Herriman (UT) senior Jackson Spencer has been nothing short of dominant this fall. He set a new course record at Woodward Park with a 14:16.9 win at the Clovis Invitational, he covered three miles in 13:42.1 at Woodbridge, led a team and individual sweep of the Utah state titles, and most recently ran away from a stacked NXR Southwest field to claim a big win in Arizona.

Spencer sat down with CITIUS MAG to discuss his historic season, share why he welcomes pressure, and how he’s preparing for his return to NXN, where he finished seventh last December.

_____________________

Paul Hof-Mahoney: We’re five or six days out from race day now, the biggest day of the fall, what are your emotions like right now?

It’s super exciting, I’m super happy to be able to make it to the end of this season pretty much unscathed and I’m just ready to get after it.

Talk to me a little bit about that race in Mesa last week. The Southwest region, especially on the individual side, there’s so many of the best guys in the country. It's a pretty good preview of what the national race might look like, and you come out on top. How much is that race serving as a confidence boost for you right now?

It actually really helped with confidence, just knowing that I’m able to execute my moves that I have planned pretty well and knowing that I still am a good racer with everyone.

Can you talk us through that race? From the two-mile split to the finish, you were the only guys to break five over that span so you really put the hurt on the field.

Actually, when I was coming through the second mile, I thought I was in the first mile for the first two miles of the race. I was like, “Goodness, this felt like a really long race. When is this first mile gonna come through?” Then I saw 9-something on the clock and I thought, “Oh, okay, so that’s the second mile.” It was just taking it home from there, it was fun. I was super glad to be able to win such a crazy stacked field.

Was the plan going in to leave it to that last mile? What was going through your head when you actually made the move to separate from a field that stacked?

My coach wasn’t allowing me to take the lead for at least the first mile. He said if the pace was too slow I could take it in the second mile, but as you can see I wasn’t mentally in the second mile. I was wanting to take it with a K to go, and that kind of happened. Abdinasir [Hassan] put in a crazy surge, so I just had to take my time and match that. I guess with 400m to go was my real move. That’s when I knew I had it in the bag, after I looked back I saw everyone a little bit behind me.

How much do you think a race that is that style—where it’s more tactical at the start and then there’s a couple different moves in that last mile—is helping you to prepare for what Saturday might look like?

It just helped fine-tune race strategy and helped me mentally prepare for the competition that NXN might have.

Your season so far has been undefeated, and the two races that really stand out are 14:16 to win at Clovis and 13:42 for three miles at Woodbridge. What’s the biggest takeaway you have so far from this season?

I guess my takeaways are that I’ve been having the season of a lifetime for myself. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to perform so well to this point. It’s helped set the tone for the whole entire season.

What’s it been like seeing that “season of a lifetime” where every race has been kind of an A+ performance?

It’s been kind of crazy. You think I’d be used to it, but no, every race I surprise myself more and more. My expectations going in aren’t super high, but then my coach tells me a plan and has me believe in it, I’m like, “You know what Coach, you’re right, I should try and do this.” And then it goes successfully. I’ve been able to string together some good ones… so really happy about it.

At NXN last year, you were seventh. What are the biggest lessons you learned from throwing yourself into the mix of a national title race like that?

That was my first national race, so it was kind of crazy. I was fit at that point, but I didn’t realize it. In the race, I like, looked to my left, looked to my right, saw these top dogs next to me fading. I honestly was going in just hoping for an All-American spot after getting seventh at NXR that year, but it was crazy when I realized I got top 10. I didn’t even know who won because it was just carnage at that point, it was insane battling my way to a top 10 spot.

This year, you are one of those top dogs. Do you feel like there’s any pressure or expectations on you going into Saturday?

I honestly invite the pressure. That’s all I’ve wanted this season was the pressure. Everyone says this kid’s gonna win or this kid’s gonna win, I hope people want me to win. I just hope that I can be a part of that, so I invite it.

You’ll have your team up there as well with the Herriman boys finishing second at NXR Southwest. What’s it gonna mean to have your team up there supporting you, racing with you, and trying to get into that team title race as well?

It means a lot. I’m super happy that they were able to join me in my endeavor for NXN. We went into this season as a team and we’re gonna leave this season as a team. It’s great to know that they’re going to be by my side.

Where would the satisfaction of a NXN title land in comparison to the national 4x800m record?

I don’t know, it’d be similar in my opinion. That 4x800m was crazy because I was able to do it with my teammates, it wasn’t all me, I was a part of that. Those guys being able to put into that stratosphere, I couldn’t have done it without them. That’s a part that you can’t separate from anything individual-wise. I’m super happy I was able to do it with my team and you can’t have that feeling with an individual type of thing.

Have you started talking with your coach and teammates about tactics and strategy for Saturday?

I’m just prepared for anything really. “Anything can happen at NXN.” That’s what my coach tells me, and that’s what I experienced last year at NXN with Charlie Vause winning and Niwot winning. It’s insane. We’re preparing for anything and just thinking of it as another race. Just go into it with some expectations and hopefully we can bring out another good performance.

You mentioned Charlie, who—and you as well are—signed to BYU. What stood out to you the most about Coach Eyestone and that program when you were looking at colleges?

First of all, I was born in Provo, so it’s kind of my hometown college. With it being a great team that brings up good local talent, all my superstars that I’ve seen go through the Utah ranks are there at BYU. I’m super happy to be able to be going there and hopefully following in their footsteps.

Congratulations on all the success this fall already and we’re excited to see what you’ll be able to do on Saturday!

Thanks for reading! This interview is part of our 2025 Nike Cross Nationals Series, where we’re catching up with some of the top high school athletes in the country as they prepare for the biggest meet of the fall. Stay tuned for more Q&As with the rising stars of high school distance running.