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DyeStat Virginia
6/13/00
Alan Webb shuts it down
by Ben Ackerly, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Alan Webb has withdrawn from next weekend's Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix and will not race again this season, his coach said Tuesday.
Webb, a junior at South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia, who many consider a good bet to become the first high school runner since 1967 to run a mile in less than four minutes, was entered in the Bowerman Mile at the Pre Classic on June 24th in Eugene, Oregon. But a sub-par performance in the Virginia Group AAA state meet in Richmond convinced coach Scott Raczko that, long term, Webb would be better served by taking the summer off.
"We're going to end a successful season and wait until next year," Raczko said. "To run against that kind of competition at Pre, you have to be clicking. The biggest thing I want to see is for him to be a great runner in the future. I'm going to do everything possible to make sure of that... It's just been a long, successful year and it's a good time to take a rest."
Last June, Webb broke Jim Ryun's sophomore class record for the mile (4:07.8), and on May 20th in Charlotte, North Carolina, Webb ran 4:03.33, putting him tenth on the all-time U.S. high school mile list. Only three high school runners in U.S. history have covered the distance in less than four minutes, and Raczko remains confident that Webb will become the fourth.
"I know that he's capable of doing it," Raczko said. "It's just a matter of circumstances. He could even make an assault on it indoors. Next year will be a good year."
