ANN ARBOR (WXYZ) — In all sports, high school records nationally, are made to be broken. One of them, the 1500 meter race record had stood since 1966, that is until Ann Arbor Skyline’s rising star shattered that time and etched his name in the record books.
“It’s a cool record, I’m glad to refresh the record books a little bit I guess, it’s pretty special,” Ann Arbor Skyline’s Hobbs Kessler said.
Let’s set the scene, Kessler, a high school senior, was the lone high schooler in a race in Portland with some of the best collegiate and professional American runners.
Keeping pace with this group, was no easy task, and while he didn’t cross the finish line first, the time of 3:34 seconds, breaking the record by nearly four seconds.
He wasn’t the story headed into the day, but he was as soon as the race was over.
“It seemed so unreal, it was crazy, all those guys were super kind and super supportive they all celebrated me and I think that speaks well of athletes at that level,” Kessler said.
“I knew he’d be good, I didn’t know he’d be next-level good, I thought he’d be a top two or three guy on a good D-1 program, but I did not realize he’d be this good,” Hobbs dad, Mike Kessler said.
Kessler now is gearing up for the state finals this weekend, and while he wants to win here, he’s also now put himself in rare air with his performance, as he’ll take part in the Olympic qualifier at the end of June. Imagine that, at just 18-years old he’s just now realizing his potential, and now that he’s done it once, he’s ready to show it again.
“I’m confident I can do it again, it feels good to have that confidence that it’s there, you do need that special atmosphere, that special race to bring it out of you, but I don’t think it was a fluke, and I know I could do it again,” Kessler said.
