* Clay Shively ran a Kansas state record and US No. 20 all-time indoor mile at the Arkansas Invitational last Friday.
Photo Credit: Joshua Hobson/MileSplit Kansas
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Legendary Jim Ryun's 58-year-old Kansas high school indoor mile record is no more.
Last Friday at the Arkansas Invitational against collegiate competition, Wichita Trinity Academy's Clay Shively did what no other Kansas athlete has done in nearly 60 years, surpassing Ryun's 4:07.20 state-leading mark from 1965 with a 4:04.95 mile finish.
Shively won his heat and placed eighth overall in a field consisting of Power-5 collegians and a couple of sub-4-minute milers. A quick 58-second final lap helped propel him to the heat win and a memorable all-time mark.
The 4:04.95 performance from Shively represents more than breaking what may have been seen as an unsurpassable Kansas state record. He now sits at US No. 20 all-time in the indoor mile and US No. 3 all-time among juniors.
The performance also ranks Shively as the nation's leading miler so far during the 2023 indoor track and field season.
It's quite the impressive kickstart to the indoor campaign for the junior who's coming off a historic cross country season, winning the Kansas Class 3A state title and logging a stellar new 5k PR of 14:47.40 at the Olathe Twilight meet in September.
It also made for Shively's second indoor race and state-record run of 2023, clocking 8:30.64 to win the 3,000m at the Prentice Gudgen Invitational on Jan. 7 and break the Kansas all-time best of 8:32.33 held by Tanner Newkirk.
Prior to last Friday's record-breaking race, Shively held an all-time mile best of 4:10.08 from the Shawnee Mission North Relays during the 2022 outdoor season. He had never contested the full mile indoors before the Arkansas Invitational.
Per The Wichita Eagle, Shively will later eye New Balance Nationals Indoor in Boston as a chance to potentially lower his state mile record and compete against some of the top distance racers in the country.
MENS ONE MILE RUN FINALS PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT H# 1 Lexington Hilton University of Arkansas 3:58.70 1 2 Michael POWER University of Tulsa 3:58.76 1 3 Isaac Akers University of Tulsa 4:00.65 1 4 Scott Beattie University of Tulsa 4:02.26 1 5 Eric Casarez Texas A&M University 4:02.55 1 6 Christian Baker University of Tulsa 4:03.55 1 7 Ben Shearer University of Arkansas 4:04.84 1 8 Clay Shively 11 Wichita Trinity Academy 4:04.95 3 9 Reuben Reina University of Arkansas 4:06.00 1 10 Josh Shearer University of Arkansas 4:06.31 1