VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Dawson Reeves ‘24 was content to let other runners dictate the tempo early on Sunday. He was all alone down the homestretch to becoming a first-time national champion.
The junior from Canton, N.C., won the boys mile at the adidas Track Nationals indoor meet in 4 minutes, 16.89 seconds. His closest competition was nearly four seconds behind, which seemed to even take Dawson by surprise as he glanced over his shoulder on the bell lap.
Dawson Reeves '24 becomes first-time national champion at Virginia Beach indoor track meet. https://t.co/AJfkhd5v9k #asheville #avlsports #hstrack #ncisaa #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/hCDCIEMo39
— Christ School Athletics (@greeniesports) March 19, 2023
"Coming in, I really wanted to be pretty tactical," Dawson told MileSplit after the race.
"Today I wanted to be pretty cognizant, pretty mindful of what I was doing. Once I hit 400 (meters) to go, my legs felt pretty decent. I knew I had a kick left in me. I took a look behind me and they were pretty far back, I knew I had it in the bag in that moment."
Dawson ran the second half of the race faster (2:06) than the first (2:10). The adidas meet was spread out over three days at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. Earlier in the weekend, Dawson placed third in the 800-meter run (1:55.31). He holds the Christ School indoor record (1:53.31) and outdoor record (1:52.83) at that distance.
His younger brother, Dallas ’27, came in seventh in the adidas boys middle-school mile (4:43.57).