Mikey Brannigan Announces Plans For Next Year On Heels of NY #4 All-Time 4:05.78 In Mile

MileSplit NY HQ - It will be an exciting next few weeks for the Northport Senior Mikey Brannigan, as he closes out his High School career. This weekend, after flying out to Hayward Field in Eugene, OR for the first time after attending the Nike Elite Camp, Brannigan still has the Adidas Dream Mile, and the loaded Brooks PR 2-Mile left on his plate. Both match-ups will see him go toe-to-toe with names like Grant Fisher and Andrew Hunter, as well as a match-up with Carlos Villareal in the Mile next week.

Running at the "Distance Night" of the Pre Classic, in the first ever High School Invitational portion of the event, Brannigan saw yet another close finish. After doing much of the heavy work leading the pack, with a signiature kick 200m out, a relaxed Carlos Villareal pushed forward from 'No-Man's Land' to take the victory. That didn't stop Brannigan from going NY #4 All-Time in the Mile, behind only Matt Centrowitz, Sr. (Power Memorial, 1973), Vince Draddy (Iona Prep, 1979), and John Gregorek (Saint Anthony's, 1978). His finishing mark of 4:05.78 also puts him at US #3 for Spring, 2015.

In addition, for those that have competed with Mikey in the past few months, will also have noted the ESPN camera's hot on his heels, as he films an E:60 episode chronicling this wind-down. But for months, it had left many to speculate, "What is it winding down to?" Well, thanks to an interview with Weldon Johnson of LetsRun.com, the speculation is finally over.

"I am going to run for New York Athletic Club (NYAC) and (go to) part-time Community College."

The decision comes after a longtime struggle with the NCAA to relax their academic standards for athletes with special needs. Well documented in this blog post by Massachusetts Coach Michael J. Atwood, entitled, "Why Mikey Brannigan Should Be Running in a NCAA D1 Program Next Year," many believed that his athletic achievements needed to be able to step up to that next level. Never was that more evident than after his unbelievable 3200m race at the Loucks Invitational in early May, where he shattered the State Record with an 8:42.92. It seems that next level can be, and will be achieved with NYAC.

Prefontaine Highlights

Results
Race Video - Prefontaine Classic HS Boys Mile


More Links

Mikey Brannigan Athlete Profile

Link to LetsRun Interview

Entries For Brooks PR 2-Mile

Entries For Adidas Dream Mile

Read About Mikey's Pick As Top Highlight of 2014