The mile race can often feel like a rollercoaster.
It's a play in four acts: The steady start, the frenetic middle, the underbelly of the third-quarter and the chaos of the finish.
On Saturday at the Last Chance Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama, our protagonist was Auburn's Maxwell Hardin, who likely felt every one of those emotions.
Feeling fresh, he strode out to an early lead in the 400m, only to come back to earth in the middle section, settling into the pack.
By the fifth and sixth laps, perhaps he started to wane, accepting the lactic pull of the first few splits.
But then it came over him, a wave of confidence.
He was back in the mix by the end of seven, and then made a mad dash toward the front in the final moments of lap eight, sprinting past his final competitor en route to a winning time of 4:25.26.
It was a win unlike most others.
But it was Hardin's in the end. And then, as always, on to the next race.
Boys 1,600m Results
| place | name | grade | school | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxwell Hardin | 11 | Auburn | 4:25.26 |
| 2 | Carter Spohn | 11 | Pope High School | 4:25.39 |
| 3 | Ethan Kurilko | 12 | Lakeside, Evans | 4:27.07 |
| 4 | Grayton Murray | 11 | Homewood HS | 4:27.61 |
| 5 | Keith Warner | 11 | Spain Park | 4:27.76 |
| 6 | Luke Churchwell | 11 | Bleckley County High School | 4:29.03 |
| 7 | Clayton Collins | 11 | Mountain Brook HS | 4:30.30 |
| 8 | Noah George | 11 | Oxford High School (AL) | 4:32.49 |
Related Links:
Last Chance Invitational #1 Results
