Sub-4 Milers Headline Junior Races At New Balance Grand Prix

* Connor Burns (left) will compete in the junior boys international mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix; Isabel Conde De Frankenberg (right) will race in the junior girls international mile.

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Some of the best milers in U.S. high school history will go head-to-head for the first time on Saturday in loaded junior international boys and girls mile fields at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.

Sub-four-minute milers, national champions and international racers all prepare to compete at the high-profile meet that's host to professionals and prep talents alike at the TRACK at New Balance in Boston.

Begin with the boys mile full of high-profile names, including two who clocked under four minutes in the mile during the 2022 outdoor season -- Rapid City Stevens' (SD) Simeon Birnbaum and Southern Boone County (MO) star Connor Burns. The seniors, both Oregon signees, headline a field that includes 4:00 racers in St. Raphael Academy's Devan Kipyego and Rocky Hansen of Christ School along with fall cross country national champions in Aaron Sahlman and Kole Mathison.

Saturday will mark the first time in U.S. history that two sub-four high school milers go toe-to-toe in an indoor mile featuring solely prep athletes. 

Birnbaum clocked 3:59.51 at the Brooks PR Invitational in June, and Burns ran a 3:58.83 for a junior class mile record at the HOKA Festival of Miles last outdoor season.

Breaking the four-minute barrier will almost certainly be a goal on Saturday for many competitors in the boys field. Both Kipyego and Hansen nearly joined the five-man sub-4 club during the 2022 outdoor season with bests of 4:00.68 and 4:00.76, respectively, while Sahlman and Mathison also sit on the cusp with personal bests just north of 4:01 and 4:04.

The group of American high school talents will be joined by a star-studded international lineup that includes Corey Campbell of Scotland, who owns the age 15 boys world record in the mile.

The girls start list includes an equally impressive caliber of athletes, led by 4:38 miler Isabel Conde De Frankenberg of Cedar Park (TX) with the fastest personal record of anyone in the field. She'll be challenged, though, by some of the nation's best distance talents from the mile up, including defending event champion Ellie Shea and current two-mile national leader Tatum David.

Future Stanford Cardinal Amelia Everett out of Newton South (MA) and Tennessee signee Lia Pugsley round out the U.S. high school contingency.

International talent in the girls competition is headlined by 2022 European U18 1,500m champion in Annie Mann of England, along with fellow England U18 1,500m talent Iris Downes.

Competition at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix begins Saturday at 2 p.m. with professional fields. The junior international girls race will kick off at 3:42 p.m., followed by the boys at 3:52 p.m.