Greater Washington
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Ben Stern

Ben Stern

Sport: Cross Country, Track and Field
Category: Athlete
Primary Team: Princeton University Tigers
Year Inducted: 2018

Ben was the first runner from Washington DC to qualify for the Footlocker National High School Cross Country Championship in the 40-year history of the race. Ben finished high school as a three-time Washington Post All-Met with a personal record in the mile of 4:13 and 15:17 for 5k, among the best times in the country.  Ben went on to run for Princeton University where he was an Ivy League Champion and multiple time All-Ivy. He was voted team captain by his teammates, becoming the first Jewish captain in the nearly 150-year history of Princeton Track & Field. By age 19, Ben had run a 4:06 mile and was one of the top distance runners on the east coast.

As a graduate student on the legendary University of Oregon team, Ben had his career-best season, beating six sub-4:00 minute milers, a future top 5 finisher at both the Boston and NYC marathons, and two Olympians…all to make the varsity 5 man roster. Post-graduation, Ben was selected to represent USA/Ivy Alumni internationally and raced in Japan.