When Alex Ostberg graduates in June, he'll finish a career that few high school athletes can match.
On Saturday at historic Franklin Stadium, he added yet another impressive laurel to his never-ending resume.
The senior from Darien High pulled away from Aiden Tooken (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) with less than a lap remaining and simply never looked back, capturing the championship 3,000-meter run Friday night at the Penn Relays Carnival. Ostberg was timed in a nation best of 8 minutes, 23.95.
"It's unbelievable. I think the only other time I performed like this at a meet of this caliber was last year at the outdoor nationals when I won the 5K," said the Stanford-bound runner., making reference to his 5K title at New Balance Nationals last June. "It's my senior year. It's the last shot I got. If there is anytime I want to win races like this and make it that more special, it's senior year. I want to kind of leave high school on a high note and I just wanted to perform today in a relative local crowd. I live only about two hours away. All my family is here today. My coaches from my school. I am so happy I could do it for them."
Tooken secured runner-up honors at 8:27.34 (US #2). Darien's Armstrong Noonan, who lost his shoe early in the race, finished ninth overall with a respectable 8:41.01 clocking (US #18).
In the mile, held just before the 3K, Wilton senior Spencer Brown finished tenth in 4:18.68.
