Photo by: Jackson Polin
On Friday night at Franklin Field, Nicholas Mazzeo of Lower Merion Athletic Club did something no high schooler had ever done before. The senior distance star broke the 5:40 barrier with a time of 5:37.60 in the 2000-meter steeplechase, erasing Nathan Mountain's five-year-standing national record of 5:40.72.
University of Penn's stadium, Franklin Field, has hosted some of the track and field's most iconic moments, and it is just miles from Mazzeo's high school campus in Ardmore. As a UPenn commit, his performance came on his future home track in front of soon-to-be teammates and coaches.
At last year's national championship, Mazzeo earned 4th place in a time of 5:52.04 to set the Pennsylvania state record. This year he returned with far more control over the barriers and water pit, ultimately crossing the line fourteen seconds faster than the year prior and three seconds faster than any high school athlete in U.S. history.
The record is the latest chapter in what has already been a remarkable career for Mazzeo. This past fall, he won the New Balance Cross Country National Championship, becoming the only athlete in Lower Merion High School, Central League, and District 1 history to earn National Champion status in cross country, and being just the second boys' cross country runner in Pennsylvania history to win a national title. In 2026, he's led Lower Merion's distance medley relay to 3rd place at New Balance Nationals Indoor and 9:57.78 at the Penn Relays Championship of America. Last month, he posted personal bests of 4:06.82 for a mile and 8:52.75 for 3200m. And just two days earlier at this same meet, he posted a 14:27.32 in the 5000m championship, which earned him 2nd place nationally.
Mazzeo's record‑breaking run cements him as one of the most decorated distance athletes in PA history, and he's still gaining momentum. With his future set at Penn, his latest performance feels less like a peak and more like the start of an even bigger rise.
