Jonah Hoey took over the national lead in the mile on Saturday.
At the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Invitational, Hoey ran a time of 4:09.78 for second in the fourth section of the event. Wagner College's Jonathan Besselink won the section in 4:09.47. In addition to a US No. 1, Hoey's time is also the fifth fastest indoor full mile in Pennsylvania state history.
The high school senior, who is competing unattached this year, went through 880 in 2:07.94 before running a very strong second half of his race. He closed with a 28 second final 200 meters. Hoey sat in the pack for most of the race before seizing the lead with 400 meters left. Shortly thereafter, Besselink took the lead back and put a gap on Hoey and the field. Hoey fought back in the last lap and came up just short of the section win.
It's an overall mile personal best for Hoey -- indoors or outdoors. He ran 4:11.41 for 1,600 meters at the PIAA State Championships last spring, so Saturday's performance is a nice improvement.
This is Hoey's second trip up to BU this indoor season. He dropped a 4:13 at a Mini-Meet on December 28. Less than a month later he returned to Beantown and lopped about three seconds off his season best.
Watch the race above, with commentary from PennTrackXC contributor Phil Grove, above.
Section 4 Mile Results:
Section 4
1 Besselink, Jonathan Wagner 4:09.47
33.372 (33.372) 1:04.897 (31.525) 1:36.924 (32.027)
2:08.632 (31.708) 2:39.356 (30.724) 3:10.846 (31.490)
3:40.712 (29.866) 4:09.468 (28.756)
2 Hoey, Jonah Hoey Investm 4:09.78
32.649 (32.649) 1:04.313 (31.664) 1:36.339 (32.026)
2:07.935 (31.596) 2:39.221 (31.286) 3:10.680 (31.459)
3:41.339 (30.659) 4:09.776 (28.437)
3 Benner, John Vermont 4:09.91
33.456 (33.456) 1:05.253 (31.797) 1:37.920 (32.667)
2:09.767 (31.847) 2:41.430 (31.663) 3:12.242 (30.812)
3:42.251 (30.009) 4:09.903 (27.652)
4 Gilson, Aidan Unattached 4:12.48
33.580 (33.580) 1:05.156 (31.576) 1:37.163 (32.007)
2:08.851 (31.688) 2:39.828 (30.977) 3:11.140 (31.312)
3:41.526 (30.386) 4:12.472 (30.946)
5 McSolla, Dan Battle Road TC 4:13.06
33.034 (33.034) 1:04.686 (31.652) 1:36.872 (32.186)
2:08.980 (32.108) 2:40.245 (31.265) 3:12.539 (32.294)
3:43.359 (30.820) 4:13.055 (29.696)
