John Lester

Class:
Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown:
Pleasanton, CA
High School:
Amador Valley HS
Prev School:
Stanford

TFRRS Profile

Entering 2024 track season, has three years of eligibility remaining outdoors, two indoors and one in cross country
2023 Second Team All-American in the indoor 800-meter
Stanford school record holder in the indoor 800-meter (1:46.93)

Stanford (2021-23)
Spent two years at Stanford prior to transferring to Cal Poly in January 2024 ... placed 10th in the men's indoor 800-meter at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships to secure Second Team All-American honors ... shattered school record in the indoor 800 (1:46.93) at the 2023 Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational ... qualified for the NCAA West Preliminairies in the 800 outdoors in 2022, advancing to the quarterfinals and finishing 22nd overall ... ran the 11th-fastest indoor mile time (3:58.84) in Stanford history in 2023 ... helped men's cross country team win the 2023 Pac-12 Championship ... ran a sub-four minute mile twice ... posted a personal best of 3:45.50 in the 1,500 ... two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic (2022-23) ... named to Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll twice.

Prep
Coming out of Amador Valley High (Pleasanton, Calif) in 2021, was the No. 1 ranked high school runner in the country in the 800-meter as a senior, posting a time of 1:47.65 — the seventh-fastest in high school history in the U.S. at the time and third-fastest in California history ... was the highest-placing sophomore at the 2019 CIF State Championships, finishing seventh in the 800 ... posted a time of 1:48.26 in 2020 at the Desert Dream Last Hurrah Invitational, the third-fastest nationally by a junior and No. 1 among high schoolers in the U.S. that year ... two-time North Coast Section Tri-Valley Area champion in the 800 ... sixth at 2021 Brooks PR Invitational ... helped Amador Valley place ninth in the 4x400 relay at the 2019 CIF state meet ... co-founded school's politics club and served as president ... member of ethics club ... over a 4.0 GPA.

Personal
Majoring in psychology with hopes of being a clinical psychologist ... son of Elizabeth and Timothy Lester ... has four siblings; Elise, Mark, Timmy, and Christian ... born in Fremont, Calif. ... Eagle Scout ... enjoys playing guitar, ultimate Frisbee, camping, biking and cinematography ... attended the same high school as current Cal Poly mid-distance phenom Aidan McCarthy (a 2020 Amador Valley High grad).