, it was just like there were dudes all around me the whole time and I was in the moment the whole race.”

Simmons led the field through 4:21.54 at 1,600 before a lead pack started to establish with Drew Griffith of Butler Area in Pennsylvania, American Fork teammate Ben Jaster and junior Josiah Tostenson from Crater High in Oregon, and so many more. 

Upon reaching the bell lap, Simmons began to make a surge with Griffith and Neil both responding as well, setting up a three-man race over the final 400 meters.

With less than 200 to go, Simmons began pulling away, but Neil managed to remain in contact heading into the home straightaway. 

Fighting for every meter, Simmons and Neil both clocked 57-second splits on the final lap, with Neil a close second to him in a Montana state record 8:35.32.

Neil’s Montana all-time mark was one of six state records set in the invitational section. 

Griffth finished third in a Pennsylvania record of 8:37.43, with Ethan Edgeworth, a senior at Cold Springs High, finishing sixth in an Alabama record of 8:38.49. 

Owen Powell, a junior at Mercer Island High, took 10th in a Washington state record 8:41.03, besting the previous record held by the legendary Gerry Lindgren of Rogers High. 

Will Conway, a senior at Floyd Central High, finished 12th in an Indiana record of 8:41.18 and Tommy Latham, junior at Marist High, placed 20th in a Georgia record of 8:46.88.

Also featured in the top 10 were Ryan Pajak, senior at Ringgold High in Pennsylvania, fourth in 8:38.02, Jaster finishing fifth in 8:38.34, Tostenson in seventh in 8:39.89, JoJo Jourdon, a senior at Olympus High in Utah, in eighth in 8:40.46 and Emmanuel Perez, a senior at Cathedral High in California, in ninth in 8:40.47.

Along with the 37 athletes finishing under 9 minutes in the invitational section, 27 went under 8:50 to go well beyond last year’s meet record of 16 boys eclipsing that barrier.

In the boys rated race, Omar Alsaidi of Oakdale High of California led 11 guys under nine with his winning effort of 8:57.29.

Riku Sugie of Thomas Nelson High of Kentucky led 20 competitors to sub-9 marks in the boys seeded race, featuring his winning time of 8:48.83.