Sports
Arlington Teen Breaks Indoor Track Record This Season
Arlington High School's Ryan Oosting is becoming something of an indoor track celebrity, putting the Spy Ponders on the national map.
ARLINGTON, MA — For those who go out for a daily run, hitting a sub 9 minute mile can seem doable with a little effort and practice. But what about running 2 miles under 9 minutes? Cue the scoffing. But for one Arlington teen, there was no scoffing there. He had his hopes set on hitting a sub 9 minute 2-mile run this weekend at the New England Indoor Championship. And he did it.
"I really wanted to get that sub-nine," said Ryan Oosting, who is a junior at Arlington High School, after he became the first runner in the country this indoor season to break the 9-minute barrier in the 2-mile, scoring a winning effort of 8:57.59 at the New England Indoor Championships.
"Ryan Oosting is a true homegrown phenomena. We are very proud of his achievements, his coaches, and his team. He has shown a great work ethic and been a great team member. It's great to see one of our own carry the Spy Ponder name to national recognition," said Arlington High School Principal Matthew Janger in an email to Patch.
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The national season record marked a personal best for the teen, beating his previous track record by 11 seconds (he set the national record for high school track this season of 9:08.34 at the MIAA All-State the previous week, according to MileSplit.com).
No, it's not an impossible feat to hit a sub 9 mile during a 2-mile race. But it is extremely difficult. Only five boys broke that mark in 2017, according to MileSplit.com.
Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The competition took place at the Reggie Lewis Center, in Roxbury Saturday. His mile split? 4 minutes 32 seconds. Let that sink in a bit. He then picked up the pace and finished the race seconds faster than he ran the first half of the race.
“I came in with a sub-9 on my mind,” said Oosting in an interview posted to Mile Split after the race. “I was hoping some of the other guys would step up and help with the pace but that’s not how the race went.”
Ryan Oosting: Unexpected track star was interviewed by the Arlington Public News right after he first started running in 2016. Check out what he had to say:
Read the full MileSplit article: Ryan Oosting Makes A Statement With The 2 Mile Race
Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch
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