OHIO’s ALL-TIME GREAT HS MILER LISTS

S

State The Obvious

Active member
**OHIO SCHOOLBOYS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO BREAK FOUR MIN FOR ONE MILE
**TOP 1500 IN OHIO HISTORY
**TOP MILERS IN OHIO HISTORY

I have these lists included in two different threads..”Ohio Schoolboys who have gone on to break four minutes for one mile”, and “Successful milling by former Ohio champs”. These threads also chronicle the exploits of some of Ohio’s former HS stars who are still competing. I keep these lists up to date as our runners continue to post times that qualify for these elite lists.

The threads seem to be popular, with over 40,000 and over 30,000 views since the posts were originated. But to access the updated lists of Ohio’s top milers, top 1500 runners, and Ohio’s sub 4:00 milers, you have to scroll thru many pages of comments. So to simplify things for viewers who just go to the threads to see our lists for 1) Ohio schoolboys who have gone on to break four min for the mile, 2) Top 1500 runners in Ohio history, and 3) Top Milers in Ohio history, I created this thread that ONLY includes this info. When someone runs fast enough to make a list, it will be updated here.

For occasional news on current race results by our Ohio alum still competing, I will continue to utilize those other two threads for that. I hope this makes it easier and more interesting for those who are just interested in accessing the lists.
 
 
OHIO SCHOOLBOYS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO BREAK FOUR MINUTES FOR ONE MILE

UPDATED 2/5/23

(Athlete, race year, who they were running for at the time of their sub 4, Ohio HS they competed for)

1. Bob Schul 1964 Miami (Milton-Union)
2. Dave Wottle 1970 BGSU (Canton Lincoln)
3. Reggie McAfee 1973 UNC (Cincinnati Courtier Tech)
4. Steve Foster 1975 Florida TC (Madison)
5. Tom Byers 1981 Athletics West (Columbus North)
6. Kevin Ryan 1983 Athletics West (Cleve. St. Joseph)
7. Roosevelt Jackson 1988 Reebok (Orwell Grand Valley)
8. Bob Kennedy f1991 Indiana (Westerville North)
9. Mark Dailey 1993 New York AC (Lakewood St. Edward)
10. Rob Myers 2003 Ohio State (Lancaster Fairfield Union)

11. Ian Connor 2003 Nike (Galion Northmor)
12. Chris Estwanik 2004 Nike Farm Team (Dublin Coffman)
13. Jeff See 2007 Unattached (Middletown)
14. Tony Jordanek 2010 Unattached (Lexington)
15. Mack Chaffee 2011 Ragged Mountain TC (Chagrin Falls)
16. Cory Leslie 2011 Ohio State (Sandusky Perkins)
17. Brannon Kidder 2013 Penn State (Lancaster)
18. Chris Fallon 2013 Ohio State (Copley)
19. Jake Edwards 2014 Columbus RC (Delaware Hayes)
20. Eric Finan 2014 Team Minnesota (New Richmond)

21. Colby Alexander 2014 Oregon (Strongsville)
22. Clayton Murphy 2016 Akron (Tri Village)
23. Sam Prakel 2016 Oregon (Versailles)
24. Mick Stanovsek 2018 Oregon (ND Cathedral Latin)
25. Kyle Mau 2018 Indiana. (Hudson)
26. Michael Hall 2018 Florida State (St. Xavier)
27. Willy Fink 2018 VT Elite (Maumee)
28. Ryan Adams 2020 Furman University (CVCA)
29. Jacob Dumford 2020 Under Armour/District TC (Westerville N)
30. Lucas Bons 2021 BYU (Dublin Coffman)

31. Elliott Cook 2022 Oregon (Dublin Jerome)
32. Arjun Jha 2023 Michigan (Worthington)
33. Anthony Camerieri 2023 Ole Miss (Brecksville)
34. Chad Johnson 2023 Iowa State (N. Robinson Col. Crawford)

Of the 34 athletes on the list, 21 broke 4 min for the first time while still running for their college team (or in their redshirt year). (Schul, Wottle, McAfee, Kennedy, Myers, See, Leslie, Kidder, Fallon, Alexander, Murphy, Prakel, Mau, Stanovsek, Hall, Adams, Bonn, Cook, and Jha, Camerieri, and Johnson).

