On Friday, May 26, Lex Young utilized the momentum of a professional field to improve on the men’s U.S. high school 5,000-meter record. As the youngest competitor in the race, the Newbury Park High School senior finished 18th in 13:34.96, highlighting day 1 of the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.
The Stanford signee improved on the previous 13:37.30 national record set by Connor Burns at the On Running Track Fest almost three weeks ago. Burns’ effort broke a long-standing 13:37.91 all-time best set by Galen Rupp in 2004.
“Better than I ever thought,” Young told Citius Mag when describing the title of high school record-holder. “Really really good.”
Young achieved the new record by running the majority of the race solo. Afterwards, the 18-year-old told Citius Mag he thought there would be more competitors running in the 13:30-13:40 range. When he found himself falling off the blazing early pace set in the first mile, he took a moment to reconsider his strategy. “I had to take a couple of breaths and think, ‘I’m falling off the back but it’s not because I’m dying but if I keep on going with them, I don’t want to dig myself down into a deeper hole,’” he said.
Abdihamid Nur won the 5,000 meters in 13:05.17 and achieved the standard to compete at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest this summer. Young’s approach ultimately paid off with a time that improved on his previous personal best by 11 seconds.
Young and his twin brother, Leo, chose to run their senior year of track unaffiliated with their high school team. They wanted the chance to compete against fields with professionals and restrictions imposed by CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) rules would prevent them from doing so, they told the Parker Valby Sets Collegiate 10,000 Meter Record. Both still train under former Newbury Park coach Sean Brosnan, who now leads the UCLA distance program.
Before breaking the record, Young said he hoped to improve on the time set by Burns weeks earlier, and the results leading up his attempt showed promise. At the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 14, he ran 13:44.83, less than a second shy of his previous personal best.
According to MileSplit, Young is now one of 11 high school runners that have broken 14 minutes for the outdoor 5,000 meters in U.S. history.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
