Photo: Chris Remick/Athletic Communications

SPORTS

Miracle Mile

Steven Jackson '24 became the first BC runner to break the four-minute mark, raising hope for men's track.

Halfway through the race, he knew he was going to do it. 鈥淪tay on your feet,鈥 Steven Jackson 鈥24 told himself. 鈥淕et to the line, and you鈥檒l have this.鈥 And minutes later, he did. It was January 27, 2023, and in the second heat of the John Thomas Terrier Classic race, Jackson had just crossed the finish line in 3 minutes 57 seconds, making him the first Eagle in history to record a sub-four-minute mile.

鈥淩ight when I crossed the line, I was in shock,鈥 Jackson said. 鈥淚t was an electric moment. A moment I鈥檒l never forget.鈥 And one that took years of hard work. Jackson credited his grandfather, an all-around athlete named Ralph Dellorfano, with being a major influence. For his part, Dellorfano praised his grandson鈥檚 鈥渢remendous鈥 work ethic鈥攅ven if it wasn鈥檛 always clear he was a born athlete. He laughed recalling the time he took a six-year-old Jackson out to the backyard to hit golf balls into a lacrosse net. 鈥淎fter five minutes we came back in, and I said to his mother, 鈥業 hope this kid is smart, because he has absolutely no athletic ability.鈥欌 By the time Jackson reached his junior year of high school, however, he was able to record a 4:20 mile.

Jackson鈥檚 barrier-breaking run placed him at the competitive peak of his sport, and it could be a boost for the entire men鈥檚 team, which has historically had a difficult time attracting top athletes because, unlike the women鈥檚 program, it doesn鈥檛 offer athletic scholarships. John Kane, a former longtime BC sports administrator, explained that a sub-four mile 鈥渋s something that really doesn鈥檛 happen in a non-scholarship program. It鈥檚 really a big deal.鈥

And it鈥檚 exactly the kind of thing that BC Track & Field Coach Pete Watson has been waiting for. Watson, who came to the Heights last August to oversee both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 programs, has set a goal of attracting top men鈥檚 talent that usually gravitates to scholarship programs. Before Jackson鈥檚 run, Watson said, it had been a long time since there were 鈥渕arks on the board鈥 that could make a serious case for men鈥檚 athletes to choose BC over other ACC options. But Jackson鈥檚 sub-four is just the edge the men鈥檚 program needed to recruit more talented athletes to BC. As Kane pointed out, even people who don鈥檛 follow the sport know that a four-minute mile is the gold standard. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the best gift I could have gotten this year,鈥 Watson said.

Jackson said his focus right now is on competing for BC next year as a senior, though he did acknowledge his feat has added fuel to his dreams of being a pro runner. 鈥淚鈥檒l see where I am at the end of my NCAA career, and how much faster I can go,鈥 Jackson said. 鈥淩unning is a tough sport, but it鈥檚 definitely just a whole part of my identity.鈥 聽


EXTRA POINTS

New Internship Program for BC Football Players

Many md传媒国产剧 College students pursue internships to further their professional ambitions, but it can be hard for football players to fit this kind of experience into their practice schedule. Now a new internship program is making professional experiences available to football players by scheduling them during the two weeks off that the team gets during the summer. The HighBrook Scholars program, created by md传媒国产剧 College Trustee David O鈥機onnor 鈥86, is made up of two parts: a one-week in-person professional experience, and a remote capstone project. 鈥淲e saw an opportunity to tap into what I think is the biggest untapped resource at md传媒国产剧 College,鈥 O鈥機onnor said, 鈥渨hich is the talent that exists among the athletes that don鈥檛 have time to participate in traditional internship programs.鈥

The in-person portion of the internship takes place at the Florida offices of HighBrook Investors, the real estate investment firm, cofounded by O鈥機onnor, that gives the internship its name. The program launched with a class of three athletes last summer.聽

O鈥機onnor said he hopes the program will attract students from underrepresented backgrounds to the real estate industry. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful we鈥檒l inspire other employers to come up with programs of their own to tap into this opportunity,鈥 he said.


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