Of the 34 athletes on the list, 9 have gone on to qualify for the 1500 meter final in the USA Championship Meet at least once (getting thru the heats to the championship race).
(Wottle, McAfee, Ryan, Byers, Myers, See, Alexander, Murphy, Prakel)

Ohioans who have made it to the the Olympic Trials 1500 final…Wottle 1972 (2nd)…McAfee 1972 (7th)…Byers 1976 (9th), 1984 (12th)…Ryan 1980 (8th)…Myers 2004 (3rd), 2008 (9th)…Estwanik 2004 (9th)…See 2012 (9th)…Alexander 2016 (7th), 2021 (8th)…Prakel 2021 (9th).

Reggie McAfee was the first African-American to break 4 in United States history.

Why is Sam Bair missing from the above list? Because he didn't attend HS in Ohio. He was from Pa. He did, however, run sub 4 for Kent State in 1967.
 
Last edited:
revised 3/19/22

TOP 1500 RUNNERS IN OHIO HISTORY... UPDATED 3/19/22

(All sub 3:37 runners)

1) Colby Alexander 3:33.65 run in 2021 ...converts to 3:50.74 mile and currently18th fastest performer in US history.
2) Rob Myers 3:34.89 run in 2005
3) Cory Leslie 3:34.93 run in 2013
4) Jeff See 3:35.21 run in 2012
5) Brannon Kidder 3:35.27 run in 2019
6) Sam Prakel 3:35.66 run in 2019…clock set up en route to his 3:50.94 indoor mile (#8 performer in US indoor history)
7) Tom Byers 3:35.75 run in 1982
8) Dave Wottle 3:36.2 (HT) run in 1973
9) Clayton Murphy 3:36.23 run in 2016 …converts to a 3:53.52 mile


NOTE: In 2021, Colby Alexander had the best year for an Ohioan for fastest times recorded during a single season. He already had the #1 time ever for an Ohioan at 3:34.88. Then on July 18, he ran a PR 3:33.65, thus giving him the top 2 times in Ohio history. Additionally, earlier, on June 3, he recorded a 3:35.81 which, historically, has only been bettered by 5 other Ohioans. For good measure, he tacked on a 3:50.28 Guardian Road Mile (certified course) on July 31.

To make the list, Murphy’s 3:36.23 1500 converts to a 3:53.52 mile.

To top the list, Alexander's 1500 converts to a 3:50.74 mile
 
Last edited:
Here is the updated list of top milers in Ohio History: UPDATED 2/4/22

TOP MILERS IN OHIO HISTORY

1) Tom Byers 3:50.84 run in 1982
2) Sam Prakel 3:50.94 run in 2019 (indoor) ** Currently #7 All-Time performer in US indoor history
3) Clayton Murphy 3:51.99 run in 2017
4)Colby Alexander 3:52.84 run in 2022 (indoor)
5) Dave Wottle 3:53.3 (HT) run in 1973 *
6) Cory Leslie 3:53.44 run in 2014
7) Rob Myers 3:53.78 run in 2004
8) Jeff See 3:55.24 run in 2012
9) Steve Foster 3:55.1 (HT) run in 1977
10) Lucas Bons 3:55.45 run in 2021
11) Kevin Ryan 3:55.9 (HT) run in 1983
12) Brannon Kidder 3:56.06 run in 2018
13) Bob Kennedy 3:56.21 run in 1994

* NOTE: Dave Wottle's 3:53.3 was run in a race in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field. Pre invited Wottle to come out and race him in a mile. Wottle outkicked Pre for the win in, what at the time, made Wottle the second fastest American of All-Time. Only Jim Ryun was faster at the time. This race is featured in the "Fire On The Track" documentary on Pre.

NOTE: Sam Prakel ran 3:49.98 at the Guardian Mile in 2021. Colby Alexander ran 3:50.28 in the same race. Additionally, Colby Alexander ran 3:50.3 (HT) at the NYRRC 5th Avenue Mile in 2016 and Prakel added a 3:50.6 (HT) at the 2021 5th Ave Mile. Those are the four fastest miles ever run by an Ohioan indoors, outdoors, or on a certified road mile.
 
Last edited:
xcrunner69 said:
Chad Johnson and Anthony Camerieri each have also broken 4 this indoor season
Click to expand...
Thank you, xcrunner69…

Anthony Camerieri of Ole Miss (Brecksville) ran 3:58.75 on 1/21 at the Vanderbilt Invite becoming #33 from Ohio to do it and Chad Johnson of Iowa State (N.Robinson Col. Crawford) ran 3:59.12 on 1/28 to grab the #34 slot on the Ohio schoolboy list.
Congrats to the latest two to join this elite club!
 
well kudo’s to xcrunner69 and ram on for updating this project of mine. All eyes are appreciated as it’s hard to keep up with this stuff!

