* Sophia Gorriaran is in Lane 4
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Sophia Gorriaran made sure to capture another personal record before she turned 15.
Over the last few weeks, The Moses Brown School (RI) rising sophomore has competed in a series of micro-meets in Exeter, Rhode Island, which have been managed closely by parents and officials.
And on Saturday, she came through with yet another big effort, a US No. 1 mark of 2:03.36 (FAT) in the 800m, which was less than a second away from Robin Campbell's 46-year-old freshman national class outdoor record of 2:02.40 and Mary Decker's 14-year-old mark of 2:02.43 from 1973.
Two weeks prior to that, Gorriaran, 14, went 54.20 in the 400m, another US No. 1 for the abbreviated season.
And these performances, it was very good news in a time of uncertainty.
But it wouldn't have happened without the planning of the The Providence Cobras Track Club, which has been organizing its twilight micro meets free of charge for athletes who want to participate. Meanwhile, timers, coaches and parents have all volunteered their services for free.
And while the races themselves haven't looked exactly like standard track and field productions -- Sophia raced with a handful of other boys and a pacer, for instance -- the results have replicated them. Top three finishers in each event have received medals.
* Gorriaran's 54.2 at a recent Twilight Micro Meet in Rhode Island
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This past indoor season, Gorriaran officially stamped her name in the record books, grabbing a freshman national class record in 2:03.98. But more than that, she showed a promise that few have shown in her class thus far. Over the course of the 2020 campaign, the freshman posted six top 50 national performances in the 500m, 600m, 800m, 1,000m, 1,500m and mile -- maybe one reason why she's up for Rhode Island High School Athlete of the Year, as decided by The Providence Journal.
But her real focus was in the 800m. She finished the season with a US No. 3 mark.
Her year-long plan in the months after that effort in Boston were to cut time and earn a qualifying mark of 2:02.50 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
But shortly after dreaming of that goal, Gorriaran's father, Steven, realized it wouldn't have even been possible. The age limit for competitors at the Trials is 16 -- though you are able to compete if you turn that age in the year of the Trials, even if you are not that age by the time the event happens -- and Gorriaran wouldn't have turned 16 until 2021.
In March, however, the 2020 Olympic Games got pushed back a year, as did the U.S. Trials.
And by this time next year, Gorriaran will be 16 ... on the day before the first round of the 800m.
Her dream is still alive.
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