Wildcats star Broen Holman breaks, then rebreaks, 3200-meter school record

In his season opener at the Dublin Distance Fiesta on March 18, Holman smashed the already-impressive 3200-meter record of 9:11.75 set by former teammate Adin Dibble in 2021, with a time of 9:03.11. 

Three weeks later, Holman lowered the mark even further, with a 9:01.38 performance at the historic Arcadia Invitational, inching ever closer to the nine-minute mark — a hallowed milestone for top male distance runners.

Though only a sophomore, Holman has already accomplished more than the vast majority of runners will in a lifetime. As a 13-year-old, he set an age group world record over 5,000 meters at the Pacific Grove Lighthouse 5K, running 15:23 to shatter the record by over 20 seconds. 

But despite Holman’s long list of accolades, the prospect of rewriting the record books for the distance events at Sonora High is high on his list of priorities. 

“For sure,” Holman said. “I definitely want to try to get all of them by the time that I graduate. That is definitely a goal that I look at.”

Holman missed out on most of his freshman track season with an illness, opting to take a year off rather than try to force anything. Including this season, he has only run five high school track races. 

The lost season left Holman feeling hungry to get back on the track this year, but with so little experience on the track in high school, Holman said he didn’t know quite what to expect when he toed the line at the Dublin Distance Fiesta to start the year. 

“It was weird because I hadn’t raced a track race and actually felt good, not being sick, in forever,” Holman said. “We didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, but we knew that I should definitely be anywhere under 9:10. Anywhere from 9:10 to 9:00 — we knew I was going to be somewhere in there, hopefully, if I had a good race.”

The race turned out to be a competitive one, with a number of runners in contention coming around the final bend towards home in a pack. 

“It was a race the whole time,” Holman said. “With 200 (meters) to go, we were all just sprinting and kicking. They just barely got me, but it was cool.”

With renewed confidence from his big opener and a better understanding of his fitness, Holman competed at the Stanford Invitational where he came away with a new personal best in the 1600 meters, running 4:23.82. Then he traveled to Los Angeles to race the seeded 3200-meter race at the historic Arcadia Invitational. 

“I had never been to a track race that big,” Holman said. “You are walking around Arcadia and you see Craig Engels and some of these huge famous people. You’re just like, oh, he is ranked No. 1 in the nation, another high school kid. I was just like, ‘Wow. Everybody is so fast here.’”

Holman had another impressive race, but it was the opportunity to brush elbows with top national competition and visiting pro runners that was the highlight of the trip. 

“It was super cool to see them all there,” Holman said. “It keeps your momentum going, even though the seasons are long. When you go to those big races, it helps you want to keep going, getting better and working harder.”

Holman’s goals for the season include cracking nine minutes in the 3200 meters and 4:15 in the 1600 meters, as well as qualifying for the highly-competitive state meet in the 3200 meters. To get there, he said he and his coaches have focused on building a strong aerobic base before introducing more speed training later on in the season. 

“I definitely want to make it to state in the (3200 meters). Making it to state for track is way harder than making it in cross country. It’s top three out of your section, so it is legit, and we have one of the fastest sections in the state. There are really fast kids.”

After a long individual preseason campaign, traveling along to compete in elite meets, Holman will open his Mother Lode League season Thursday at Calaveras High in San Andreas, where he plans to race the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters. 

Holman said getting to compete alongside his teammates again is a blessing.

“Even when I was little, it was kind of just me and my parents going to all the races,” he said. “I had a big team, but towards the end, like eighth grade year and stuff, it was mostly just me going to all the races. Last year, I had Adin (Dibble) at most of the big meets with me, so that was cool to see a super familiar face.”

The son of a former pro runner turned college cross country coach Darren Holman, Broen Holman got started running seriously when he was only 7 years old. Despite his youth, the sophomore has more miles on his legs than many of his competitors; something he considers an advantage. 

“My dad was a super highly-competitive runner. Ran for Nike, ran at Stanford and ran for Cal Poly — that’s where he went to college,” Broen Holman said. “Obviously, I think that has helped me, but then I have also been pretty much running my whole life … all those years of training, miles on my legs, it really helps me now that I have just been doing it for so long.

“Seeing all the cool places that running has taken him, getting him to college and paying for college and all that stuff, it is super inspirational. I think it’s really cool to know someone that (closely) that has done it all.”

Broen Holman’s work ethic, rather than just raw talent, is the key factor in his success,” according to Sonora track and field head coach Frank Garcia.

“It’s his motivation for working at an elite level,” Garcia said. “He knows how to train as an elite athlete and compete against elite athletes at elite meets. Never complains, always is really healthy, hasn’t had any injuries in a long time — he is super fit and ready to compete against anyone in the state and the nation, really.

“His career exploded this year in cross country. He is the kind of guy that won’t stop between seasons; he will train, train, train all year-round. He is ready for anything.”

Contact Dominic Massimino at dmassimino@uniondemocrat.net or (209) 588-4526. Follow him on Twitter at @DominicUDSports