After Turning Up The 'Hype' Around The Event, Birnbaum Capped His High School Career With Another Big Win

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

EUGENE, Ore. – Love him or hate him for it, but Simeon Birnbaum may have launched a new way to draw attention to high-stakes track and field races.

The former hockey player from South Dakota entered the arena of professional wrestling trash talk in order to add tension and drama to the high school boys mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals.

Earlier this last week, Birnbaum spoke in a news conference regarding Sunday’s highly anticipated race, featuring the deepest field of runners ever assembled in recent memory, which included Newbury Park’s own Lex and Leo Young, two of the most popular and accomplished runners in prep history.

When asked about the match-up with the highly regarded twins, the future Oregon Duck decided to take a shot at the Young brothers, calling them out for, “dodging” competition all spring.

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Birnbaum’s words may have come across as playful trash talk at first, but he in fact added more fuel to the fire for Sunday’s race. 

So when Birnbaum, the Youngs and 12 other incredibly talented runners toed the line at Hayward Field on the final day of competition at Nike Outdoor Nationals, the nation’s eyes were locked in for the ultimate event; not just to see if any of them could run sub-4-minute miles, but if Birnbaum would back up his talk.

He did just that, and even a little bit more.

Days after running the No. 2 all-time 2-mile at the Brooks PR Invitational and then the No. 2 all-time 1,500-meter time Friday night, Birnbaum completed the ultimate trifecta of races in five days' work, winning a national title in the boys mile in a time of 4 minutes, 2.22 seconds to conclude what was already a historic season. 

The senior from Rapid City Stevens SD did what he does best: he chased down the best in the field on the final lap. 

With under 300 meters to go, Leo Young began to charge down the backstretch, looking to increase his lead heading into the final curve. As he did so, Birnbaum appeared to have struggled to respond, perhaps feeling the aftermaths of his prior two races.

Nonetheless, it was all part of the plan.

“I let them all battle up front,” Birnbaum said. “I got to the front with Leo and we started kicking the last 100, you know, just to see who had it and I had that one extra gear that I usually find.”

Coming off the final turn, Leo took one peep over his shoulder to see where everyone else was at and Birnbaum was able to swing wide into lane two, driving his arms to carry him through the finish line. 

Birnbaum surged past Leo with less than 20 meters to go and upon crossing the finish line, Birnbaum gave one look over his left shoulder, put his finger to his mouth, and simply shushed the Newbury Park standout, who crossed the tape in a close second place at 4:02.58.

“That was kind of spontaneous,” Birnbaum said. “I wanted to do something that would get people’s attention and I certainly did.”

Birnbaum’s antics drew different reactions not only from the crowd, but also from the race officials.

Meet officials approached Birnbaum warning him of disqualification. He simply shrugged it off.

“They talked about disqualifying me,” Birnbaum said. “People weren’t very happy about it, but I told them, ‘Alright, DQ me; I honestly don’t care.’ It doesn’t change anything for me. If I’m DQ’d, I still know I won.”

And for the one who was shushed, he handled it well as he smiled across the finish line. 

“It was a very tactical race,” Leo said. “I think that made it exciting both to be in and to watch for those watching. It was a lot of fun.”

After the race, the future Oregon (Birnbaum and Burns) and Stanford (Lex and Leo Young) runners did actually show some respect for one another. They'll likely be racing one another for the next four to five years, and perhaps even longer.

While Birnbaum and Leo stole the spotlight out front, it didn’t take away from the fact the rest of field ran nearly as well they did.

Birnbaum and Leo led 10 runners under the 4:10 barrier, including Birnbaum’s future Oregon teammate, Southern Boone MO’s Connor Burns, who finished fourth overall in 4:04.24 ahead of Lex Young in fifth at 4:04.60. 

“There was so much hype built up,” Burns said. “I think at least having a field like this creates its own hype, but when you add the element of anticipation and trash talk, I think it elevates the race. People get more invested and want to watch it.”

Christ School NC’s Rocky Hansen took third place in 4:03.63 and Wilsonville OR’s Carter Cutting ran a massive personal best time of 4:05.38 to place sixth to round out all the all-American finishers. 

"This morning on my shake-out I just had a smile on my face, because I knew this was one of the most anticipated races and I got to be a part of it," Cutting said. "I'm grateful I'm healthy. It's a gift to run and be with some of the best in the country."

Collin Boler from Delbarton NJ and Hunter Jones of Benzie Central MI both ran lifetime best efforts as well, with Boler running 4:06.01 for seventh and Jones running 4:06.93 for eighth.

Oregon standouts Tyrone Gorze of Crater and William Heslam of Roosevelt OR completed the top 10 finishers, with Gorze placing ninth in 4:08.50 and Heslam placing 10th in 4:09.03.