Woodbury senior Peyton Shute closed out his brilliant high school career Saturday evening with one of the most spectacular races in state history.
Shute ran the 4th-fastest mile in state history, shattering his own South Jersey record and putting his name alongside greats like Marty Liquori, Edward Cheserek and Robbie Andrews in New Jersey mile annals.
Shute ran 4:04.92 in one of the fastest high school mile races ever at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field. Two runners broke 4 minutes, four ran sub-4:03 and nine broke 4:05 in an astonishing display of distance depth.
Shute broke his own South Jersey record of 4:08.28 that he set in May at the Trials of Miles at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in Manhattan.
For the sake of comparison, his performance Saturday converts to a 4:03.50 for 1,600 meters.
As fast as the final times were, the race went out slowly, with Drew Griffith of Butler High north of Pittsburgh – the U.S. two-mile record holder – taking the field through a quarter of a mile in 62.13. Shute came through in 62.96 but after that, things got hot.
Shute split 59.58 for his 2nd lap and came through in 2:02.53 and followed that with a 60.29 lap to give him a 3:02.82 for three-quarters of a mile. He closed in 62.11 to dip under 4:05.
The only faster milers in state history are Marty Liquori of Cedar Grove and Essex Catholic, who ran 3:59.8 in Bakersfield. Calif., in 1967; Edward Cheserek of St. Benedict’s Prep, who ran 4:03.29 in 2013 at the adidas Grand Prix in Manhattan; and Robby Andrews of Manalapan, who ran 4:03.49 at the 2009 Portland Track Festival in Oregon.
On Wednesday, Shute ran 4:05.27 for 1,600 meters, which is faster than his converted mile from White Plains, so that was the 1,600 record that Shute broke on Saturday and the 4:08.28 was the mile record he broke. (You can’t convert 1,600s to the mile but you can convert the other way around).
The South Jersey mile record before Shute ran 4:08.28 was 4:08.51 set by Ocean City’s Brett Johnson in West Long Branch in 2008.
Shute is now the 2nd-fastest miler ever from Gloucester County, behind only Kingsway graduate Tom Cooke, who ran 4:01.08 in West Chester in 2021.
Shute officially came through 1,500 meters in 3:47.12, which breaks the South Jersey 1,500 record of 3:50.92 set by Shute en route to that 4:08.28 last month in New York.
All-Time New Jersey Mile List
3:59.8h … Marty Liquori [Essex Catholic], 1967
4:03.29 … Edward Cheserek [St. Benedict’s Prep], 2013
4:03.49 … Robby Andrews [Manalapan], 2009
4:04.92 … Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 2024
4:05.01 … Sean Dolan [Hopewell Valley], 2019
4:05.91 … Marco Langon [Bridgwater-Raritan], 2022
4:05.59 … Ben Malone [Pascack Valley], 2013
4:07.00 … Jackson Barna [Ridge], 2022
4:07.07 … Jim Nielsen [Bernards], 1984
4:07.66 … Joe Rosa [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2011
4:07.68 … Jackson Braddock [Southern Regional], 2021
4:07.70 … Jim Rosa [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2011
4:08.07 … Pat Schellberg, Delbarton, 2010
4:08.1h … John Carlotti [Bernards], 1983
4:08.1h … Roger Jones [Ramsey], 1977
4:08.51 … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2008
4:08.67 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
4:09.90 … Jimmy Wischusen [Union Catholic], 2022
4:08.74 … Chris Marco [Toms River South], 2012
4:08.79 … Craig Forys [Colts Neck], 2007
4:09.2h … Steve O’Connell [Millburn], 1976
4:09.3h … Kevin Byrne [Paramus Catholic], 1977
4:09.36 … Steve Schadler [Bergenfield], 1984
4:09.55 … Liam Tansey [Morris Hills], 2009
4:09.72 … Stephen Lewandowski [Mountain Lakes], 2012
4:09.80 … Matt Mitchell [CBA], 1988
4:09.90 … Jimmy Wischusen [Union Catholic], 2022
4:09.95 … Collin Boler [Delbarton], 2022
4:09.98 … Chris Lear [Pingry], 1992
4:10.09 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021
4:10.24 … Drew Maher [Shore Regional], 2018
4:10.1h … Mike Keogh [Essex Catholic], 1970
4:10.40 … Drake Anzano [CBA], 2016
4:10.2h … Mike Elder [Haddon Township], 1973
4:10.46 … Steve Slattery [Mouny Olive], 1998
4:10.9h … J.J. Clark [Columbia], 1982
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 