RUNNINGLANE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE STREAMED LIVE ON MILESPLIT FROM JUNE 11-12
Register Now -- Open Up Until June 7
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It was just six months ago that the RunningLane National Cross Country Championships played host to what became a national all-time best at 5,000 meters when Jenna Hutchins broke 16 minutes for the first time in girls high school cross country.
Fast forward to June, though, and perhaps we might be spinning the same story soon enough.
With weeks left until registration closes for the first-time RunningLane Track Championships, held just outside Huntsville, Alabama, from June 11-12, things are starting to heat up.
Yet again, the country's top athletes are set to compete for what could offer another national record.
Right now, a total of five athletes that have entered in the championship 3,200m race have broken the elusive 9-minute barrier across either their indoor or outdoor seasons, and with more time left until race day, that number could rise.
Gatorade National Cross Country Player of the Year Parker Wolfe is set to make the trip from Cherry Creek, Colorado, while state cross country champions like Catawba Ridge's Sam Rich, Mary Person's Justin Wachtel, Marietta's (GA) Kamari Miller and East Central's Christian Balcer are also on board.
Nor could we forget Satellite's (FL) Gabriel Montague, Nashville Martin Luther King's (TN) Miles Ally, Green Mountain's (CO) Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos and Duncanville's (TX) Martin Chavez, as all four were prime members of their state's best runners this fall.
Wolfe's inclusion in the 3,200m has the potential to merit some serious weight. The North Carolina signee could go after German Fernandez's 13-year-old record at the distance if he surpasses a time of 8:34.23.
Recently, Wolfe said his goal would be to break 8:40.
In the boys mile, we could also potentially see an athlete at least chase after sub-4.
In March, the Woodlands Christian's Ben Shearer offered at the Texas Distance Festival that he was likely shooting for that historic benchmark before his season ends.
Shearer will challenge for his first national-level championship against some of the country's top talent, including Harrison's (GA) Sully Shelton, Eastside's (SC) Spain Vaughan, and Ally, Montague and Rich.
In the 800m, South Carolina native Saxon Brown will bring his PR of 1:53.71, with hopes of slashing it entirely.
Then there's the female contingent.
A who's who of distance runners will field the mile, including the likes of Fort Wayne Carroll's (IN) Zoe Duffus, Katy Cinco Ranch's (TX) Heidi Nielson, Birmingham Seaholm's (MI) Audrey Dadamio and eighth-grade phenom Sadie Engelhardt of California.
All four athletes have broken 4:50 in what has become an incredible year in the 1,600m and mile nationally for girls.
In the 3,200m, Dadamio will look to pull the championship double, and will face off against Cambridge Christian (FL) Caroline Lehman, Oakwood's (OH) Grace Hartman, Petoskey's (MI) Emma Squires and Garden State Track Club's (NJ) Miranda Lorsbach.
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