RENTON, WASHINGTON, June 07 — The girls 800’s defending champion from New Jersey, junior Paige Sheppard (Union Catholic, Scotch Plains) returned to the Brooks PR Invitational to win again, this time in a list-leading 2:00.65.
Under overcast conditions, Sheppard opened at 61.31, then widened her margin, going through 600 in 1:31.4. She continued to accelerate, her last lap taking just 59.34 to bring her to a tie for the No. 8 performer in history with Sammy Watson.
Fellow New Jersey native Reagan Moore (Oak Knoll, Summit) finished 2nd in 2:04.08.
“I didn’t realize how fast I was running,” said Stanford-bound Sheppard.
In 13 previous races, Andrew Jones (Collins, Spring, Texas) was undefeated, and he made sure he stayed that way.
Jones, who owns the first-ever sub-13 second run by a high schooler under any conditions, ran a personal best 13.14 (wind 0.7) to cut 0.01 off his best and maintain his spot as the No. 2 performer all-time.
Runner-up Josh Hamblin (Weber, Pleasant Valley, Utah) ran 13.24 to move to No. 6 ever.
Said Jones, “I knew I had the fastest seed time, and if I ran a clean race, I knew I would win. My body knew how it felt to run 12.9 with the wind, so I knew I would win.” The Texas A&M signee opined that his first two hurdles were the worst of his season.
In an era where a sub-4 minute mile is just another good mark, Anacortes (Washington) senior Dylan Rowell joined the no-longer-so-exclusive club with his 3:59.93.
Rowell, behind Brian Burns (Bentonville, Arkansas) at the bell, started his buildup with 300 to go, passing Burns just before the 200 mark. As he headed down the homestretch, the Gonzaga signee surged and dove across the line to get under the 4-minute mark.
Andrew Beroset (McCallie, Chattanooga, Tennessee) was 2nd in 4:00.92, while Burns, who ran 3:59.70 in St. Louis a few days earlier, ran 3rd in 4:01.37.
“I was really feeling good with 400 to go, and wanted to test Brian with 300 to go,” Rowell said.
In a solid 800, Carter Smith (Mifflin County, Lewistown, Pennsylvania) came from 7th on the final backstretch, running negative splits of 54.92/53.63, to take the win in 1:48.55 over Mana Voss (Central Kitsap, Silverdale, Washington), who clocked 1:49.47.
In the girls 2-mile, Chiara Dailey (La Jolla, California) ran behind Mia Sirois (Barrington, Illinois) until the final 200, then flew past her for the win, 9:49.47–9:51.68.
BROOKS PR BOYS RESULTS
100(-1.8): 1. *Benjamin Harris (Servite, Anaheim) 10.58; 2. Christian Witcher (Grand Oaks, Spring, Tx) 10.58.
400: 1. Cameron Tucker (Robinson, Concord, NC) 46.46; 2. **Jaelen Hunter (Servite) 46.72.
800:1. Carter Smith (Mifflin, Lewistown, Pa) 1:48.55; 2. *Mana Voss (Central Kitsap, Silverdale, Wa) 1:49.47;
3. *Joshua Cooper (Willow Spring, Fuquay-Varina, NC) 1:49.63.
Mile: 1. Dylan Rowell (Anacortes, Wa) 3:59.93; 2. *Drew Beroset (McCallie, Chattanooga) 4:00.92; 3. Brian Burns (Bentonville, Ar) 4:01.37; 4. Rocco Culpepper (Niwot) 4:01.39; 5. Paul Van Laningham (Cooper, Union, Ky) 4:01.83.
2M: 1. *Marcelo Mantecon (Belen, Miami) 8:44.88; 2. Kavi Gibson (Academy, Cary, NC) 8:45.04; 3. **Ruel Newberry (Guyer, Denton, Tx) 8:46.69; 4. *Yohanes Van Meerten (Flagstaff) 8:49.02.
110H(0.7): 1. Andrew Jones (Collins, Spring, Tx) 13.14 (HSL) (2, 2 HS);
2. Josh Hamblin (Weber, Pleasant View, Ut) 13.24 (6, 8 HS);
3. **Avonte Earl (Worthing, Houston) 13.43; 4. Sutton Flint (Liberty, Renton) 13.45; 5. Spencer Van Orden (Highland, Pocatello) 13.52.
BROOKS GIRLS RESULTS
100(0.2): 1. *Aubrey Wilson (Divine Child, Dearborn, Mi) 11.45; 2. Amirah Nesmith (Cheltenham, Wyncote, Pa) 11.47.
400: 1. Ashtyn Lewis (Iowa Colony, Tx) 52.63; 2. *Saniah Varnado (Wilson, Long Beach) 52.99.
800: 1. *Paige Sheppard (Union Catholic, Scotch Plains, NJ) 2:00.65 (HSL) (=8, x HS);
2. *Reagan Moore (Oak Knoll, Summit) 2:04.08; 3. Mary MacLean’ (Can) 2:04.70; 4. Braelyn Combe (Santiago, Corona, Ca) 2:04.70.
Mile: 1. Aelo Curtis (Ventura, Ca) 4:39.11; 2. **Kaitlyn Estep (Gibbons, Raleigh, NC) 4:40.22; 3. **Maysen Fletcher (Hoover, Elkview, WV) 4:40.86; 4. Danielle Graham (IMG, Bradenton, Fl) 4:41.37; 5. Lily Alder (Timpview, Provo, Ut) 4:42.83.
Frosh Mile: 1. ***Evangeline Johnson Hess (South, Eugene, ) 4:41.41; 2. ***Kathryn Froelich (Peters, McMurray, Pa) 4:41.60.
Middle School Mile: 1. *****Angelina Alder (MS, Provo, Ut) 4:38.25 (7th-grade & age-13 records).
2M: 1. Chiara Dailey (La Jolla, Ca) 9:49.57; 2. *Mia Sirois (Barrington, Il) 9:51.68; 3. **Natasza Dudek’ (Pioneer, Ann Arbor) 10:00.22.
100H(1.3): 1. **Jasmine Jackson (Winslow, Atco, NJ) 13.33, 2. **Nia Armstrong (Sickles, Tampa) 13.34; 3. Taylor Foster (Brearly, New York, NY) 13.50.
