Brooks PR Invitational Preview: Girls Distance

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

A collection of the country’s top mid-distance and distance runners will arrive in Seattle this week for the Brooks PR Invitational. Here’s a look at how the races are shaping up in the Girls 800 Meters, Girls Mile and Girls 2-Mile:

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Girls 800

Meet record: 2:03.26, Alexa Efraimson (2014)

Cathilyn McIntosh of Del Oro CA is coming off a huge weekend at the California state meet where she ran a big PR of 2:05.22 to win the CIF title and move up the rankings to US#2.

On paper she looks like the favorite, but there are other experienced athletes in the field who will have a chance to race to fast times after months of doubling and tripling efforts.

Enyaeva Michelin of Evanston IL is the Illinois Class 3A champion and has run a best of 2:08.44.

Morgan Foster of Chandler AZ capped her regular season as the Arizona Division 1 champion and placed fourth in this event last year. She has a personal best of 2:07.06 from 2016.

Madison Martinez of Lincoln OH is coming off a big win at the Ohio state meet, where she ran 2:08.89 for the 800-meter title.

Wonders Oguejiofor of Cypress Springs won the Texas Class 6A title with 2:09.97 and has had a month to build up to this weekend’s Brooks meet. Also from Texas, Class 5A champion Bailey Goggans of Marble Falls is undefeated this season and has a best of 2:10.10.

Sami Corman of Issaquah WA and Brooke Manson of Eastlake WA both went under 2:10 in the Class 4A final at the Washington state meet. Corman edged out Manson, 2:09.24 to 2:09.43. A third Washingtonian, Kate Jendrezak of Eastside Catholic WA, the Class 3A champion, comes in with a best of 2:12.04.

Kelly Makin of Sunset OR is the Oregon Class 6A champion in the 1,500 and 800 meters and has yet to cut loose and test herself in a fast 800 meters.

Anna Marian Block of Athens Academy GA owns a best of 2:11.97.

Girls Mile

Meet record: 4:39.42, Sarah Feeny (2014)

Mariah Castillo of Saugus CA turned heads last December when she placed third at Nike Cross Nationals. She has carried that momentum forward and remained consistently under 4:50 this spring in the 1,600 meters.

Castillo ran a season-best time of 4:45.25 at the Mt. SAC Relays and placed seventh in the 1,600 last weekend at the CIF finals. McKenna Brown of La Costa Canyon CA was right behind Castillo at Mt. SAC, running 4:47.01.

Sophomore Marlee Starliper of Northern PA has also enjoyed a breakout year. Starliper won the girls mile at Penn Relays in 4:47.51.

Annie Hill of Glacier MT is looking for a big finish to her illustrious career in Montana. She won the mile at the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays in 4:48.68. Lucy Huelskamp of Sunset OR was fourth in that race in 4:52.45 and will get her first taste of the national stage following two runner-up finishes at the Oregon state meet.

Gillian Wagner of Redwood (Larkspur) CA ran a season-best 4:46.22 at the NCS Redwood Championships on May 19.

Bryn Morley of Bigfork MT ran 4:49.41 to win the Montana Class B title.

Madison Mooney of Broomfield CO (4:49.92), Sadie Sargent of North Summit UT (4:50.04) and Beth Donnelly of Brentwood TN (4:57.06) are all capable of mixing it up and running fast times.

Girls 2-Mile

Meet record: 9:51.35, Brie Oakley (2017)

Sophomore Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West IL has turned in a sensational spring that saw her become, arguably, the greatest female distance runner in Illinois prep history.

Hart ran 9:52.02 at the Sue Pariseau Invitational earlier this spring and has been dominant throughout the season. Her time stands as US#2 because another sophomore, NXN champion Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland NY, ran 9:47.88 to take down the national record.

If the conditions are right, Hart could go after the record again.

She will be in fast company. Ericka Vanderlende of Rockford MI has a season-best time of 10:05.01 and is coming off a runner-up finish at the Michigan state meet.

Jackie Gaughan of Exeter NH, the Penn Relays 3,000 champion, was 11th in this race last year and has run 10:17.05 for 3,200 this season.

Rebecca Story of Christian Academy of Knoxville TN was 12th in last year’s race and has a PR of 10:15.85.

Olivia O’Keeffe of Davis just wrapped up the California state meet, where she finished second in the 1,600 (4:43.69) and third in the 3,200 (10:12.56).

Coming south from British Columbia, Taryn O’Neill of George Elliott BC might not be a familiar face, but her 3,000-meter PR of 9:24.82 could place her near the front of the pack.

Camila Noe of Bozeman MT is the Class AA champion in Montana and ran 10:18.99 at the Arcadia Invitational two months ago.

London Culbreath of McKinney North TX won the Class 5A 3,200 meters on a sweltering day in Austin and will be looking to surpass her season-best time of 10:25.87. Culbreath set the national freshman class record last year by running 10:04.73 to finish third.

Molly Born of Shawnee Mission KS, the Kansas Class 6A champion, is also looking to improve upon her season best of 10:28.80.

Katie Thronson of Lewis & Clark WA is the Washington Class 4A champion and will get a big opportunity to lower her PR, as will Pennsylvania AAA runner-up Katie Dammer of Abington Heights PA.