Toeing the line with some of the best in the event, Martin knew his work was cut out for him. The race was led by none other than the newly minted world record holder, Yared Neguse, with his time of 3:46.63. Running the first half mile in last place, Martin started clipping off runners in the latter half of the race to finish fifth overall.
“I was proud of myself because I adjusted pretty well when I didn’t get out that well,” said Martin. “I settled in and when the pack started to string out a little bit, I knew it was time to go so I worked my way up to eventually finish in fifth and I was really happy with how I ran it.”
“Gary’s race epitomizes big-time performance,” said UVA assistant distance coach Trevor Dunbar. “He was up against a world-class field and proved he belonged. A major statement to his fitness and confidence.”
Not only did he put himself in the conversation with some of the best to ever run, but Martin also held pace with four men setting national records, including Yared Neguse (American, 3:46.63), Cam Myers (Australian, 3:47.48), Azeddine Habz (French, 3:48.56) and Andrew Coscoran (Irish, 3:49.26).
“I am super grateful to be part of that conversation,” said Martin. “I thought that was a time I was capable of running in my training and progression. I have wanted to be running at this level for a while now, but I think when you actually go out and do it and look around, I am getting to race against Yared Neguse, who is an Olympic bronze medalist, and I am running a time that is just off the indoor world record. When I put it that way, that is when it starts to become pretty surreal.”
“For a young athlete to be able to run that fast while in college and be fifth is really pretty impressive,” said Vin Lananna, Virginia’s director of track & field and cross country. “Those were 11 of the best runners in the world and for him to finish fifth, and that doesn’t include all those that didn’t run at the Millrose Games. It was not like it was a time trial race, it was a good competitive performance.”
His success in the Big Apple did not stop there, as Martin went on to record a new personal best in the men’s 1500-meter race to finish in eighth place with his time of 3:33.41. He eclipsed the 40-year-old Virginia record in the non-NCAA event by more than 10 seconds. The previous record was held by John Hinton at 3:45.04 from 1985. He also broke the NCAA record in the event. For his performances, Martin garnered ACC Athlete of the Week and National Athlete of the Week honors.
His performance comes as no surprise as Martin opened the 2024-25 indoor season at Boston University’s Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener (Dec.6) where he broke his own Virginia record in the men’s 3000-meter race, clocking 7:36.09. The race was led by none other than one of Martin’s ACC foes, North Carolina’s Ethan Strand, and his collegiate record-breaking performance. With that, Martin was able to dip under the previous collegiate record of 7:36.42 from 2023 and record the fifth-fastest time in collegiate history in the event.
“For Gary, he has good instincts and is a great competitor,” Lananna said. “The better the competition, the higher the stakes, the more pressure, the better he performs so as a coach of many years and knowing that sometimes it’s best to get out of the way and let him run, that is exactly what I did.”
UVA’s coaches knew Martin was primed for a big race. “His training had gone exceptionally well all of January, and we knew there was more in the tank after the Penn Elite meet,” said Dunbar. “Still, to see 3:48 and #8 all-time in the world was beyond expectations, but the signs for greatness were always there. I have my complete confidence in Gary’s abilities.”
The fierce competitor Martin is, he has always been. A native of Warminster, Pa., Martin attended Archbishop Wood, where he first met his high school coach, Paul Streleckis, and began to take running more seriously. “When he first came, he didn’t have much of a background in track,” said Streleckis. “He started out as more of a sprinter, and he made the district meet as a 400-meter runner.”
Finding his calling at the distance events, the 18-year-old Martin broke the 4-minute mile barrier in his senior year at the 2022 Philadelphia Catholic League Championships, running 3:57.98. He broke Jim Ryun’s record of 3:58.3 set in 1965 and became the first Pennsylvania high school athlete to run sub-4 for a mile. Ryun was the first high school student to run a sub-4 mile without a pacer, running 3:59.00 in Wichita, Kan. in 1964. At the time, Martin’s 3:57.98 was the fastest high school mile run in a field of only high school students as Alan Webb, Drew Hunter and Ryun ran faster but in a field of professionals.
Competing at a level above the rest, even in high school, it would have been easy for Martin to focus on himself rather than the team. This was simply not his style as he was always willing to help others on the team succeed as well.
Streleckis recalls the time Martin was a member of the 4×800-meter relay team that qualified for the state championships, at which Martin wanted to compete in as many events as needed to help the team to a title. “Things he doesn’t really have to do,” said Streleckis. “He could have just done things individually, but he was willing to do some of those things [to help others] and I actually had to hold him back.”
“Track and field is a team sport but when you are in the race what is going to benefit the team is you doing your best individually,” said Martin in response to his ‘team guy’ mentality. For which Lananna said he believes “Gary is the quintessential college athlete. He is a big team guy, and he thinks about his own personal performances, but he also values his contributions as a member of the team.”
Anchoring the distance medley relay (DMR) to another record breaking performance at the Arkansas Qualifier, Martin exemplified his team mentality. The relay team of Wes Porter, Alex Sherman, Conor Murphy and Martin combined efforts to record the fastest time in the world, the second fastest ever run clocking 9:14.19. Their time broke the collegiate record, Arkansas Qualifier meet record, Randal Tyson facility record and the school record. Martin anchored the team to victory running 3:50.09 for 1600-meters.
Making the shift from high school to college can be tricky, but the tactical nature of the collegiate scene works to his benefit. “He trained at a high level in high school, but there is a big difference from being a high school superstar to making that smooth transition over to competing against many people who are just as good,” said Lananna.
Going into the ACC Indoor Championships, there were question marks next to what event(s) Martin would pursue. “You go to the conference meet and it’s not always about running fast but what gives you the best shot to win,” Martin said.
“The fact is that he has the opportunity to run lots of different events at the conference meet and the NCAAs,” said Lananna. “When he and I talked about what that might be, his first question was whatever is best for the team is what I would like to do.”
“Gary is all about the team,” said Dunbar. “He gets just as excited when Jeremiah Nubbe throws a big weight throw or Alex Sherman hits a PR as he does when the distance guys race. That team-first attitude permeates to everyone.”
Every point matters in a competitive conference such as the ACC. “Going into ACC indoors it is going to be what I can do to help the team, what events I can run and have the best chances of winning to get points for the team,” said Martin. “So, I need to refine my race tactics and be aggressive and want to go out and win and really just put myself out there.”
Put himself out there and win is exactly what he did. Martin won gold in the 3000-meters in ACC Championship meet record time clocking 7:36.69. Also at the championships, Martin brought home the silver medal in the men’s 5000-meters crossing the line in 13:30.69. With his time, Martin was able to dip under the previous ACC Championships meet record of 13:47.85 from 2022 by Matthew Carmody of Notre Dame. He also bested the Virginia school record in the event of 13:31.87 set in 2024 by his former teammate, Yasin Sado. The Virginia men finished runner-up in the team standings scoring a total of 75 points, marking the program’s best finish since a runner-up finish in 2017.
