Lampron, Collins to Run on ESPN2 Today

Josh Lampron isn’t used to running in the same meet as Olympic medalists and national record holders. The junior isn’t used to competing in front of national television cameras and a few thousand fans.

But that’s exactly what he did Saturday evening at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. Luckily, he had teammate Shayne Collins alongside to help calm his nerves.

“We were saying the entire time we were warming up that if we didn’t have each other, we’d be so nervous,” Lampron said at the Reggie Lewis Track. “We wouldn’t have known what to do with ourselves.”

The meet will be televised from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.

Lampron and Collins, a senior, took part in the boys’ Junior Invitational Mile, a race that featured the top high school talent from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina.

Despite the potential pre-race jitters, Lampron showed great patience on the track, trailing the entire field until the second-to-last lap and then sprinting to a fourth-place finish in a personal-best time of 4 minutes, 17.91 seconds.

“I just went as hard as I could the last 300 meters,” he said.

Lampron set a new school record, breaking Collins’ mark of 4:18.65 set earlier this season.

He also took about 10 seconds off his previous best mile, although he has run impressive times in the 1,000-meter and 800 since.

He won the 1,000 at last week’s Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association (MSTCA) Invitational in 2:29.77, the fifth fastest time in the country this season. He also holds the fifth fastest 800-meter time in the country this season, 1:55.32.

At last week’s invitational, Collins ran the fastest two-mile in the country this season, winning in 9:22.28.

On Saturday, Collins ran in the middle of the pack throughout the race, finishing in seventh place in 4:20.67.

The event pitted the New England runners against those from outside the region, and the home team won 32-26, with Lampron picking up seven points, Collins four.

Miles Schoedler, of Ocean City, N.J., crossed the finish line first in 4:16.92. In the men’s mile, American Russell Brown took first in 3:54.81.

Before the race, Collins said they saw many famous runners including, American record-holder Alan Webb and Olympian Leo Manzano.

“We were just warming up in the gym and saw all of them,” he said. “We were freaking out.”

The milers also saw a lot of familiar faces, as a number of their teammates cheered them on from the stands.

Lampron said he will focus on the 1,000 for the remainder of the season, Collins the two-mile.

Lampron’s goal is to near the state record of 2:25.14 set by Boston English’s Said Ahmed in 2001.

Collins said he wants to beat his brother’s school record of 9:10.95 in the two-mile. Collins’ brother, Ryan Collins, is a two-time All-American at the University of Virginia.