by Deji Ogeyingbo
At the HOKA Festival of Miles, High Schoolers Rewrote the Script on What’s Possible
By all accounts, Thursday night at the HOKA Festival of Miles was one of those rare evenings where everything aligned: the weather, the atmosphere, the crowd, and the athletes. Held on the track at St. Louis University High School, this event brought together top young talent and seasoned professionals, but the teenagers stole the show.
At the center of it all was Jane Hedengren, the high school distance runner from Utah who turned in a mile that defied expectations and may have redefined them. In cool, still conditions, Hedengren ran 4:23.50 in the championship girls mile, crushing the high school outdoor record by nearly five seconds. Her time was faster than any collegiate woman has ever run outdoors. Faster, even, than the professional women’s race that followed.
In a field that included top prep runners from around the country, Hedengren won by 12 full seconds. She made it look effortless, even though her post-race comments suggested otherwise. Her performance set a new U.S. U20 mark and is now the third-fastest U20 mile ever run globally.
Even Christina Aragon, the winner of the women’s professional mile in 4:29.38, paused to reflect on what she’d witnessed. “That’s absolutely incredible,” Aragon said. “It’s the first of its kind. I’m excited to see what she does in college and beyond.”
But Hedengren’s run was just the start.
The boys’ championship race followed, and it offered a different kind of drama. This time, the story wasn’t just about dominance, it was about grit, and closing speed, and a final-lap shootout between two of the top juniors in the country. Quentin Nauman, fresh off an exhausting triple win at the Iowa state meet, clocked 3:58.65 to win, breaking the U.S. junior class record in the process. He surged in the final 200 meters, holding off Oregon’s Josiah Tostenson, who also dipped under four minutes with a 3:59.00.
Their race wasn’t without early turbulence. A crowded start led to Arkansas’s Matthew Shelly going down hard with an apparent shoulder injury. After a restart, the group was more measured, with no one chasing the pacer. “In that moment I felt like God really did it,” he said after. “That last 50 was one of the hardest times I ever ran. My legs felt heavy and I just had to fight, fight, fight.”
It’s the kind of quote you expect from a boxer or a long-distance swimmer, not a high school junior. But that’s part of what made the night memorable, these teenagers competed and carried themselves like professionals, with the results to match.
Behind Nauman and Tostenson, TJ Hansen came through in 4:00.69, and Canadian Robin Lefebvre ran 4:01.61 for fourth. Deep fields in both high school miles produced headlines, but they weren’t the only ones setting new standards.
In the girls’ 800 meters, Missouri’s Elyse Wilmse and Paige Stuart finished first and second in 2:04.05 and 2:05.92, both under the previous meet record. They’ll be college teammates at Oklahoma State in the fall, and their finish showed why they’ll be expected to make an immediate impact.
On the boys’ side, Arizona’s Bryson Nielsen outleaned Iowa’s Owen Wolfe, 1:49.53 to 1:49.92. Both marks are notable in a high school setting, and neither athlete looked anywhere close to spent at the finish.
Then there were the Rahmer sisters. Isla, a sixth grader from Albuquerque, won the Junior High girls mile in 4:55.23, a record for her age group. Her older sister, Gianna, a freshman at El Dorado High, stayed patient before pouncing with 300 meters to go in the second section of the Elite girls’ mile. She crossed the line in 4:43.24, an all-time best for New Mexico.
In the men’s professional mile, Nike’s Craig Engels led a wave of ten men under the four-minute mark with a win in 3:56.28. Known for his flair as much as his kick, Engels joked afterward that he was just relieved to run faster than the high schoolers.
