Lofty goals set by East Meadow's Mike Grady and brother Sean

East Meadow's Mike Grady had a plan. A successful middle school running back, it was his hope to one day use his jets to help the Jets bring glory to the halls of East Meadow High.

But, as little brothers tend to do, Mike wanted to try what his older brother Sean was having so much success with -- cross country. It didn't take long for an eighth grade Mike to figure out that running for time suited him better than running for touchdowns.

Sean recalls his younger brothers first workout with the team like it was yesterday.

"He never ran [for time] before in his life, goes on the track, and runs a five minute, 10 second mile as an eighth-grader," Sean recalled. "Ever since then, everyone has said to him 'you don't know how good you're going to be.' Jumping on a track and running a 5:10 as an eighth-grader is unbelievable."

After that performance, Sean convinced Mike to stick with running. And boy, did little brother listen.

Last Monday, Mike ran a 12:51 in a 4k league meet at Bethpage State Park. The time broke the East Meadow 4k record of 13:02, set by Sean in 2011.

It's a simple equation, really. Older brother convinces younger brother to run cross country, younger brother breaks older brother's record.

Sean, a college sophomore who now runs for New Haven University, found out that his record was broken by his brother on Monday evening.

"I left it up to my dad to call him," Mike said with a laugh. "He was pretty mad at first, but in the end, he was happy I broke his record. I'm happy about that."

Sean added: "I was really proud of him. He didn't just beat me, he beat me by a lot. I was kidding around and telling him that he's still not better than me. But, it's always a blessing to see your little brother follow in your footsteps. He's not just following, he's pushing forward."

And that pushing will continue. Mike said his goal is to break 12:50 in the 4k, break 16 minutes in the 5k, and make it up to the state championships in November.