American Fork taking aim at 4x1600 national record

By Dave Devine for DyeStat 

Almost exactly a year ago, four boys from Great Oak High in Temecula, CA, demolished a national relay record that had persevered an astonishing 40 years. This Friday, at the 50th Arcadia Invitational, they’ll learn whether their new mark survives more than one. 

When the Great Oak boys took the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) championship in December 2015, it was the culmination of a long journey for Coach Doug Soles’ senior-laden squad, but it wasn’t the crowning achievement. 

The distance powerhouse was only halfway to a pair of goals they had established for the year; if a triumph in the mud of Portland took care of the first objective, they would need to chase an elusive ghost from Eugene, OR — 100 miles south — to achieve the second. 

As the 2016 outdoor season opened, one of the longest-standing relay records in the books still lay squarely in the crosshairs.

Slipping Under 17 

On a blustery, overcast day in early May, 1976, a quartet of talented milers from Oregon’s South Eugene High combined for a 4xMile national record that none of them figured would last more than a season or two, much less 40. After all, they’d beaten their school’s own record from only a year earlier, and they had significantly undershot their goal to push the standard well below 17 minutes. 

It seemed reasonable, even likely, that another school would come along with four guys sporting PR’s in the 4:15 range and snatch the mark from South Eugene’s hands. 

“The guys from ’76 were actually kind of bummed out,” retired South Eugene coach Harry Johnson told DyeStat in 2009, “because what they were trying to do was break 17. And we had the individual marks to do it. We didn’t have a fabulous day to do it, but those guys were really after that sub-17 mark.” 

Numerous talented teams took aim at the 17:06.6 clocking over the years, either in 4xMile races or the 4x1,600 metric equivalent, with those efforts seeming to intensify in the NXN era as autumn success emboldened squads to pursue team goals on the track, but the South Eugene mark remained unassailable through the early days of April 2016. 

Which is when Great Oak went for the history books. 

“We treated breaking the 4x1,600 national record in track just like winning NXN in cross (country),” Coach Soles noted via e-mail this week, “and I think that made it a team effort. Many athletes and coaches struggle to find the team in track. That group of athletes for us sacrificed a lot of individual glory to become the best team they could.” 

On successive weekends, junior Solomon Fountain and seniors Cole Spencer, Isaac Cortes and Spencer Dodds laid waste to the 17-minute barrier, first dropping a 16:55.85 at the Arcadia Invitational and then clocking 16:52.95 at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. Both marks broke the standing 4x1,600 record of 17:04.7 set in 1986 by McCullough TX, as well as South Eugene’s superior 4xMile record, based on standard conversions. 

“I projected us well under 16:50 many times,” Coach Soles said, “but projections and actual performance are two different things. Having four guys on at the same time is very difficult to do, especially multiple times. I had the boys run the 4x1600 again at Mt. SAC against their wishes, because I felt they had more to give in the race and could put the record further out of reach for future teams chasing it.” 

This Friday evening, one year after initially claiming the mark, Great Oak discovers whether they stashed it far enough.

American Fork takes a swing 

The boys of American Fork UT, runners-up to Great Oak in that 2015 NXN final, and second again this past December, travel to the 2017 Arcadia Invitational with a trio of proven milers and their sights set squarely on the 4x1,600 record. Seniors Casey Clinger (4:05), McKay Johns (4:10) and Patrick Parker (4:06) boast a devastating collection of personal bests over four laps. They’ll be joined by Clinger’s sophomore brother, Carson, himself a rising talent for the Cavemen. 

American Fork coach Timo Mostert is keenly aware that races aren’t run on paper, that the simple addition of mile PR’s is unlikely to be replicated in the dynamic crucible of a race. As a result, he and the team have been more focused on process and preparation than past performances. 

“We really haven’t discussed others’ record attempts,” he said. “We’ve just tried to concentrate on being physically and mentally prepared to hit the splits we know our training has prepared us to hit.” 

American Fork is no stranger to scratching the 17-minute barrier. Last April, only five days after Great Oak ripped their 16:52.95, the Cavemen managed a 17:01.26 4x1,600 at an altitude of 4,700 feet in the Timpanogos Relays, winning by nearly a minute. 

In the immediate aftermath, prep track fans were savoring the possibility of an NXN rematch with Great Oak, on the track this time, and perhaps at New Balance Nationals Outdoor. 

According to Coach Mostert, a combination of prior commitments and individual options meant a North Carolina trip was never in the cards for the Utah squad. 

“We had boys last year earn opportunities to race at Brooks PR (Casey Clinger in the 3,200), the Great Southwest Classic (McKay Johns in the mile), and the adidas Dream Mile (Patrick Parker), so that was the focus of our postseason training. Our fourth man, Joe Simmons, was already graduated and in heavy training for his first collegiate season at Idaho State University, so (New Balance Nationals) wasn’t really an option.” 

Absent American Fork, a short-handed Great Oak team (key member Cole Spencer missed NBNO with a family commitment) ran into a different, but equally daunting Utah squad at the national meet in Greensboro. The boys of Ogden UT descended from altitude to take the Californians to the wire at the full 4xMile distance, with both teams slipping under the former South Eugene record, 17:04.55 for Ogden and 17:04.61 for Great Oak. 

It was the third time in one season Great Oak had bettered the 1976 standard.

A Barrier Abolished

“There were so many teams that were amazing groups that took a shot and missed,” Coach Soles says now. “It definitely made it feel like an impossible record to break. It had stood for so long, and I think it had some psychological effects on teams going after it. Any time a record like that is broken, it shows that it isn’t impossible and gives teams confidence to go after the new record.” 

Coach Mostert, for one, appreciates that the 17-minute mystique has been burst. 

“Just like Bannister’s breaking four minutes in the mile,” he says, “It’s always hardest to be the first to crack a barrier. Once others see it is possible, it gives them courage to try for themselves. We’re grateful for the opportunity to come out to the Arcadia Invitational for this chance to compete against some of the fastest teams in the U.S. and a chance at the 4x1,600 record.” 

Given the roster of talent populating every Arcadia race, American Fork will undoubtedly see its share of fast teams, but prep fans still clamoring for a clash of titans with Great Oak will have to wait. Saddled with a younger squad this year, Coach Soles expects to divert the top end of the distance depth toward the 4x800 and the distance medley relay. But even if his own team isn’t battling for the win and the record defense, he’ll be pulling for American Fork to make its mark. 

“The math says they have a great chance,” Soles notes, “and with an anchor that can split a 4-flat if needed, I have no doubt they can give it a great go. I’ll be cheering for them! Records are made to be broken, and if they break it we’ll go back to the drawing board and chase the new record with our next few teams.” 

Coach Mostert, buoyed by results last weekend that saw Casey Clinger run a 4:08 1,600, McKay Johns drop a 4:11, Patrick Parker stun with a 1:50 800, and a rapidly improving Carson Clinger notch a 2:03—all at 4,700 feet of altitude—is sanguine about his team’s chances on a cool evening at Arcadia’s 500-foot elevation.

“The boys are excited to come down from the mountains and breathe sea-level air,” he said. “Combined with the fun of being under the lights, the large crowd, and the great competition, I think everybody watching should be prepared for a phenomenal series of races on Friday and Saturday nights.”