Contact: David O Brian ([email protected])

BOSTON, Mass. Junior middle distance runner Jesse Garn has become the second athlete in Binghamton program history to break four minutes in the mile. He recorded a first-place time of 3:59.37 at the Boston/Last Chance Meet on Sunday afternoon.

Garn s time is the 18th-fastest at the NCAA Division I level this season. The top 16 times will qualify for the NCAA Championships March 13-14 at the University of New Mexico.

In the past, some of the top 16 performers have not declared entrance in an event in order to focus on another one at the NCAA meet. Therefore, Garn has a solid chance of advancing to his first national meet when the final list is revealed on Tuesday.

I am so proud of Jesse,” assistant coach Annette Acuff said. He executed the race so well under a lot of pressure. This is a great achievement for our program.”

Former four-time All-American Erik van Ingen was the first Binghamton runner to break four minutes in the mile when he ran a 3:59.41 at the 2010 Penn State National Open. He went on to break the four-minute barrier twice more during his career, including a program-best 3:56.37 at the 2012 Millrose Games. 

The Boston/Last Chance Meet is geared towards track & field athletes who are seeking to better their top performances heading into the NCAA Championships. Garn s previous-best time was 4:01.10 at the Millrose Games two weeks ago.

Today was a race that was set up to run fast,” he said. I took advantage of the opportunity and gave it everything I had.”

The win in Boston caps a whirlwind three weeks for Garn. The week after the Millrose Games, he won the 1,000 and anchored the first-place distance medley relay team at the America East Indoor Championships.