8. A Season Of Time Trials And Races In The Face Of COVID-19
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A lot of amazing moments took place in 2020 in high school track and field ... in unconventional ways.
Brynn Brown broke an unofficial national high school record in the 3,200m, running 9:39.38 alongside a pair of pacers in May.
Ryan Schoppe produced a time of 4:00.79 for the full mile ... on his own.
Darius Kipyego and Brandon Miller both broke 1:50 on the same weekend in the 800m. Also: John Lester entered the chat.
A 15-year-old Sophia Gorriaran ran 2:02.90 at the Ed Murphey Classic, only a little over a second away from an Olympic Trials qualifier.
Roisin Willis put down a solo 53.61.
There was Anthony Smith, who went from virtual unknown in Washington to a top 25 sprinter amid a pandemic.
Rheinhardt Harrison became the fastest American 16-year-old in history with a 4:01.34 mile.
Abby Vanderkooi ran one of the fastest sophomore 3,200m races ever at Desert Dream in 10:02.
And in Texas, Dillon Bedell ran 47.88 for 400m.
The point?
While COVID-19 definitely deterred the majority of track and field in 2020, many athletes found their ways to the track ... and still made their own kind of history.