By Chris Lotsbom, @ChrisLotsbom
(c) 2015 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission

NEW YORK (12-June) -- At the Prefontaine Classic two weeks ago, Long Island senior Mike Brannigan powered down the homestretch with the crowd on their feet. For about 1,600 meters of the the invitational prep mile, it looked like Brannigan was going to fulfill one of his dreams: win a mile at Historic Hayward Field. Despite being nipped at the line by Arizona's Carlos Villareal, 4:05.25 to 4:05.78, Brannigan passed through the mixed zone with a glowing smile.

"Fourth lane -- I almost had him!" Brannigan said with excitement. "Great kid from Arizona. It was a good time."

Yet it was what Brannigan, who attends Northport High School, said next that perfectly encapsulated this year's quest for a dozen or so high school boys across the country.

"I'm happy. It was a 4:05 in the mile," he said. "We're getting closer. We're getting closer to four minutes."

Indeed, a handful of the best prep milers in America are getting closer and closer to the famed four-minute barrier, with two of their own --Oregon's Matthew Maton and Michigan's Grant Fisher-- already becoming the sixth and seventh American high school runners to achieve that accolade this year. Here tomorrow, at the adidas Grand Prix Boys Dream Mile, Brannigan, Villareal, and nine other boys will have a chance to join Maton and Fisher in the elite club.

Fisher believes the fast company will help increase the chances of running under four-minutes here.

"I think it's really cool, and having fast guys to compete against really brings out the best in everybody. Especially with everyone's ability to know how someone raced [recently]," Fisher told Race Results Weekly. "When I saw Matthew break four it was definitely inspiring and motivating. I've known Matthew for a long time and we've raced together and I thought that if Matthew can do it, a lot of people can do it too. It didn't become as much of a barrier, so I think we're all bringing each other up in a sense."

It was on this very same Icahn Stadium track that Lukas Verzbicas became the fifth high schooler to break four-minutes back in 2011. In the years since, more and more milers have come close to the distinguished mark.

A time of 4:10 in the mile was once rare, worthy of phenomenal praise and accolades. Now, boys high school runners are running that time frequently. A time of 4:08.64 was only good enough for 11th place at last year's adidas Grand Prix Dream Mile.

In 2014, Fisher raced here and ran 4:02.02 to win, what was at the time a seven-second personal best. He knows that when the conditions are right, when the nation's eyes are looking at you and when you're racing in a meet that includes Olympic medalists and world champions, you bring your "A" game.

"I always thought that if I was in a race that was competitive, that the people in the race would drag me through a fast time if I was competing with them. I've had a few races where I was really close, 4:01, 4:02, 4:03, and coming to the end of the season I felt like I was peaking very well and it happened in the perfect scenario. I'm hoping to have a great race here," he said.

At 12:35 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, Fisher, Brannigan, Villareal and others will take their marks on the starting line, hoping to cross the finish less than 240 seconds later. Also competing are California's Austin Tamagno, Rhode Island's Jack Salisbury, and Virginia's Andrew Hunter, among others.

When Fisher accomplished the feat on June 4 at the Nike Festival of Miles in St. Louis, a flood of emotions were unleashed.

"In St. Louis it was really cool because the time was right next to the finish line, so there wasn't any waiting or anticipating to hear what my time was. I was thrilled with my time... I was super excited," he recalled. The Stanford-bound Fisher, who speaks with the confidence and poise of a mature adult, hopes his challengers can experience the same exuberance here in New York City. "I'm here to compete and hopefully win, so whatever it takes. I think the quality of the field is so that we can run really fast."

If there ever was a year for multiple high schoolers to dip under the barrier in the same race, it could very well be 2015.

"If everyone has big PR's, then anything can happen. I think there are plenty of guys who can push the pace and really get close to four minutes. Depending on how the race goes, maybe everyone will kick or it will string out, but it has the potential to be very fast this year," said Fisher.

Fewer than ten minutes after finishing second at the Prefontaine Classic race in Oregon, Brannigan already had his eyes set on June 13, and the chance to break four minutes close to home in New York.

"I tried to get to that four-minute barrier. That whole back way, I kept [pumping] -- my arms and legs -- I was trying to have fun and work hard out here. I came all the way from the East Coast for this [chance]," he said then. "Next race in New York I will focus on that. I like the one mile. I want to get it."