Mason Schmitz was born right around the turn of the century.
Blink 182's greatest hit, 'All The Small Things,' released right around the same time.
On Saturday, as Schmitz was loping around the Vanderbilt University indoor track during the boys 800m at the KY High School Indoor Classic, that was precisely the song that became his historic soundtrack.
The freshman from Hamilton Southeastern High School (IN) would go on to finish second overall in 1:54.10, capturing a new class record -- not to mention his best mark to date and a new U.S. No. 2 time. The performance also stands at No. 6 for a high school boy in Indiana indoor history.
Impressively, though, Schmitz fought to hold on.
After taking out the first 400 meters, the Indiana prep was caught midway through by Julian Carter, a high school senior from Marion (AR) and an Arkansas signee who would go on to win the race in a U.S. No. 1 time of 1:52.47.
But the freshman did not back off, ultimately holding off Chase McCallum (1:54.58), Keegan Smith (1:55.53) and Owen Clemons (1:56.41).
Smith, a high school junior from Knoxville Catholic (TN), currently owns freshmen class records in the indoor 1,500m and mile, while Clemons ran 4:18 as a first-year high school athlete last year in the mile.
Schmitz, who doubled on Saturday with a time of 49.49 in the 400m -- which is also good for a U.S. No. 28 time -- might press both of those records at some point.
But for the time being, his 800m mark surpassed Marcus Reilly's former record of 1:54.65, which the Michigan recruit ran back in 2021 at the 757 Showdown.
Schmitz opened his season with an 800m time of 1:55.34 and then followed with a 600m best of 1:20.78, which stands at No. 3 on the freshman leaderboard, right behind Quincy Wilson (1:17.80) and 2012 Wilbur Cross (CT) graduate Cas Loxsom (1:18.72).
* Schmitz clocked a time of 49.49 in the 400m run on Saturday
Photo Credit: Ben Thompson/MileSplit Tennessee
* Schmitz competed at the Louisville Indoor Games in 2022 and ran 2:00.58
Photo Credit: Anna Garcia/MileSplit Kentucky
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