Anthony Mason Takes Meet Record Down With PR In Discus 

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

John Nepolitan Photos

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS 

PHILADELPHIA — Temperatures of over 85 degrees and 30 mile-per-hour wind gusts weren’t enough to stop Jackson Spencer and Averi Lowen from breaking meet records in the 5,000 meters at New Balance Nationals Outdoor on Thursday.

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Spencer and Lowen ran 14:08.02 and 16:14.37, respectively, to win the boys and girls races at Franklin Field. Neither came close to matching their personal bests (Spencer’s is 13:54.70 and Lowen’s is 15:32.94), but they each won their races by about 20 seconds.

Spencer got out quickly, coming through the first kilometer in 2:44.05 (about 13:40 pace), but he didn’t last long at that speed.

“It was me versus the conditions more than me versus other people,” Spencer said.

Looking at the field before the race and seeing that he was competing against most of the same athletes that he beat handily at New Balance Nationals Indoor, he figured he would be running solo for this race, too. He was right.

Given that — and given Spencer’s unrelenting assault on the high school record books in the last calendar year — the clock was a bigger factor for Thursday’s race. It seemed likely that he could bring down Noah Bontrager’s meet record of 14:20.89 from 2025, and he did by a significant margin. 

The more significant marks, though — namely Danny Simmons’ high school record of 13:25.86 — were simply out of the question. Spencer said he hasn’t been training for the longer events much this season, and even with favorable racing conditions, he said it was unlikely he would be able to approach Simmons’ record, which stands as one of the most difficult of distance records to break.

“I could have maybe (run) about 13:40 in the best conditions,” Spencer said.

There is another record, though, that could go down with Spencer’s help this weekend. He and his Herriman teammates are taking on the 4x800 relay and distance medley relay, and they could have a shot at the high school record in the latter. Crater OR holds that record at 9:44.30, but with teams like Herriman, Mifflin County PA and Union Catholic NJ in the mix, Spencer said he is confident his crew can get the job done.

Lowen stayed undefeated in the outdoor season with her performance. Like Spencer, she started with a quick first kilometer (3:00.50), but even as she slowed, she stayed well ahead of the chase pack.

“I went out a little too excited,” Lowen said, “but I got a meet record and I got the win, and that’s what mattered to me today after a long season.”

Lowen battled a foot injury in May. She came back with a 10:12.12 performance in the 2-mile at Under Armour Track and Field Nationals — a “rust buster,” in her words — which was actually slower than her split at two miles in Thursday’s race.

Coming into this meet, she said, the meet record was on her mind, but she simply wanted to put forth her best effort.

Episcopal Academy Boys Defend Home Turf In Sprint Medley Relay

Kaleb Young knew as he took the baton for the anchor leg of the boys sprint medley relay that he had to put on a show for his home city.

The Episcopal Academy sophomore came through, running 1:50.51 on the 800-meter anchor leg to deliver his teammates the win. Young’s personal best in the open 800 is 1:52.23.

“I knew what I had to do,” Young said.

With about 100 meters left to go in the race, Young saw he had plenty of room behind him, and he was able to soak in the moment.

“Once I got my move in, I realized everyone else was dying,” Young said. “The joy was already jumping in my stomach and my heart.”

The Motor City Track Club girls, meanwhile, beat Union Catholic NJ in the girls SMR by the slimmest of margins. UC anchor Aubrey Devers almost caught Motor City’s Leah Thomas at the line, but Devers held her off for the win by 0.15 seconds.

Union Catholic holds the high school record in the event at 3:47.35, but with Paige Sheppard competing at the USATF U20 Championships in Eugene on Thursday and Friday, the lineup was not as strong. 

Motor City also came in with a fair bit of confidence.

“To be honest, we thought this was our event,” Motor City’s Nevaeh Burns said. “Can’t nobody take this from us. Whether we’re in the front, in the back, we’re always gonna come back and come get it, no matter what.”

Anthony Mason Breaks Meet Record In Discus

It only took two throws for Crofton MD junior Anthony Mason to make a lasting mark at Franklin Field.

Despite fouling four of his six attempts, Mason broke through on his third throw with a 63.83-meter heave (209-5), a personal best and meet record by over two feet.

Mason said he visualized this exact scenario on the drive up from Crofton, about 20 minutes south of Baltimore.

“I was like, ‘I’m gonna go up here, I’m gonna break my PR, I’m gonna break the meet record, I’m gonna be a national champion,’” Mason said.

He was right on all four counts. Before this weekend, Mason was ranked 13th in the country in the discus. He’s now fifth.

Maddison Davis (Atkins GA) won the girls discus with a PB of her own, throwing 51.05 meters (167-6).

Other Highlights:

Herriman, minus Jackson Spencer, made an incredible show of depth with a win in the boys 4xMile relay. The squad of Eli Jarvis, William Van Tress, Caleb Brown and Trevin Lounsbury ran 17:20.80, averaging 4:20.20 per leg.

Purple Track Club, led by Gatorade Cross Country National Player of the Year Natasza Dudek, won the girls 4xMile relay in 19:46.97.

Brantley Blair (HP Distance) broke the meet record in the middle school record, running 4:21.82, the third-fastest time in the country among middle schoolers this year.