On Mar. 11, DHS Junior Billy Carlton participated in the boys’ mile race at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York. Carlton’s time of 4:13 was enough to win his “Rising Stars” heat as well as set a new school record. 

The race was held at the indoor New York track, “The Armory”, which has been dubbed the “Fastest Track in the World” due to how many records have been set there.

“It was an amazing experience to be in such a competitive atmosphere with tons of other competitive runners. The energy at the Armory is unmatched and knowing all the records that have been run on that track adds to your confidence,” Carlton said.

Carlton qualified for nationals at a meet earlier in the year at Parkview High School. 

“I wasn’t thinking about qualifying times or anything but when I realized I had the opportunity to go to New York for a race I was excited to take it.”

Despite his success, Carlton has bigger goals in mind. With a large portion of the outdoor track season still left, Carlton hopes to take home more victories on the road to the state championships.

“This was a great milestone to get the school record but it isn’t what we train for,” he said. “More than anything else it’s to be competitive and I think winning the heat was more important than the time. I’m hoping to keep winning through state championships. That’s what we’re training for.”