Keegan Smith, a sixth-grader at Sacred Heart Cathedral School, defended his national title in the 3,000-meter run at the 2018 Junior Olympics, held July 28 to Aug. 4 at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Keegan, 11, ran the 3,000 in a time of 9 minutes, 57.48 seconds, to win the event in the 12-yearolds division against a field of 40 other runners. He was nearly 14 full seconds ahead of runner-up Tate McDermott (10:11.44).
In the 1,500 run at the Junior Olympics, Keegan placed 15th in a time of 4:54.54.
Last year, Keegan won the 11-year-olds 3,000 title in 9:59.36.
