By Elliot Denman // Photo by Karthik Adimula

New York, March 16, 2015 - Grant Fisher had no intention of using the word "disappointment." 

For this moment, anyway - after he'd won the boys mile final in the New Balance Indoor Nationals Sunday afternoon at the Armory in 4:03.54 - "disappointment" was just expunged from his vocabulary.

You knew he felt it - but he simply couldn't get himself to use the word.

Absolutely, darn straight, you betcha, he wanted to clock a sub-4 at this concluding session of the 26th New Balance Indoor Nationals - and thus double the membership in the HS Indoor Sub-4 Club.

But it didn't happen and that list will now remain at one - Alan Webb, with his 3:59.86 in 2001 - until the 2016 indoor season  rolls around.

By that time, Grand Blanc, Michigan's Fisher will be a freshman engineering major at Stanford University.  And when the next edition of  stats king Jack Shepard's remarkable compilation of best marks - High School Track 2016 - rolls off the presses, Grant Fisher will still be where he was at the time the last big meet of this 2014-15 season roared to a conclusion.

And that's number four all-time indoors, trailing only (a) South Lakes High, Va.'s Webb, (b), Edward Cheserek, St. Benedict's of Newark, who ran 4:02.21 in 2012; and (c) Thom Hunt, of San Diego, who clocked a 4:02.26 back in 1976.

So Fisher moves into fourth on those all-time charts, now besting Lukas Verzbicas of Orland Park, Illinois, who ran 4:03.88 in 2011, Alex Hatz of Fayetteville-Manlius, N.Y., who ran 4:05.50 in 2010, and the famed Vince Cartier of Scotch Plains-Fanwood, N.J.. who clocked a 4:06.6 in the NJSIAA Championships at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium in 1972.

(Take note that Cartier's 4:06.6 would endure as the fastest-ever in an all-high school race for an astounding 38 years; the Webb and Hunt performances were achieved running against senior-level open racers.)

It seemed Fisher was headed straight to a sub-4, maybe - could this be? -  even faster than Webb's 3:59.86.

Then it happened. Roaring around the Armory track's final turn, after leading this race from the starting gun, Fisher's foot clipped the track's curb.  He stumbled a few strides, losing all his momentum, and was fortunate to get to the finish line in  4:03.54.

And maybe fortunate not to get DQ'd, either.  As he was stumbling, he briefly went into the Armory's infield.  Rules are rules, he really did step off the track.  But no red flag was raised as the result stood. Long Islander James Burke of Port Jefferson snared second in 4:08.48, with Fort Washington, Pa.'s Sam Ritz third in 4:08.67.

A first question posed to Fisher after he'd regained his equilibrium: "Did something throw you off; it looked like you stepped on a pebble, or something; you were going sideways all of a sudden?"

Fisher's answer: "This is actually the only banked track I've ever run on; yeah, it could have been  a variety of things, I'm not pointing a finger at anything. I hooked the rail a little bit, and it just threw me off."

Another question: "Was that your plan, taking control of this race from the very beginning, and knowing the quality of the rest of the field, was that a fun thing to do?"

Responded Fisher: "Yes, it sure was. Until this year, I'd always relied on my big kick to win races. Taking a race out in this way, sure it was fun. But I didn't really feel like I was running alone, either. The crowd was going nuts and, sure, I knew those guys were there behind me."

One more query: "Any idea what your long-term memories of this race might be?"

Said Fisher: "Today, the race was going incredibly well.  For seven laps, I was doing great.  For seven and a half, I was doing even better. Today, we had a goal and we were very, very close to it. 

"I wanted to win  this race, and if the time came along with it, so much the better. As I said I felt incredible, and other than one or two strides, I did great.

"That last corner, I was solely focused on getting to that finish line as fast as I could. I was kicking with all I had. When you're that tired, though, sometimes your form goes a little haywire. Yeah, I was guess I was leaning a little bit too much. When you're going at that speed,it really messes you up."

