Ex-Knight, Justin Young, 10th at National Championship

HOUSTON, Jan. 14, 2007 –

2007 Half-Marathon US National Champion Ryan Hall separated himself with a blistering 4:36 first mile, then ran the rest of the Aramco Houston Half Marathon alone on Sunday en route to a U.S. half marathon record of 59:43 in becoming the first American ever to break an hour in the distance. Hall beat the previous American record, set in 1985, by a minute and 12 seconds. The event was Hall's half-marathon debut and has been hailed by some as arguably the best-ever performance by an American distance runner.

Finishing in 10th Place at 1:03:59 was former Richwoods High School runner Justin Young.

In October, 2004, Young had been the top U.S. finisher at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in New Delhi, India, where he led the men's squad to a 10th place team finish. Young completed the course in 1:05:33 to finish 18th overall.

Earlier this season, Young finished 31st overall and qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials at the Chicago Marathon (Sunday, October 22, 2006). The 2:19:25 run by Young was 35 seconds under the "A" standard time and thus provides him with an automatic invitation to the 2008 Olympic Trials, which will take place on November 2, 2007, the same weekend as the New York City Marathon. In 2004, only 14 men met the Olympic Trials "A" qualifying standard.

At Richwoods, Young was a three time All-State runner, winning medals in track while competing in the 3200m as a junior in 1996 (7th place) and repeating the following year (8th place) and as a senior in cross country (25th place).