#73 - Former Local Runner Finally Breaks One Of His High School PRs!

February 11, 2025

Inside This Issue

Patient Plodding Leads To PRs

Fisher on top of the world. (Instagram)

Gotta admit, with every other spin about the amazing Millrose Games already having been written, I went for the most Michtracky possible headline. But it’s true: Not only did Grant Fisher deliver a jaw-dropping performance, he finally took down one of his high school PRs.

The proud son of Grand Blanc destroyed a World Record that had been considered one of the toughest. His 7:22.91 took 0.90 off the World Record and 5.32 off the American Record. It was also 2.56 faster than his American Record outdoors, so is an absolute U.S. Record. The pace was fast and even from the start, which meant the en route times were dazzling. He passed 2000m in 4:58.01, the No. 5 performance ever at that distance by an American indoors. His last 2000m took 4:53.84, some 0.23 faster than the American Record, but of course it won’t count.

Look at his 1600 split: 3:58.18! Converts to 3:59.57 for the mile. Not quite as fast as the 3:59.38 he ran as a high school senior outdoors, but it’s much faster than the 4:03.54 indoor mile PR he set in winning the New Balance Indoor 10 years ago. (Stat nuts will note that he closed with a 3:54.58 for 1600m, not the first time he’s done a sub-4:00 finish.)

For all of Fisher’s achievements and records, it’s gotten to be something he jokes about, that his mile PR from high school still stands, even though he has run 3:33.99 for 1500 (the equivalent of a 3:51.11 mile). He told me a couple years ago, “I do think it’s kind of funny that that my PR is from high school. It’s kind of a running joke. As a pro, most of the races that we do are 1500. So there aren’t tons of opportunities, but it would be fun just to knock that number down a little bit. But as of right now [laughs], it’s the running joke on the team that I haven’t improved since high school.”

Word is Fisher will be attempting to break the 5000 World Record next weekend on the ultra-fast Boston University track. But every jogger out there truly knows that no matter how many records and Olympic medals, Fisher won’t ever be successful until he breaks his high school outdoor mile PR. 😂

Kessler Surprises (Some)

In running 3:46.90, the 21-year-old from Ann Arbor opened some eyes, and we’ve already seen many reports calling it a surprise that he was able to hang with Yared Nuguse and become the second-fastest human ever indoors. But not everybody was surprised. There were whisperings from his people that he was indeed close to World Record levels, something we’ve dropped vague hints about in this newsletter.

“I really wanted to win, I’ll be honest with you, but I put forth my best effort. It was a good run; I’m really happy with it. Yared is so strong…I was closer than I ever have been. I’m closing the gap. I’m really making progress.”

Kessler bounced back from a disappointing 3000 the previous week: “I really tried to not analyze it too much. If I go look back at the training and realize I messed something up, I can’t go back and fix it, right? I still have races to do…. So I… just brushed it off. I kinda realized I made some mistakes in the race, I burned a few too many matches, but I take that away, and not worry about my training—just let my coaches figure that out and just come here ready to go hard. I think I can run a really good 3K, hopefully under 7:30, but last week wasn’t the day.”

En route, Kessler hit a indoor 1500 PR of 3:31.89—the No. 7 performer in world history, No. 2 in U.S. His 440 splits: 57.60, 55.90, 57.01, 56.41. Note that his last 440 was exactly the same as Nuguse’s. Fun fact: still 4 years younger than Nuguse.

What’s up next? Kessler will be at the USATF Indoor Championships attempting a 3000/1500 double. The meet is February 22-23 at Staten Island’s Ocean Breeze track. The meet is a qualifier for the World Indoor Championships in China in March, though Kessler will not be taking that trip. Nor, it appears will many other top U.S. distance talents, because of the toll on training that trip would make while they are trying to build a base for an international season that won’t wrap up until September in Tokyo.

Other Millrose News For Mitten Fans

Obviously, Fisher & Kessler stole the headlines, but we had plenty of other things to cheer as well:

  • Motor City ran 3:45.81 in the girls 4×4. The foursome of Dayshana Kellogg (56.68), Janae Coleman (55.29), Carrie VanNoy (57.02), Nevaeh Burns (56.84) placed 3rd. It was the No. 5 performance in state history.

  • The Motor City boys ran 3:18.93 for 5th. Phillip Burney (51.31), Demari Caldwell (48.32), Alex Patterson (50.56), Rondre Austion (48.76) combined for the No. 4 performance in state history.

  • TJ Hansen placed 3rd in the HS mile at 4:04.52, a bit slower than last week. But note his 1500 split was actually faster than he ran in Boston—3:47.05 to 3:47.27. It’s the No. 3 1500m split in history, after Kessler (3:43.07) and Fisher (3:46.41).

  • Jessica Jazwinski ran 2nd for much of the HS girls mile before finishing 7th in a state-leading 4:48.49 (No. 4 all-time). She passed 1500 in 4:28.88, moving to No. 3 all-time.

  • Janae Coleman placed 7th in the 600 in 1:33.75. She passed 500 in 1:16.00, the No. 2 time in state history (though that’s an event that is extremely rare for our kids to get into).