And this bottom line: "I'm just not sure if I would have broken four.  You never know about things like that. I could have been close. My coach (Mike Scannell) and I never even talked that (breaking four) part.

"Our game plan was simply to go out hard, get to the half around two minutes flat, come through 1200 in 3:03 or so, then go for it."

Well, he did just that, and then "it happened."  For consolation - he did set a meet record - besting Hatz's 4:05.50 in 2010.

What an Indoor Nationals this was, and here's a quick rundown of other boys highlights:

Ryan Clark (Atlanta) and Noah Lyles (Alexandria, Va.) sped to a 60-meter final just 3/1000ths of a second apart.  The verdict went to Clark (6.641) over Lyles (6.644), both to be listed at 6.65.

The 60 hurdles finish-line findings required close scrutiny, too - Chesapeake,  Va.'s Grant Holloway (7.585) nudging Warren, Ohio's Chad Zollow (7.589), both credited with 7.59s to top the meet record of 7.60.

Lyles (20.83) then turned the tables on Clark (20.85) in the 200 as both dipped into meet record territory.

Mount Vernon's Rai Benjamin equaled the meet 400 record with his 46.57 win, but this was a race in which Union Catholic's Taylor McLaughlin roared from behind and got to the finish line first only to be DQ'd in a wild scramble (as the finish-line tape-holder failed to exit the track on time) and all four finalists toppled to the track.  Benjamin had run 46.59, McLaughlin 46.80 in the prelims.

Dayton, Ohio's Brian Bell led the 800-meter runners in 1:51.08 and before anchoring Dunbar to a national-record 3:24.16 triumph in the sprint medley.

A dazzling two-mile race saw three young men - Virginia's Andrew Hunter (8:48.22), Alaska's  Levi Thomet (8:48:32) and Darien, Ct.'s Alex Ostberg (8:48.88) dip under 8:49 and three more runsub-9's.

Two meet records were erased in boys field event action - when Deakin Volz of Bloomington, Ohio pole vaulted 17-11 1/4, and Ja'Mari Ward of Cahokia, Ill. stretched the long jump MR to 25-7 1/4.) Oh, and Ward made it a double by winning the triple jump at 51-7 3/4.

In girls action, a pair of remarkable sophomores - Suffern, N.Y.'s Kamryn McIntosh and Union Catholic of New Jersey's Sydney McLaughlin stole much thunder from their elders.

McIntosh raced off with the 400 title in 54.57 (after a 54.09 qualifier), then helped Suffern win the distance medley  in 11;53.27.   McLaughlin sped through her three rounds of the 60 hurdles in 8.30, 8.27 and finally 8.17, to set a meet sophomore record.

Lauren'Rain of Lakewood, California lowered the 200 meet record to 23.46 after Anna Rohrer of Mishawaka,Indiana had opened the meet Friday night with a national-record 16:10.79 5000-meter win.

Raleigh, N.C.'s Ryen Frazier seemed tireless as she ran for a distance triple, but won just one of  her three outings, taking the gold in the two-mile (10:02.86) but silvers in the mile (back of Raleighite Nevada Mareno's sophomore-record 4:43.23) and the 5000 (back of Rohrer.)

Top girls relays saw West Branch, Va. lower the national 4x55 shuttle hurdles record to 31.22 (with Union Catholic and Sydney McLaughlin second in 32.34) and the Comets Track Club of  Henrietta, N.Y. cut the national sprint medley record to 3:52.68.

LaSalle of Rhode Island showed its extraordinary distance strength, winning both the boys (17:11.07) and girls (20:26.13) 4xmile relay titles.

Kate Hall of Casco, Maine spanned 20-11 1/4 to set a girls long jump meet record and Asa Garcia of Texas City, Texas extended the triple jump meet best-ever to 43-2 1/4.

And thus ended another sensational indoor season for the nation's brightest young talent.