The last few runners crossed the finish line, catching their breath and waiting to congratulate Eric Jenkins, the winner of the men’s mile at the Oregon Twilight meet.
But Jenkins was preoccupied.
He and second-place finisher Will Geoghegan huddled around Oregon signee Matthew Maton, staring anxiously at the scoreboard that looms over the finish line at Hayward Field.
When 3:59.38 popped up on the board, Maton fell to his knees as Jenkins and Geoghegen smiled, patting his back in congratulation.
Maton had just made history, becoming the sixth high schooler to run a mile in under four minutes, and he did it with the third-fastest high-school time, behind only Alan Webb and Jim Ryun.
“I was just really nervous that it was going to pop up 4:00,” said Maton. “I know that’s a great time, but you don’t get in the record books with that. This was my ultimate goal all year, and it just feels unbelievable to finally reach it.”
Including Jenkins’ winning time of 3:57.09 and Geoghegan’s second-place 3:57:53, Maton’s was the 430th sub-four mile time at Hayward Field.
“When I first got into running and saw that kids were doing this in high school, it became a dream of mine, just like going to the NFL,” said Maton. “I always pictured what it would be like if my name was up there with (Webb and Ryun), but I would always say ‘That’s just crazy.'”
Jenkins set a PR on Senior Night at Hayward Field. Usually a runner of longer distances, Jenkins was somewhat out of his element running the mile in the Twilight.
“This was a whole different type of pain, doing a different distance for me,” said Jenkins. “I’m really happy with how it all turned out. You don’t think about the fact that it’s Senior Night when you’re running, but now that it’s over, you feel that it was more special.”
Although Jenkins will be moving on from the Oregon Track team after the season, being a part of historic races like this one with future Ducks will hold a place in his memory.
“Every year there seems to be talk of a high schooler going sub-four,” said Jenkins. “But it never seems to happen. To be looking up with everyone and see his time pop up, it was something special. He deserves it. He’s a great kid.”
