LOUISVILLE, Ky. — High school senior Jessie Secor recently broke the state record for the fastest outdoor mile. 

What You Need To Know

  • A high school senior in Louisville broke the state outdoor mile record

  • Her time of 4:44 beat the previous record by 5 seconds 

  • Secor is also a leader of her school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and makes top grades

As Secor was setting her watch to keep track of her pace, which was fast, she knew it was just a training session.

At the beginning of the month, the duPont Manual student continued to engrave herself into the record books by winning one of the premier mile races in the state. She set a new record, which came as a surprise.  

“Well, that wasn’t the plan. I definitely didn’t think I was going to do that going into it. We had a plan that would hopefully get me to win it, but we didn’t know because we knew there was tough competition there,” Secor said. 

Secor’s time of 4:44, set a new Kentucky state record for the outdoor high school girls’ mile, breaking the previous record by five seconds.

She has been running for six years and attributes her success to the coaches. 

“They create such an environment that makes you want to do well in the sport because you love the sport, not because you put all this pressure on yourself,” she said.

Secor is a leader of her school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is heavily involved in her church. She also makes excellent grades. Holman says these qualities help athletes succeed. 

“When running, or any athletic pursuit becomes the end all, be all, that puts a lot of pressure on young people,” Coach Tim Holman said. 

In addition to Secor’s success, the duPont Manual track and field and cross-country programs have proven their pedigree throughout the years. 

“And I think we try to have a kind of program, and I think Jessie exemplifies that, that values other things even greater than our athletic pursuits,” Holman added.

duPont Manual Athletics says the track and field and cross-country teams have collectively won over 21 state championships and produced many individual state champions. 

For Secor, who has committed to run at the University of Tennessee Knoxville next year, the team helps keep her focused and grounded.

“We encourage each other as a team and kind of like pull each other up and not trying to make every practice a competition and it’s just a day to get better, if it’s bad it’s okay, if it’s good then good,” Secor said.