Michael Mohoric and the Miracle Mile

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This past spring, Newburyport High School graduate Michael Mohoric ’26 set multiple school records in the men's 800-meter dash (1:51.09), men's two-mile run (9:01.09) and, most notably, the men's mile (4:04.55).

Mohoric reflected proudly on his performance this season, calling it an "unreal experience" that resulted in times "ridiculously faster" than his previous personal records.

"I think this is really the first time that I've been in such a good rhythm of things, and things are just clicking," Mohoric said. "I'm just super grateful."

While all of his senior spring accomplishments were significant, his improvement from a 4:15 mile to a sub-4:05 mile drew the most attention, earning him All-American honors at New Balance Nationals, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania on June 20.

The graduate's progress during the outdoor track season was especially notable given his history of setbacks, including an injury that prevented him from competing during both the indoor and outdoor track seasons of his junior year. He said this spring marked the "first time I've been able to train consistently for a long time, and I really think that's where some of the success is coming from."

In addition to consistency, Mohoric attributed this year's performance to a balanced training model. He said that while many young athletes tend to specialize in either speed work or high mileage, he aims to train in a "medium zone" that incorporates both aerobic work and speed training. This methodology helps "develop skills from multiple fronts" and "creates some versatility that can help out in a two-mile or 800-meter race, and really primes you for the mile, which is kind of the sweet spot."

Mohoric credited his primary high school coach, Donald Hennigar, with being his biggest "voice of reason" throughout his training.

"He kind of wants to see where my thinking is on things, and sometimes I'll realize that whatever I'm thinking has some kind of side effect that he can see that I can't," Mohoric said. "So we'll be able to work really well and adapt some of our plans."

The recent graduate also cited Newburyport High School's running culture as a major source of support throughout his high school career, saying the program "probably [has] the most excellent culture I've ever seen of a team."

"Some people that create that besides, obviously, Coach Hennigar, is definitely Coach Valli and Coach Bouchard, as well as people that surround the program, like Erin and Paul LaRosa. Also, our track coaches Brian Moore and Coach McCormick," Mohoric said.

This fall, Mohoric began his collegiate career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he competes in cross country and track.

He hopes to "cement" his place on the team early and help MIT compete for the NCAA Division III national championship. He said he believes he'll "be able to balance things in a way that's pretty constructive," citing both his coach's individualized training philosophy and MIT's pass-fail grading system for first-year students.