Drew Hunter Will Not Race Individual Events At New Balance Nationals


National High School Record holder Drew Hunter told Track & Field News today that he will not race any individual events at New Balance Nationals Indoor.

The 3:58 miler is instead opting to race the Distance Medley Relay and 4xMile Relay with his Loudon Valley High School, Va. teammates.

The University of Oregon-bound senior, who set national records of 7:59 for 3K and 3:58 for the Mile in consecutive weekends, will race the Armory Invitational section of the Men's Professional Mile at the Millrose Games this weekend in New York. Here's a breakdown of the field.

He is the defending New Balance Nationals Indoor Two Mile champion. Until today, he said he was unsure if he would pursue defense of his title, pursuit of the mile title, or both.

In the T&F News interview, Hunter says he has not fully recovered from a cold that hit him right before his record-breaking mile race.

"We'll see how I'm feeling the next couple of days but I hope that I can run a little faster. Still, the pressure is off right now. In talking to my parents and coach, all I have to do now is just race that mile, and not worry about times. Just go out there and have fun. It's a good feeling, and I think it will be good to test myself. The only job I have to do in that race is just race.

"[The cold] affected me recovery-wise. I haven't really gotten over it, but I think during the race, the adrenaline took over. I'm a competitive person, so I just raced. I pushed that to the side. I still haven't really recovered. I haven't had great workouts recently because I've still been fighting this illness. I think that race definitely took a lot out of me."