TOLEDO, Ohio — Think about what you could accomplish in under five minutes. It could be listening to a song or reading a couple of pages in a book.
Well if you're Ethan Cope of St. Francis de Sales School, running a mile is also an option.
"I had no intentions of P-R-ing. Just go out and have fun," the senior said. "Like my coach says, the indoor season is only meant for the set up for outdoor."
Cope ran a 4:19:86 mile at his indoor track meet this past weekend. His performance marked a new school record for the fastest mile race ever run indoors, and the fastest mile ever run on a 200-meter track in school history.
"It wasn't a PR but I'm still happy that I ran that time and it's only indoor season," Cope said. "So I think being at this time during this year, it's given me a lot of confidence going into outdoor."
Cope didn't get here by accident as he sticks to a disciplined practice routine.
"I take preparation pretty seriously. Definitely nutrition, sleep and then just stretching before and after, taking easy runs easy, doing well in workouts," Cope said. "It all adds up towards the end of the season."
The senior plans to use this feat as fuel for outdoor season as it will be his last shot before graduating in the spring.
"Coming off this mile, it's definitely given me a lot of confidence. It definitely means a lot, like overall I think it gives the younger guys an incentive to chase," Cope said. "I'd hopefully like to compete for a relay state championship, as well as an individual one in the mile, but I know that's gonna be hard but I'm willing to give it a shot."
Ethan Cope is the WTOL 11 Athlete of the Week.