Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Men’s Indoor Track & Field | Four Hoyas Run Sub-Four-Minute Miles

Last week, Director of Track & Field and Cross-Country programs Patrick Henner gave his prescient take on the notion that another member of the Georgetown track and field team might be able to match Ahmed Bile’s feat of running a sub-four-minute mile, an accomplishment that the junior runner attained during the Penn State National Invitational on Jan. 31.

“To be honest, we’ve got four or five guys who could do it,” Henner said.

Flash forward to last weekend, where — in an unprecedented finish — four Hoya runners broke the esteemed four-minute-mile barrier, including three runners who were able to finish the 1-mile event in under four minutes for the first time this year.

Prior to this year, the sub-four-minute mile club had only seven members. It has since added four new runners to the list.

Among the four runners to complete the feat were junior Michael Lederhouse, sophomores Amos Bartelsmeyer and Ryan Manahan and junior Ahmed Bile, who was the first to break the four-minute barrier on this year’s squad two weeks ago, thus setting the bar for the rest of his teammates.

“Amos, Mike and I train with Ahmed day in and day out,” Manahan said. “Watching him post that sub-four time last week showed us we were that fit and capable of doing the same thing.”

Fittingly, these four Hoyas who ritually train together toed the clay at Boston University’s indoor facility this past Valentine’s Day in the same heat. Three of the four runners proved to be ready to chase down their peer in the hope of joining the lore of past Georgetown track athletes in the sub-four mile club.

“One of the toughest things to do in this sport is to be in a certain type of shape and then execute a race plan to it’s full potential,” Bile said. “To have three other guys execute a race plan flawlessly at the exact same time by your side is something very special.”

In the waning moments of the race, the pack of Hoyas nearing the finish line began to sense the history they were making.

“We were on pace to break it and with two laps to go, I saw Ryan was right behind me and got excited,” Bile said. “Then with 100 meters left, Amos passed me and I knew he was going to break it.”

Bartelsmeyer, Bile and Manahan finish within tenths of a second of each another, recording times of 3:58.24, 3:58.54 and 3:58.57, respectively.

“As soon as the race was over, we knew we had done it,” Bartelsmeyer said.

Yet for the final runner in the group, uncertainty cruelly lingered at the finish line.

“I definitely wasn’t sure when I crossed the line,” Lederhouse said. “I thought I was right on the line between 3:59 and 4:00, so everyone else was celebrating and I was just staring there at the clock, waiting.”

In the end, doubt made the reward all the sweeter when the digital scoreboard finally flashed his time, which was less than half a second shorter than 4:00.

“Lederhouse glanced up [at the clock] and he’s anxious, and when he looked up and saw 3:59, he just lost it,” Bile said. “By then we were all on cloud nine.”

Amid the celebration and euphoria, Henner wasn’t surprised. Even though he was ecstatic for his athletes, nothing about the day’s historic events caught him off guard.

“You look at these guys’ collective training and racing history along with the fact that Ahmed had done it two weeks ago at Penn State,” Henner said. “You put all these things together and you just knew these guys were capable.”

By weekend’s end, all four Hoyas had placed themselves in contention for the NCAA Tournament, in which the nation’s top 18 mile runners will qualify to race later this season.

According to Henner, the chance for further improvement is still very much alive for these four.

“What we need now is somebody who can step up and run a 3:55 or 3:56,” Henner said. “Then the other guys begin to say, ‘Hey, if I’m training with this guy and he can do it, so can I.’”

Even with the unparalleled achievements from Bartelsmeyer, Bile, Lederhouse and Manahan, Henner added that one runner would have made a strong showing as well if he had been able to perform with the rest of his team.

“What’s more, if he hadn’t been sick, [senior] Cole Williams would have been right there with those guys running sub-four,” Henner said.

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