Photo courtesy of CITIUS MAG Mifflin County High School standout Carter Smith celebrates winning the Boys Mile at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor championships Saturday.

Carter Smith slapped the tape at the finish line of the New Balance Nationals Outdoor championships Saturday, January 21, at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania, breaking it in two as he celebrated by letting out a brief yell and walked off the track.

The outdoor season had been a long one for the Mifflin County High School phenom, but the teenager ended it in style and ascended to the throne of crowned a national champion by winning the Boys Mile with a time of 4:01.20.

Smith’s splits were 1:01.59, 1:00.14, 1:00.65 and 58.82. He used that 58-second final lap to outkick Robin Lefebvre, of Montreal, who finished second in 4:02.07, as well as the rest of the 141 competitors from all over North America.

Both Smith and Lefebvre ran in the 10th heat, and Lefebvre led Smith by .02 seconds at one point.

A late move by Smith during the run earned him his first New Balance Nationals title as he became the second straight Pennsylvania runner to win the outdoor mile after Drew Griffith won the event in 2024. Smith is the third Pennsylvania runner to win the run in four years, including Gary Martin’s 2022 win.

Smith’s national title also serves as the explanation point for a dominant junior year in which saw him capture the PIAA Class 3A cross country championship, Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association (PTFCA) 800-meter indoor title and PIAA 3A Championship wins in both the 800- and 1,600-meter races. He also won the PTFCA 800 race as a sophomore.

That makes five overall state titles and now a national title in Smith’s illustrious career. He heads into his senior season as one of the most decorated athletes in Mifflin County history.