Philadelphia, there’s a new Rocky in town.
Christ School rising senior Rocky Hansen ’23 became a national champion for the third time and set another state record Friday night at the University of Pennsylvania.
His second mile (4:15.40) was faster than his first (4:31.57) to win the 2-mile at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor track meet with the fastest time in North Carolina history (8 minutes, 46.97 seconds).
Rocky positioned himself as the leader after the first of eight laps. He then allowed others to do some of the work before moving to the front for good on the final lap. Heath McAllister from Ontario was the second-place runner (8:50.88).
Rocky’s time for 2 miles converts to 8:43.91 for 3,200 meters, which breaks the previous North Carolina record set in 2017 by Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons’ Connor Lane (8:47.00). Last month, the Greenie from Hendersonville, N.C., set state records for the mile (4:00.76) and 1,600 meters (3:59.37) at a meet in Huntsville, Ala.
The New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet runs through Sunday in Philadelphia.
The sixth-most populous city in the United States was the hometown of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, portrayed in a series of movies by actor Sylvester Stallone. A real-life statue of Rocky is one of Philadelphia’s most popular tourist attractions.
