Shane Streich

Road to Atlanta Track Club Elite

At Waseca High School (Waseca, MN), Shane won seven individual state titles and was a 19-time all-state honoree (five in cross country, 14 in track and field). As a senior in 2015, he led Waseca to the state Class A title with his wins at 800m, 1,600m and in the 4x400m relay. He went on to become a two-time All-American at the University of Minnesota before finishing his collegiate career at Lipscomb University, where he earned his MBA. At Lipscomb, he set ASUN Conference records at 800m and 1,500m and finished sixth in the 2021 NCAA Championships at 800 meters to earn another All-America honor, before reaching the semifinals at the Olympic Trials.

Why Atlanta Track Club Elite?

"The team culture was one I wanted to be part of, the sense of professionalism and just the opportunity to relieve some of the stresses that are part of the transition from college. I liked what the organization is about as a whole: community-based and community-focused, connecting with the Kilometer Kids and the local high school kids at Wingfoot XC. Its belief in volunteering really resonated with me and helped drive my decision. In high school I was involved with the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes program, I was a camp volunteer and I helped at the local food shelf and with things at church. It's nice to be able to carry that through each transition I go through in life."

How He Knows He's Ready to Race

"I'm ready to race when I'm confident in my training and level of fitness, confident in my abilities, and have a fiery motivation to step on the line and compete. For me, it doesn't matter how the body may be feeling on a given day, but if I have that confidence and fiery motivation, I know I'm ready to lock in on being the best runner and competitor that I can be on that day."

The American Record

Coming into the American Track League meet in Louisville, KY, on Feb.12, 2022, with early-season, personal-best wins at 800m (Dr. Sander Invitational) and the mile ("B" race at NYRR Millrose Games), Shane had the 1,000m American record on his mind even though it was his first attempt at the distance. Following the pacemaker from the gun, Shane took over at 600m and crossed the line in 2:16.16 to break the previous mark of 2:16.27, set by Bryce Hoppel a year earlier.

Surprise Storyline

With the ESPN2 broadcast focusing on the possibility of Ireland's Luke McCann breaking a 37-year-old Irish national record for the distance, Shane - despite leading - ran under the radar for about 850 meters before the play-by-play announcer realized that he was on pace to set the American record. "Unbelievable!" exclaimed the color commentator after Shane crossed the line. "We were following the wrong story the whole time!" (For the record, McCann's record quest was also successful.)

It Finally Sank In

A few years earlier, Shane had wondered if he should hang up the spikes. Now, he was an American record-holder. His reaction? "At first, it was just 'OK, I set a goal, and I accomplished it," he recalled. "But as the day progressed and I looked at the names on the all-time list, I thought 'Wow, this is insane.'" The names on that list include 2003 World Indoor Champion David Krummenacker and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Matthew Centrowitz.

Family Ties

Track definitely runs in Shane's family. His parents, Jeff and Dolores, both ran track in college, and his dad later started a summer track program in their community. His older sister, Allison, ran track before focusing on college basketball; his younger brother, Cole, was a teammate on their 2015 state championship team before competing for the University of South Dakota and Lipscomb University where he, too, earned an MBA. Cole followed in his brother's footsteps when it comes to post-collegiate running, as well: he co-founded Wild Ox Track Club in Nashville.

Get Ready, Get Set, Go!

Shane says he started running "seriously" after he crushed the first-grade mile record in his gym class, running 7:11. He was already tagging along to his sister's summer USATF and AAU meets, so figured he would try some events there, too. He remembers doing everything from the 400m to the high jump to the discus. That breadth of skill came in handy at a high school meet when he triple- jumped far enough to unexpectedly qualify for the state championships.

Want to Know More?

• Shane's hometown has a population of about 9,200. On being a small-town star: "It always nice to be the best at your craft no matter what moment of time you're in, but there's also the pressure of maintaining that status and building off it."
• On another note, from around 7th grade to his junior year, Shane participated in show choir, singing and dancing to choreographed popular music. He took piano lessons from kindergarten to around 6th grade and played the saxophone in 5th and 6th grade.
• Says his passion for learning has long been in the "mathy, programming" world, adding that it plays to his competitive nature and "that desire to perfect something. When you're writing in code, you can make a program work with 10,000 lines of code, but can you make it work with 1,000 lines?"
• Especially likes to come up with ideas on sports analytics. Can he find a way to predict winners and losers better than Vegas does?
• Calls himself "probably the fiercest competitor that gets on the track every single time. It's me against the clock, me against myself, me against the pain. I'm going to be the one who can suffer the most."