  • On the pro side, Gabriela Leon tied for 2nd in the vault, clearing 15-1.

  • Grace Stark hurdled 7.82 for 2nd place to Olympic champion Masai Russell. Timers also took an FAT picture at 55m, and she ran the fastest-ever time by a Michigander, 7.28. Old best was Tiffany Porter’s 7.38, at Millrose 13 years ago.

  • In the men’s hurdles, Freddie Crittenden ran 7.68 for 6th.

Fine Points Of Stats

Janae Coleman’s 500m split brings up a question that will be interesting for about 2% of you. How was that split taken? If you looked closely at the 600m results, you’ll see a split of 1:15.89, not the 1:16.00 that I mentioned above. What gives?

The splits shown for every 100m segment in most of the races were taken using a chip on the bib. However, the timing company also took actual finish photos at key split points that could theoretically yield national records. So the 1500 splits in the mile and the 500 splits in the 600 were actual FAT times. The chip times do not come with a photo showing the first part of the torso that crosses the line—the bib will rarely be the first part of the torso. Plus there’s some voodoo with radio signals or supermarket checkout scanners or something else that I don’t understand. As a result, chip-based times in a track event are not as accurate as FAT. However, they’re a heck of a lot more accurate than hand times. For the purposes of the all-time lists, I’m still wrestling with how to represent this difference fairly—some kind of asterisk will probably be the result.

HS Names In The News

Kamryn Tatum (Instagram)

  • Kamryn Tatum continues to blaze. She won her 60 heat at the LAB this weekend in a solid 7.60. Then she turned her attention to the 400, and went to the top of the list with her 54.55, ahead of Sydney Kuhn at 55.19. Looking at all track sizes, only three Michiganders have ever run faster: Kendall Baisden, Nevaeh Burns and Anna Jefferson. Tatum also covered 200 in 24.37.

  • Chance McNeill of Novi won a dash photofinish with East Kentwood’s Malachi Mosley as both clocked 6.90.

  • Another close finish came in the 200, where Jason Hamilton of Troy edged Belleville’s Schmar Gamble, 21.73-21.74, with McNeill 3rd in 21.92.

  • Ann Arbor Huron’s Leena Shelgikar ran 2:17.96 for 800 Saturday.

  • Jaelyn Martin of Cass Tech won the LAB 400 in 49.04, with teammate Ayden Myers at 49.41.

  • Lincoln’s Greg Myers ran 1:55.60 to edge Skyline’s Kyle Krasan (1:55.76).

  • Rachel Smith of Okemos, a 9th-grader, ran 10:55.48 for 3200.

  • A sharp hurdle race saw Will Smith top his teammate, Schmar Gamble, as both PRed: 7.82-7.94.

  • Garrod Alexander of Walled Lake Central PRed in the shot at 55-0.

  • She’s not a Michigan prep anymore, but Anyla Robinson led of the IMG Academy’s Millrose-winning 4×8 that clocked 8:55.47, the No. 8 time in U.S. history.

College Names In The News

  • Oak Park alum Nonah Waldron, now competing for USC, ran a PR 8.08 in the hurdles in Albuquerque.

  • Coldwater alum Dylan Targgart placed 2nd in the East Coast Invitational shot for the other USC (South Carolina), throwing 63-8.25.

  • Kennedy Jackson, who leaped a state record in the long jump while at Walled Lake Western, is now a senior at Mississippi State. Last weekend she scored a PR in the pentathlon at 4021 points, becoming the No. 7 alumni ever.

  • The 800 at the Michigan Invitational was a historic one. Trent McFarland (ex-Utica) won in 1:47.22, just ahead of Miles Brown (ex-Novi) at 1:47.25. They both went under the old UofM record. They also moved to spots 2 and 3 on the alumni all-time list, after only world champion Donavan Brazier—and just ahead of legendary Earl Jones, who ran his 1:47.26 in winning the NCAA Indoor for Eastern Michigan in 1985.

  • Ex-East Kentwood thrower James Mackey (now GVSU) showed he is a force in the weight throw, winning in Allendale this weekend with a 66-3.

  • Kenowa Hills product Myles Kerner won the shot for Grand Valley at 63-5.

  • Brooke Bowers, the state indoor record holder from Forest Hills Central, won the vault for GVSU at 13-7.25.

  • Former Renaissance star Olvia Jenkins, now competing for Louisville, won the 60 at the Eastern Indoors in a PR 7.49.

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Other Things

  • Officials Needed! It bears repeating again and again. We need more officials out there! If you’ve got some time on your hands and want to make a difference in the sport, please jump in! Everything you need to know is at ATOM.

  • Speaking of officials: I overheard one talking about meets trying to eliminate paper scoring sheets for the field events and going entirely electronic. My 2 cents work—please don’t eliminate paper! All the big meets up to the Olympics use a paper back-up at the very least. And I don’t think I have announced a meet anywhere that didn’t experience an electronic failure at some point. For the sake of the kids, let’s not gamble on this.

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