After training throughout the winter and through the spring track season, Summit High School’s Josh Shriver officially ended his junior track and field season at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon over the weekend.
A week prior to the Nike Outdoor National meet, which was held from June 12-15, Shriver competed in the high school elite men’s 1500-meter run at Portland Track Festival on June 9. In that race, Shriver was patient in the field and kicked hard over the final lap to place fifth overall in a school-record time of 4:00.36.
Feeling like he had more to give before concluding his track and field season, Shriver then spent the next few days road tripping across the state of Oregon and preparing for the 2-mile and 1-mile events at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field.
On the evening of Friday, June 14, Shriver lined up as part of the first section of the 2-mile field. Dressed in a Summit Distance Project — the school’s club racing team — neon green singlet, Shriver took off from the start line with the rest of the field and soon found a spot along the track to settle into a solid pace.
New Mexico’s Jeron Wisner led the race through the first quarter-mile, splitting 1 minute, 5.408 seconds with Shriver closely trailing in a time of 1:07.74. Shriver moved from 19th place to 18th over the second lap of the race before jumping up to 14th at the mile mark.
Rolling through the mile in 4:34.42, Shriver and much of the rest of the field began to steadily slow in the second half of the race. Shriver ran 1:10.29 on the fifth lap to stay in 14thbefore dropping to 15th with a half-mile to go.
Not wanting a new personal-best time to slip by him, Shriver remained tough in the stacked field, pumping his arms and trying to stay attached to runners in front of him. Shriver closed the eight-lap race in 1:14.39 to place 16th in his section and 29th overall in a time of 9:24.62.
“Two miles at altitude is very different from sea-level 2-miles in the way they are run and how fast it goes,” Shriver said. “I was confident that I could do well. I was not expecting to almost be in dead last after running a 4:34 first mile. I wanted to start working up after the mile, but I just didn’t have it. The leaders kind of just ran away. It was a fun first experience. I definitely feel like I have more in me.”
The time not only marks a school record in the 2-mile run, but also a resetting of his own school record in the 3200-meter run. After running 9:26.73 at the 4A Western Slope League meet last month, Shriver dropped over five seconds off his time in Oregon by splitting 9:21.08 through the 3200-meter mark.
Additionally, Shriver handily set a new school record in the 3,000-meter run, running8:44.11 in order to beat out Liam Meirow’s previous record of 9:57.63 from June2012.
Shriver quickly moved on from the performance on Friday night in order to prepare for the boys championship 1-mile run —his final race of the 2024 track season — on Saturday afternoon, June 15.
With confidence in his racing abilities at the 1-mile distance, Shriver accelerated around the track over the first lap of the four-lap race, splitting 1:02.23 through the first quarter-mile to rank fourth.
Feeling like the pace was quite hot, the race field naturally slowed on the second revolution. Shriver ran 2:07.13 through the halfway point of the race before gearing up for arguably the most painful lap.
Needing to move up if he wanted a chance of winning, Shriver floated past three competitors on the third lap, occupying third place as the crowd fueled the runners for a big final lap.
With the race to the finish line right in front of him, Shriver moved onto the balls of his feet, changing gears and working into a full sprint to the finish line. Shriver closed in 1:04.76 to finish in a time of 4:16.35 for seventh in his heat and 37th overall.
“After Portland, I was kind of frustrated that I never really went for it,” Shriver said. “Going into the mile at Nike, I told myself I wanted to go to the front early and compete the whole way. I am proud how I stuck myself in it, but the wheels kind of came off with 300-250 to go. At least I know that I gave it my all and I tried.”
Like the 2-mile, the time once again was better than numerous marks within the Summit High School record books. Shriver broke his own 1500- and 1600-meter school records, running 3:58.28 through the 1500-meter mark of the race and 4:14.72 through the 1600-meter mark.
With no Summit boys ever running the outdoor mile, Shriver also set a new school record in the 1-mile run.
“If I am not super duper happy with (my times), then I am in a good spot because those are times that younger me dreamed about running,” Shriver said. “For me to be a little unsatisfied with those times just speaks volumes to how far I have come in the sport and how I will be able to keep progressing.”
Following a massive junior season, Shriver is now looking forward to returning from a brief break from running and putting in the work necessary for another breakthrough over the course of his senior year.
“It was a rocky season, but it was worth every second and all the work I put into it,” Shriver said. “It is kind of surreal knowing that this is my last year in high school. Next time, there won’t be a next time. I don’t want to say there is more pressure, but there is more gravity to it. I am going to work really hard that this last one is my best one. I am excited to build upon my junior season.”
Rising senior Ella Hagen will be the next Summit athlete to formally close their 2024 track and field season. Hagen will race the 5-kilometer run at On Track Night: Vienna on Saturday, June 22.
