Boys Recap: Nicholas Mazzeo Smashes National 2,000-Meter Steeplechase Record

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Photos by John Nepolitan

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

PHILADELPHIA — With 200 meters left in the boys championship mile on Saturday at New Balance Nationals Outdoor, Philip Cupial had a choice to make.

Carter Smith, a sub-4 miler from Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, was in his sights. Cupial knew he had plenty of gas left in the tank after coming through 1,209 meters in about 3:06, and he was sure he could pass Smith. 

But when to do it? Surprise him in the last 50 meters or blow by him with 200 left and trust his kick — in his words, the “gutsy” approach?

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Cupial chose guts. He surged around Smith heading into the final straightaway and left everything on the track, and the approach paid off; he broke the tape in 4:01.15, beating Carter by half a second. He covered his final 400 meters in 55.2 seconds.

As a swarm of photographers surrounded him, Cupial leaped into the stands at Franklin Field and yelled to the crowd, “I’m the champ!” 

“I put on a show for sure, so I’m super proud of that,” Cupial said. 

Heading into the race, the idea of breaking the four-minute barrier was a real possibility, he said. It featured the best competition he has faced all season and he had run 4:00.41 at the Magis Miles in Chicago on June 6. 

Saturday's race was a bit tactical early. The leaders went through the first 880 yards in 2:05, and Cupial decided, “You know what? Whatever. I’m not here to run a fast time, I’m here to win a race.”

The Downers Grove (North) senior, the Illinois 3A 1,600 meters and 4x800 relay champion, is headed to the University of Virginia in the fall. 

“This sport has given me everything," Cupial said. "I did it to win, and that’s what I’m best at.”

Smith took second in 4:01.72, while Jay McDonald (Silverthorne CO) set a big personal best of 4:04.30 to take third.

Mazzeo Breaks High School Record in Steeplechase

In just his third 2,000-meter steeplechase race, Lower Merion PA’s Nicholas Mazzeo threw down one of the most improbable performances of the season, shattering the high school record with a time of 5:37.60.

At last year’s meet, Mazzeo took fourth and broke the Pennsylvania state record with 5:52.04. 

Mazzeo said he knew his competition well going into this race, and having studied other runners he was confident that he could hang with all of them. His original goal was to stay with the lead pack and make a move towards the end, but if he had done that, he may not have taken down the record.

After two laps, he broke out into the lead by several seconds and then kept pulling away.

“When it started slowing down in that second lap, I knew it was time to go,” Mazzeo said. “I’ve led races before this season, so I knew I could stay calm in that position and still hit my hurdles.”

Mazzeo was almost flawless in that regard, but he looked backwards to make sure he had the win sealed as he approached the last water barrier, and he stumbled over it. Without that hiccup, he likely would have broken the record by even more.

As it was, he broke Nathan Mountain's 2021 record by three seconds.

The win meant a lot to Mazzeo, who lives 20 minutes from Franklin Field and will call it his home track next year as he enrolls at the University of Pennsylvania. Comparing his performance on Saturday to his 5:52.04 performance from 2025, he said it was “amplified 10 times.”

St. James VA Joins Sub-40 Club in 4x100 Relay

Until Saturday, only four states — Texas, California, Florida and Georgia — had produced a high school 4x100 relay team that broke the 40-second barrier.

Virginia is now on the list. The St. James Academy boys ran 39.91 in the preliminary round of the 4x100, breaking the meet record by over half a second.

“It’s a very impressive accomplishment and I’m really proud of the boys,” head coach Maurice Hutton said, “but the one thing I want them to focus on more than anything is having fun and getting the stick around.”

Hutton said his team, which is in its first full track season, learned from the winter that processes, not goals, should be the main focus. When that happens, he said, the goals follow.

“When you run relaxed, you’re gonna run fast,” Hutton said.

Those processes — especially handoffs — will be a major point of focus heading into Sunday’s final. The handoff from Daniel Stephenson to anchor Amir Duff was a bit messy and added at least a few tenths of a second to the finish time.

Hutton said he and his athletes were unclear on the rules about laying down tape in handoff zones. After a conversation with the meet director to clear up the confusion and 24 hours of preparation, his squad will hope to deliver an even faster performance in Sunday's final.

To crack the top 10 all-time, St. James would need to run faster than 39.80 seconds.

Other Highlights:

>>> Margate FL freshman Omar Thomas clocked a 46.84-second performance to win the freshman boys 400 by over a second. That’s the fastest time in the country by a freshman this year and a new meet record in the freshman division.

>>> Jake Early threw a personal best 71.32 meters (234-0) on his sixth and final attempt to win the boys hammer throw.

>>> Ethan Rowe (Bloomfield CT) cleared 2.13 meters (6-11.75) to win the boys high jump.

>>> Luke Schnieber (Cincinnati OH) cleared 5.10 meters (16-8.75) to win the boys pole vault.