‘Empty the tank’: Wichita runner wins national title with record-setting indoor mile
The quest to break four minutes in the mile continues for Wichita prodigy Clay Shively.
A record-setting national championship will have to do in the meantime.
Shively lowered his personal-best time to 4 minutes, 0.47 seconds to dominate a field of the best high school runners in the country, winning the indoor mile race by five seconds at the New Balance Indoor Nationals meet held in Boston this past weekend.
Not only did Shively, a senior at Trinity Academy, break the national meet record, he now owns the ninth-fastest indoor mile time in history of the high school boys division. He had already broke Jim Ryun’s 58-year-old state record in the high school indoor mile last year and lowered that record time.
“You definitely can’t be disappointed with four flat,” Shively told reporters afterward. “I would have loved to break four, but I think (my time) is indicative of the growth happening right now and the strength I’m building.”
It was the second time this indoor season that Shively has flirted with cracking four minutes, as he registered a 4:00.70 race on the same track at Boston University on Feb. 10.
Shively, a Northern Arizona signee, is no stranger to competing against the best of the best outside of his high school cross country and track seasons at Trinity. He noted that his race on Sunday meant the most to him.
“I’ve come to quite a few of these big, national meets now and I’ve been able to run some fast times,” Shively told Citius Mag. “But I’ve never gotten a win. So that was a pretty fun experience.”
In Sunday’s race, Shively was dominant from the start, tailing the four-minute pacer for the first two laps around the track. After that, Shively said his goal was to “empty the tank.”
That’s exactly what he did, continuing to push the pace and create a sizable gap from his competition. For the final lap, Shively’s biggest competitor was the clock.
“I’m learning to never count myself out,” Shively told reporters. “I learned earlier this season that sometimes it starts hurting earlier than you want, but you’ve got to lean into it. You can’t shy away from the pain. I’m learning more about that, leaning into the pain, and that’s where you’re going to see the best results.”
While a sub-4-minute mile escaped him on Sunday, it seems inevitable that Shively will soon join the exclusive club of runners.
On top of owning the fastest indoor mile, he also has the fastest 5-kilometer time in Kansas history. He won his second straight Class 3A cross country title this past fall and is the reigning state track champion in the 800-meter and 1600-meter races. In January, he was also named Kansas Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year.
“Clay was simply phenomenal Sunday,” said Randy Mijares, Shively’s running coach at Trinity. “From his pre-race demeanor and preparation, to his dominance and perfect execution of the race plan, to his gracious post-race concession to all media demands, it was an unforgettable thing to see. This was a truly historic performance in the midst of an already legendary career.”
Shively said the victory on Sunday excited him because he knows he’s nowhere close to a finished product yet.
“I’m stronger than ever and I know regardless if I’m a 3:59 miler or a 4-flat miler, I’m progressing well,” Shively told Citius Mag. “I have some fun things planned for the future and I know I’m nowhere near my peak yet. So that feels good.”
