Incoming University of Oregon track & field athlete Simeon Birnbaum (Rapid City, South Dakota) won the Garmin Boys Mile Championship in 4:02.22 on Sunday afternoon at the 2023 Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field. Photo by Maggie Troxell

By Israel La Rue

Simeon Birnbaum stood at the top of the high school middle distance runners after winning the boys mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals Sunday at Hayward Field. He ran 4:02.22 to beat a field that featured two other sub-4 runners and twins who have been competing in professional meets all outdoor season.

“A lot of people were saying that these were the guys that I had to beat to be the best,” Birnbaum said. “I knew I was the best, and I was able to take them down pretty steadily today.”

Birnbaum also won the two other mile races he entered this season, at the Drake Relays and the Hoka Festival of Miles, where he set a meet record and a PR of 3:57.53.

“These guys” as Birnbaum said, were twins from Newbury Park High School, Leo and Lex Young, who elected to not race in high school meets this season until this weekend.

The twins said that because of California Interscholastic Federation’s rules, they were forced to choose between an outdoor high school season or the chance to run in professional meets. Since they haven’t competed against their peers all season long, they said they had been looking forward to this weekend.

The twins have run at professional meets including the Bryan Clay Invitational, LA Grand Prix and Portland Track Festival. Both brothers set PRs at the LA Grand Prix in May. Leo ran 3:39.66 in the 1,500. Lex ran 13:34.96 in the 5,000, breaking the boys high school record by 2.34 seconds.

Connor Burns, who was also in the field Sunday, had broken Galen Rupp’s 5,0000-meter high school record 20 days earlier.

Burns and Birnbaum will both join Oregon’s program in the fall. The Young twins are going to Stanford, so they’ll all compete against each other frequently.

Two days before Sunday’s showdown, Birnbaum got a taste of a professional race, running 3:37.93 in a men’s professional 1,500-meter race, finishing third and moving ahead of Alan Webb into second all-time among high school boys. Only Hobbs Kessler, who ran 3:34.36 in 2021, has run faster.

“I pretty much learned that I can compete with them,” Birnbaum said. “I mean, I can't compete with the top pros. Obviously, like, Diamond League people. But USA pros I can run with. I think that's where I belong. So I get confidence from that. And if I can run with them, I can definitely run with the NCAA. And I think I can take almost all those guys down.”

His confidence was displayed as his race plan unfolded. He stayed at the back for the first lap, then moved to the middle of the pack. With 250 to go, he made his move on the outside, pulling onto Leo Young’s shoulder on the turn, then outkicking him down the stretch.

“I let them all battle up front,” Birnbaum said. “And then I got to the front with Leo, and then we started kicking the last 100. It was seeing who had it, and I had that one extra gear that I usually can find.”

Before Birnbaum made his move, Leo had positioned himself to take the lead on the final lap.

“I took the lead maybe 350 meters to go,” Leo said. “And it went pretty well. Unfortunately, I lost it on the line, but, I mean, that's how racing is sometimes.”

Leo finished second in 4:02.58.

Mile champion Simeon Birnbaum receives his medal along with the next top five finishers, including Leo Young, Rocky Hansen, Connor Burns, Lex Young, and Carter Cutting. Photo by Maggie Troxell

The race turned into a tactical one with multiple runners taking leads throughout the race, Rocky Hansen – who had finished 0.07 behind Birnbaum at the Hoka Festival of Miles – led the race two laps in.

“Championship racing is just so much different than the rest of the season,” Hansen said “Everyone is wanting to conserve themselves a little more. No one really wants to take it out because they all want to win, and I wanted to win, too … and I thought, well, no one's going to take it. No one's going to push. I'll do it.”

Hansen finished third with a time of 4:03.63.