Nico Young

Background

If there were one quote to sum up Nico Young’s origin story as an athlete, “Big things have small beginnings,” might be a great candidate. Entering Newbury Park High School in Southern California’s Ventura County as a 5’0”, 100 lbs freshman, Nico Young ended his first year of track with a respectable best of 5:02 for 1600m. But Nico moved from respectable to national class in leaps and bounds: as a sophomore, Nico ran 9:05.17 for 3200m, one of the fastest times in US high school history for an underclassman.

As a junior, Nico won the California State Div. II High School Cross Country title and led Newbury Park to the team title, as well. That track season, Nico won the California state track title at 3200m and set a new personal best at the distance of 8:40.00, making him the eighth fastest in US high school history. As a senior, Nico repeated as California Div II Cross Country Champion and ran a course record 14:52.3 to win the Nike Cross Country National title. His stellar cross country exploits earned him the title of Gatorade California Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year. His senior track season started with a national high school indoor record of 7:56.97 for 3000m, before the remainder of the year was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When he wasn’t setting records in track and cross country in Newbury Park, Nico was maintaining a 4.67 GPA and regularly volunteered as a camp assistant at Many Mansions for disadvantaged youths.

Picking right up from his curtailed high school career, Nico enrolled at national distance powerhouse Norther Arizona, where he an immediate impact. As a true freshman, Nico led the Lumberjacks with a fourth place individual finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, helping NAU secure the national title. The following year, Nico improved to second in the individual race and Northern Arizona repeated as national team champions. As a junior, Nico improved on the track to a fourth place finish in the NCAA Indoor Championships at 3000m.

Nico's final year at NAU proved to be his best. In cross country, Nico held on strong for a sixth place individual finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, helping NAU to a close second-place finish in the team race. On the track, he was even better: at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston, Nico ran 12:57.14i for 5000m indoors, breaking both the indoor and outdoor NCAA records and making him the fourth-fastest American all-time indoors. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Nico ran away with his first NCAA individual titles for the Lumberjacks, taking first in both the 3000m and 5000m finals. The following week, Nico ran 26:52.72 for 10,000m to take apart the NCAA record and make him the third-fastest American ever. That summer, after turning professional, Nico finished third in the 10,000m at the US Olympic Trials to qualify for his first Olympic Games. In Paris, Nico ran an impressive race in a very fast competition, finishing 12th in 26:58.11, a time that would have won all previous Olympic Games 10,000m races.