Hedengren Takes Down Sadie Engelhardt's Record With Solo 4:26.14; Tate Taylor Crushes 200 HSR; Dana Wilson Runs Into Top 3 All-Time With 60/200 Double

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

John Nepolitan photos

RESULTS/VIDEOS

NEW YORK - Wherever Jane Hedengren goes, she’s the headline. On Sunday afternoon, she captivated the Armory once again with a high school national record performance in the girls 1 mile championship, breaking the tape in 4:26.14. WATCH THE RACE (RS+)

Hedengren broke Sadie Engelhardt’s month-old record by over a second, despite having run 15:13 in the 5,000 meters — also a national record — just three days ago. She said she loved having the opportunity to end her high school indoor career by making history.

“I was thinking about that on the warmup,” Hedengren said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is my last indoor race for high school,’ and I mean, it was the right way to close it out. This is an awesome meet, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.”

Hedengren didn’t waste any time going to the front of the race; she had built a one-second lead by the first lap. Behind her, a flurry of runners battled for podium spots, led by Zariel Macchia (William Floyd NY), who worked her way from 12th to second over the last three laps and torched her PB, crossing the line in 4:40.75.

Macchia unleashed a 31-second last lap, faster than anyone else in the field, passing Rylee Blade (Santiago CA) and Addy Ritzenhein (Niwot CO) in the process.

Joseph Socarras (Belen Jesuit FL) won the boys mile championship with a similarly nasty kick, running a 27.67 last lap en route to an overall time of 4:07.32. The race itself was one of the most tactical distance races of the meet — they came through 809 meters in 2:09 — and Socarras used that to his advantage.

“I’m really used to a quick close, especially dealing with the champ over there,” Socarras said, pointing to his teammate, Marcelo Mantecon, who won the boys 5,000 meters on Thursday. “I really have to kick every race, and I’m confident in my speed.”

He beat a stacked field that included TJ Hansen (Freeland MI), Luke Pash (Ridgewood NJ) and Corbin Coombs (Organ Mountain NM), the latter of whom took second in the 2-mile on Friday.

Tate Taylor Runs Incredible 20.46

Tate Taylor’s main focus coming into the 200 meters championship was to finish and not get hurt. After all, he had just run a blistering 6.64 in the 60 meters, earning him US#2 status and a silver medal, and his legs were pretty sore. 

To say the least, he surpassed his goals; he broke the national high school record with a 20.46 performance.

“I looked at the time and I honestly couldn’t believe it,” Taylor said.

Taylor destroyed the rest of the field, which included 300-meter national record holder Jayden Horton-Mims (Imhotep Charter PA) and fellow Texas stars Andrew Wright (Lutheran) and Abram Reagan (Austin Lake Travis).

That performance added to his aforementioned silver medal in the 60 meters dash, a race that Brayden Williams (Duncanville) won in a US#1 6.62. All of the top three in that race were Texans; Elijah Clark (Austin Westlake) took third in 6.74.

Williams, whose Duncanville team has been a dynasty in Texas for the last several years, said the sprint in culture in his state is “amazing.”

“Texas is gonna come with the heat,” Williams said. “We came here to New York to compete, and we did what we did. We do it good.”

Ja’Shaun Lloyd (Corsicana TX) also won a championship for the Lone Star State, taking the win in the boys 60-meter hurdles championship with 7.49, a No. 2 all-time performance behind only Trey Cunningham.

Lloyd also spoke at length about the Texas sprinting culture; he said he’s been motivated by the growth of his fellow Texans.

“Watching Texas build their speed up, it really shook me to my core,” Lloyd said. “I’m like, ‘Woah, I need to get myself to step up.’ Everybody else in Texas has stepped up.”

On the girls’ side, Dana Wilson (Greensboro Day School NC) made sure to leave her mark on the weekend, setting meet records in both the 60 meters and 200 meters. She ran 7.16 in the 60 meters and 22.81 in the 200 meters; the latter performance was a meet record and a high school senior class national record. However, despite those records, she said there was a lot of room for improvement in her performances.

“I would say my start [needs work] for sure, just coming out of the blocks, being aggressive, keeping my heels low, not bringing them up too high,” Wilson said. “That’s definitely the weaker part of my race.”

Wilson's 60 is tied for No. 2 all-time; her 200 is No. 3 all-time.

In fitting with the trend, she beat two Texans in the 200: Skylar Brazzell (Northwest Nelson), who ran 23.21 for second (also faster than the previous meet record), and Mia Maxwell (Humble Atascocita), who ran 23.27 for third. 

In the 60 meters, Sianni Wynn (Pennsauken NJ) took second in 7.29, a new US#4, followed by Mariah and Mia Maxwell in third and fourth, respectively.

Madeline Cooper (Drew Charter GA) won the girls 60-meter hurdles championship in a US#2 time of 8.15. Destiny Coleman (Woodlawn MD) took second in 8.24, a US#4 mark.

Rave Speed TC FL and Shabazz Bulldogs TC NJ capped off the sprint events with wins in the 4x400 meter relay championships. Rave Speed TC ran 3:50.47, and Shabazz TC ran 3:19.05.

Reagan Moore upsets defending champion in 800

Reagan Moore didn’t care that the Armory was Dylan McElhinney’s house, or that McElhinney (Hunter College NY) was the defending Nike Outdoor Nationals and Nike Indoor Nationals champion. She unseated the veteran and New York City native in the girls 800 meter championship, breaking the tape in 2:05.05 with a 29.68-second last lap.

Moore, a sophomore at Oak Knoll NJ, sat in 10th at the 400 meter mark, but she made her way up to fourth at the bell and then put a one-second gap on the field in the last lap. 

“I just knew I had to go,” Moore said. “I knew if I wanted to have a chance to win, I would have to go at the 200.”

Ellie Barada (Bloomington South IL) finished second in 2:06.48, followed by McElhinney in 2:07.28.

The boys 800 meters, on the other hand, was a race for second place, as high school national record holder Cooper Lutkenhaus (Northwest TX) took a commanding lead from the start and never looked back, setting a new meet record of 1:47.83. Lutkenhaus said he knew he was capable of a performance like that based on one of his recent workouts.

“[Training has] been going really well,” Lutkenhaus said. “We did a workout this past Thursday… it was a bunch of 200s at 25, just smooth and easy.”

Wyland Obando (Long Beach Wilson CA) triumphed in the chase pack, kicking his way from sixth to second place during the last lap and crossing the line in 1:51.68. He charged ahead of Quentin Naiman (Western Dubuque IA) in the home stretch.

Ian Britt (Maine Race Walkers) won the boys 1-mile race walk championship in 7:09.30. He came in 15 seconds ahead of runner-up Joshua Rothery.

Gianna Mauri (Sachem East NY) won the girls 1 mile race walk championship, nearly walking as fast as Britt. She crossed the line in 7:15.24.

Luke Stradley and Tayshun Dye for long jump supremacy

Luke Stradley (Etowah GA) came through when it mattered most, clinching a gold medal in the boys long jump on his last attempt with a jump of 24-9.75, a new US#3.

Tayshun Dye (Millington Central TN) had been leading before Stradley’s jump, and he had a chance to respond, but he came up short, jumping only 23-4.75 on his last attempt. His best was a 24-4.50, earning him a silver medal.

Hannah Grace (Coastal Christian NC) won her first Nike Indoor Nationals championship in the pole vault, breaking the meet record with a 14-3.50 performance.

Ava Kitchings (Greater Atlanta Christian GA) won the girls long jump despite fouling on three of her attempts. She leapt 20 feet, 10.75 inches on her third attempt, earning her the win by 10 inches.