Page Middle School’s Jon Helton used a strong finish to claim the Middle School Mile State Championship Saturday at Centennial High School in Franklin.
Helton clocked a 4:47.2 to win the 1600 race. Grassland Middle’s Nate Mihnovich led most of the race and finished second in 4:49.8.
“I was hoping to try and run even splits the whole way,” said Helton. “It didn’t quite work out that way, but it’s still OK. I still won.”
Helton said he had raced against Mihnovich earlier this season so he expected him to set a fast pace.
“I think last time he may have gone out even faster than today,” Helton said. “Nate’s a good runner so I knew I needed to stay fairly close and hope I could get him at the end.”
Nate led the field through the first 400 in 66 seconds. Jon was second in 69 and Brentwood Academy’s Andrew Powell was third in 70.
Nate continued to lead through 800 in 2:26 and 1200 in 3:36 before Jon closed the gap and took the lead around the 200 mark and kept it the rest of the way.
“I’m looking forward to getting into high school and running against some faster guys,” said Helton, who will be a freshman at Centennial High in the fall.
Nate will get another chance to win the race next year as he is only in seventh grade.
Henry County’s Javan Winders passed Powell on the last lap to claim third in 4:53.97. Powell finished fourth in 4:58.3 and Brentwood Middle’s Ryan Lee was fifth in 5:00.18. Henry County’s Titus Winders, a sixth grader, rounded out the field in 5:44.