It's Going To Be A Near Sprint In The Mile
* Ava Parekh set a new indoor personal best of 4:51.05 in the mile at the UK High School Invitational in 2020
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There are some familiar faces competing in the mile this weekend.
But the girl who is most likely the favorite is Wyoming's own, Sydney Thorvaldson. Thorvaldson is coming off an impressive cross country season, where she ran six sub-17 minute 5Ks and scored a new personal best of 16:19. The Rawlins (WY) senior hasn't lost a race since she placed third at the Team Nationals Cross Country Championships in 2019.
Last indoor season, Thorvaldson's fastest time in the mile was 4:53.12. But that mark should be toppled with ease.
Don't sleep on Tully's (NY) Brooke Rauber, either. The New Yorker raced a handful of times during the cross country season, placing second at the AAU National Cross Country Championships -- though she was the first high school finisher -- as she set a new personal best of 16:54.90 for 5K.
Rauber hasn't competed in the indoor mile since 2019 when she ran a 4:56.95 at the 85th Eastern States Championships. Like Thorvaldson, that PR should come crashing down.
Ava Parekh of Chicago Latin (IL), meanwhile, had a standout race at the XC Town Meet of Champions. Last indoor season, she won the UK High School Invitational in 4:51.05. Camryn Wennersten of New Jersey enters with a best of 4:51.60.
These ladies will be accompanied by Stanford recruit Audrey Dadamio, of Birmingham Seaholm (MI). She ran a 4:56.55 in 2020. At the 2019 New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships, Julia David-Smith of Issaquah (WA) finished seventh with a personal best of 4:50.92. She's flying in from Washington, too.