As the volunteer historian of Thurston County running records, I am compiling and publishing many stories about our area's rich running traditions.
They say that records are made to be broken. Well two of the three all-time middle distance area records were broken in the 2022 track and field season.
Thurston County
High School Boys All-Time Middle Distance and Distance Records
Here are the boys all-time middle-distance records for Thurston County:
The 800 meters
The longest-standing middle distance running record left for boys in Thurston County was set in 1975. Admittedly, this record is a bit personal. I set the record back in 1975 at the National Junior Olympics in Ithaca, New York. It is time for this record to go. In New York, I ran 1:51.7 for 800 meters (1:52.3 for 880 yards conversion) finishing second in the United States National Junior Olympics. My dream has always been to coach an athlete to break this record.
The 800-meter high school area record has stood for 47 years.
I ran for North Thurston High School in Lacey, Washington when I set the record in Ithaca, New York.
The 1600 meters
Dave Smith held the area record in the 1600 meters for 34 years. Dave is now the rather famous cross country and track coach at Oklahoma State University. Dave’s teams have won NCAA Division 1 national cross country championships. In addition, Dave was named the NCAA Division 1 National Cross Country coach of the year three times. Dave is unquestionably one of the best collegiate coaches in the United States.
Ethan Coleman of Olympia broke Dave Smiths record of Tumwater High Schoolthis season. Ethan ran 4:06.28 to break Dave's longstanding record of 4:09.28 for 1600 meters at the Washington State High School Track and Field Championships in 1988.
The 1600-meter record stood for 34 years.
The 3200 meters
Ethan Coleman broke the area 3200 meter record in 2022. Coleman ran 8:49.00. Ethan now holds two of three all-time middle distance records in our area. Ethan will run for Notre Dame in 2022-2023.
Blessings.
Coach Weber
Philippians 4:13
You can view the all-time Thurston County High School Track and Field records on my record pages below.
Thurston County All-Time Boy's Track and Field Records
https://www.coachweber.org/Thurston-County.html
Thurston County All-Time Girl's Track and Field Records
https://www.coachweber.org/Thurston-County-Running.html
Note: Thurston County is in the State of Washington about 60 miles south of Seattle for readers outside of our area.
Copyright Larry Weber 2022