Wisconsin High School Track Athlete Bios Last Updated: September 8, 2001

Gabe Jennings

Gabe Jennings is the WIAA state meet record holder for the 1600 Meters and he holds the all-time best mark in the mile for a Wisconsin high school athlete with a time of 4:02.81.

See his USATF bio and 1997 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on his state meet performance.

Events: 1500m; 800m; 5000m
PRs: 800m 1:46.99 (1998); 1500m 3:35.21 (2000); Mile 3:59.32 (1998); 3000m 7:58.40 (1998); 5000m 13:44.60 (2000).
Height: 5-11
Weight: 154
Born: Born January 25, 1979 at Forks of Salmon, Calif.
Current Residence: Palo Alto, Calif.
High School: East (Madison, Wis.) '97
College: Stanford '02
Coach: Vin Lananna

Career Highlights: 2000 Olympic Trials 1500m champion; 2000 NCAA 1500m champion; 2000 NCAA Indoor mile champion; Three-time All-American; 2000 Olympic team member.

Jennings grew up in Northern California's Klamath National Forest without electricity and indoor plumbing. As a prep, he ran a 4:02 mile. As a college sophomore, Jennings won the NCAA indoor mile and the NCAA 1500m outdoors. He runs to a rhythm, sometimes singing in the middle of a race. He's been a drummer since he was young and majors in music at Stanford...sees his life in three stages; athletics, music and philosophy...says his 'greatest fear is fear itself, and my greatest dream is that I will stop dreaming altogether and just live.'...says his heroes aren't people like Prefontaine or Salazar but others like Michael Stember, Jason Pyrah, Jason Lunn and his teammates and competitors - runners in the here and now...was a member of the Stanford team that stopped Arkansas' winning streak of NCAA team championships in 2000.

2001: 4th in 1,500m at USA Outdoors (3:38.02) after moving decisively into lead with 400m to go…2nd in 1,500 at NCAA Outdoors (3:37.56).
2000: Won Olympic Trials 1500m (3:35.90)...placed 9th in Olympic semifinal (3:40.10)...also ran 3:37.33 at Stanford, Calif., on May 5...won NCAA 1500 in 3:38.76...won at Mt. SAC on April 15 at 3:40.08...ranked #1 U.S. in 1500 by T&FN...best of 3:25.21.
1999: Redshirted, ran unattached. Won the Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome Classic (3:40.41)...member of USATF middle distance development crew that competed in Europe...Pac-10 All-Academic cross country selection...best 3:39.85 in Birmingham, England.
1998: 2nd in 1500 at NCAA outdoors...Pac-10 meet finished 3rd in the 5000...4th place finish at NCAA Indoors in the 3000m...Won 1500m at the U.S. Junior Championships and the 5000 (14:48.03)...5th at the World Junior Championships in the 1500...6th in the 800 at the U.S. Championships (1:46.99)...Pac-10 All-Academic cross country selection...bests of 1:46.99. 3:50.84, 4:59.32 (9mile) and 13:57.28.
1997: Redshirted Cross Country...Won the Junior National Cross Country championship and made his third U.S. national team...Prefontaine Classic in the mile 4:02.81 fastes prep time in 23 years...2nd place in Junior Nationals in 1500m (3:45.98)...high school state champion in 800 and 1600m...bests of 1:52.18, 3:45.98 and 4:02.81 (mile).
1996: High school state champion in 800, 1600 and 3200...best of 3:50.84.
1995: High school state champion in 1600 and 3200.

WIAA Track: One out of two will do

And what the crowd wanted at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association state track and field championships Saturday were records in the 800 and 1,600 meters.

They didn't get everything, but let's just say the Madison East senior put a smile on everyone's face.

Jennings ended his storied high school running days by putting his name in the record book in the 1,600. He nearly did the same in the 800 after waiting through a 2-hour 43-minute rain delay.

Jennings ran the 1,600 in 4 minutes 4.97 seconds to smash the mark of 4:11.81 set by Monroe's Mike Deignan in 1984.

Jennings won the 800 in 1:52.18, falling just short of the record of 1:51.79 set by Appleton East's Joe Kapheim in 1981.

"I think I proved I'm the No. 1 miler to come out of the state," Jennings said, "and it's not bad knowing I'm one of the best 800 runners and that's not my premier event."

Jennings, who will run at Stanford next season, won seven state championships in track and the last two state cross country titles.

He won the 1,600 and 3,200 track titles as a sophomore. Last year, he became the second boy to sweep the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 titles.

And this year, besides the two titles, he anchored East's fifth-place 3,200 relay team. He did not compete in the individual 3,200.

In the 3,200 relay Friday, Jennings ran a 1:50.7 split. He then won the top seeding in the 800 final with a trial time of 1:56.32 to set the stage for his record-breaking day Saturday.

He leaves with his place in the state's high school track history secure.

"I wanted to go down as the No. 1 miler in the state, and now I want to go down as the No. 1 miler in the country," Jennings said.

He ran the first half of the 1,600, which is roughly the equivalent of a mile, in 2 minutes and covered the first 1,200 meters in 3:02. He got the record with ease but didn't have enough energy or the push from the pack in the final lap to break 4 minutes.

"If you don't have someone ahead of you, it's hard to have that kind of last lap," Jennings said.

His quest for a record in the 800 was hampered by the rain delay. Once the race began, he got pinned behind a pack of runners and lost precious time passing some of them on the curve.

But one record was good enough for him. After he crossed the finish line in the 1,600, he jumped about with surprising energy, raising his arms victoriously.

He even threw a kiss to the crowd.

And after the 800, Jennings took a victory lap, slapping hands with the crowd.

It is a ritual he picked up at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon last month, and it endeared him to the crowd even more.

"Everyone was saying, 'Way to go, Gabe,' and shaking my hand," he said. "They love me and I love them."