Indiana State Champion Goes Inside To Avoid Smoke At Ott Center And Runs 8:02.39 To Prove His Worthiness Of  A World U20 Spot

By David Woods for DyeStat

Photo courtesy Lyle Bontrager

At least Josh Kerr had four months to prepare. Noah Bontrager had a week.

In one of the weirdest races of this or any high school season, Bontrager -- paced by his father and two other Indiana teenagers -- won a hastily arranged 3,000 meters in 8:02.39 Saturday night inside the Ott Center at Philadelphia.

Bontrager, 18, of Shipshewana, Ind., thus met the 8:04 standard to represent Team USA in next month’s under-20 World Athletics Championships at Eugene.

He thought he had made it by winning U20 nationals in a tactical 8:32.53 last month. (As host country, the United States is guaranteed at least one entry per event.)

After University of Washington freshman Owen Powell, 19, was sixth in a 3,000 in 7:59.94 at Cork, Ireland, July 8, the Hoosier was out. Now, he’s back in.

At the Penn Relays Summer Showcase, races were moved indoors to escape smoke from Canadian wildfires. Humidity was still 91 percent.

“I think I had a better shot indoors,” Bontrager said. “It really worked out in my favor.”

In mid-March, Bontrager ran a 3:59.48 indoor mile, becoming the first Indiana high schooler ever to break 4 minutes. His 8:02.39 is No. 5 on the all-time prep indoor list, just ahead of Edward Cheserek (2013) and Gerry Lindgren (1964).

For the race to be authenticated, four runners needed to finish, according to Bontrager’s father, Lyle, who coaches his son in cross country at Westview High School. So the father, 44, convinced Northridge High twins Baylor and Xavier Miller, 18, to join the two Bontragers in a time trial.

Baylor Miller, a Harvard recruit, was third in the 800 at outdoor New Balance nationals in 1:48.81, also at Philadelphia. Xavier Miller is headed to Grand Valley State.

The father’s pitch to the twins:

“Guys, are you interested in a guys’ trip?”

Lyle Bontrager said he has been pacing a freshman girl in workouts and decided to round out this fab four.

“I knew I could finish,” the father said.

The father was the pacer through 300 meters, Xavier Miller through 800 and Baylor Miller through 1,600. Noah Bontrager had asked for 64.25 seconds per 400 meters, or about 8:02 pace. So when he hit 1,600 in 4:18.93, he had a chance.

“I kind of knew from the get-go, ‘OK, I can really do this. I’ve just got to stay focused mentally,’ “ Bontrager said.

He said he struggled on the 12th and 13th 200-meter laps, then ran the 14th in 33.07 and 15th in 31.12. He has not lost a race at any distance since mid-February, and he has been running last 400s in 54 to 58 seconds.

“The last 400 was like, ‘This is rough. But I just have to get under 8:04,’ “ said Bontrager, who lied down at the top of the banked oval afterward, arm over his head. “I did what I needed to do.”

So did his entourage. Baylor Miller finished in 9:59.65, Xavier Miller in 10:47.37 and his father in 11:32.76.

Bontrager took a week off after U20 nationals and said he would spend the weeks leading up to worlds by training for Notre Dame’s cross country season. The 3,000 is on Aug. 7 at Hayward Field in Eugene.

“As long as I build some base,” he said, “I think I should be fine.”

Earlier Saturday, the Bontragers and Millers watched live coverage of Kerr, a 28-year-old Scot, running to a world record of 3:42.66 in the mile at London.

“I think I was inspired a little bit by that. That was awesome to watch,” Noah Bontrager said.

Some 3,500 miles across the Atlantic, the Hoosier also hit his target.

Contact David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com.