The boys 800m is arguably the most exciting race in high school track and field.
And over the previous four seasons, we've seen spectacular performances from a variety of athletes across the nation, including Donovan Brazier, who went pro less than two years after enrolling at Texas A & M University.
But the elite standard for the half-mile is what most high school athletes are reaching for every year. What is that mark exactly? That elusive time continues to stand at 1 minute, 52 seconds.
It's a mark that most within the top 50 nationally hit every season, though that fact doesn't make it any less impressive.
Over the last four years, the number of runners who have hit that mark have fluctuated: 47 in 2013, 44 in 2014, 59 in 2015 and 56 in 2016.
What's more important is where these times are being made.
A year ago, Meridian Rocky Mountain (ID) High's Michael Slagowski, who eventually became the ninth runner all-time to break the 4-minute barrier in the boys 1-mile, recorded two consec...