Matthew Maton Runs 3:59.38, 3rd Fastest Prep Ever

Matthew Maton Runs 3:59.38, 3rd Fastest Prep Ever

May 8, 2015 by Lincoln Shryack
Matthew Maton Runs 3:59.38, 3rd Fastest Prep Ever



History was made Friday night at Hayward Field, as Bend, OR senior Matthew Maton became the sixth high schooler to break 4 minutes in the mile with his 3:59.38 third place finish at the Oregon Twilight. Maton closed hard in the final lap, very similar to what he did three weeks ago when he ran 3:42.54 in the 1500m at Oregon Relays. Unofficially, Maton's last lap was 57.5 seconds. He now ranks as the third fastest high school miler of all-time, behind only Alan Webb (3:53.43, 2001) and Jim Ryun (3:55.3, 1965).

Oregon All-Americans Eric Jenkins and Will Geoghegan finished 1-2 in 3:57.09 and 3:57.53, respectively. 

Matthew Maton celebrates his 3:59.38 mile at the 2015 Oregon Twilight with Will Geoghegan and Eric Jenkins at Hayward Field
Matthew Maton (center) takes a victory lap with Will Geoghegan and Eric Jenkins after running 3:59.38.

Updated Boys High School Mile All-Time:

3:53.43 Alan Webb (2001)
3:55.30 Jim Ryun (1965)
3:59.38 Matthew Maton (2015)
3:59.40 Tim Danielson (1966)
3:59.71 Lukas Verzbicas (2011)
3:59.80 Marty Liquori (1967)

Maton is the first prep since Lukas Verzbicas in 2011 to break 4 minutes in the mile. Verzbicas congratulated Maton via Twitter:
As you can probably understand, we were going nuts:
Maton's matchup with defending adidas Dream Mile champion Grant Fisher just got a lot more interesting...

FULL RESULTS

Pros, NCAA Stars Congratulate Matthew Maton On Sub-4 Mile

Before He Ran 3:59: Without A Team, Maton's Sub-4 Quest Continues