You hear a lot about super shoes being responsible for the latest rash of sub 4’s and while it is true these shoes will shave off time compared to runners wearing non-super shoes…it is still quite an accomplishment to run a sub 4 minute mile. And it always will be. There is nothing like the reaction of a runner when he looks at the clock and realizes he just broke 4 for the first time. It’s a magic moment, almost surreal for the athlete and his family. Ditto for the crowd. The crowd might witness many amazing races throughout the meet but when a kid runs a sub 4 the decibels increase significantly. What a treat.

So…shoes do play a role but what plays more of a role is work ethic, dedication, all those gut-wrenching interval workouts and MOST of all, what has be evident from day one, is talent. Without talent, none of the aforementioned matters. There are no super shoes on earth that will propel you to a sub 4 minute mile in the absence of exceptional physical talent.
 
Last edited:
Need to plan on adding about 5 or more runners from Ohio to the list every year going forward. The shoes are turned 4:05-07 into sub 4.
 
State The Obvious said:
well kudo’s to xcrunner69 and ram on for updating this project of mine. All eyes are appreciated as it’s hard to keep up with this stuff!

You hear a lot about super shoes being responsible for the latest rash of sub 4’s and while it is true these shoes will shave off time compared to runners wearing non-super shoes…it is still quite an accomplishment to run a sub 4 minute mile. And it always will be. There is nothing like the reaction of a runner when he looks at the clock and realizes he just broke 4 for the first time. It’s a magic moment, almost surreal for the athlete and his family. Ditto for the crowd. The crowd might witness many amazing races throughout the meet but when a kid runs a sub 4 the decibels increase significantly. What a treat.

So…shoes do play a role but what plays more of a role is work ethic, dedication, all those gut-wrenching interval workouts and MOST of all, what has be evident from day one, is talent. Without talent, none of the aforementioned matters. There are no super shoes on earth that will propel you to a sub 4 minute mile in the absence of exceptional physical talent.
Click to expand...
Try running on "cinders" in a pair of Converse All-Stars...Now repeat same on the only rubber track in the city with a brand new pair of Adidas Apollos. How's that for knocking 25 seconds off your mile? :)
 
Last edited:
State The Obvious said:
**OHIO SCHOOLBOYS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO BREAK FOUR MIN FOR ONE MILE
**TOP 1500 IN OHIO HISTORY
**TOP MILERS IN OHIO HISTORY

I have these lists included in two different threads..”Ohio Schoolboys who have gone on to break four minutes for one mile”, and “Successful milling by former Ohio champs”. These threads also chronicle the exploits of some of Ohio’s former HS stars who are still competing. I keep these lists up to date as our runners continue to post times that qualify for these elite lists.

The threads seem to be popular, with over 40,000 and over 30,000 views since the posts were originated. But to access the updated lists of Ohio’s top milers, top 1500 runners, and Ohio’s sub 4:00 milers, you have to scroll thru many pages of comments. So to simplify things for viewers who just go to the threads to see our lists for 1) Ohio schoolboys who have gone on to break four min for the mile, 2) Top 1500 runners in Ohio history, and 3) Top Milers in Ohio history, I created this thread that ONLY includes this info. When someone runs fast enough to make a list, it will be updated here.

For occasional news on current race results by our Ohio alum still competing, I will continue to utilize those other two threads for that. I hope this makes it easier and more interesting for those who are just interested in accessing the lists.
Click to expand...
Do you have any summaries of Ron Addison from Cleveland Rhodes and Tennessee. I know he switched in college to the steeple,finishing 2nd as a sophomore I believe in the NCAA in '74. We worked together that summer. Did he never pursue the mile again. I believe he ran 4:05ish in a national meet shortly after graduation.
 
Ron ran 4:05.9 for 2nd place at the All-American HS meet @ Baton Rouge, LA on 10 June 1972. He was only 0.2 seconds behind the winner.

As a sophomore in 1974, Ron placed 2nd in the NCAA in 8:36.76 for the steeplechase. Winner was teammate, Olympian Doug Brown in 8:35.94
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top