Mariah Runs Fourth-Fastest 200 (22.84), Mia Wins Triple Jump After Finishing Second In 200; Braelyn Combe Closes Final 200 Of Mile In 29.6 Seconds To Beat Ellery Lincoln

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Photos by John Nepolitan

RESULTS/VIDEOS | INTERVIEWS

NEW YORK --- The competitiveness between twins Mariah and Mia Maxwell (Humble Atascocita TX) is both intense and rewarding.

Mia was ranked US#1 and Mariah was just behind her at US#2 in the 200 entering Nike Indoor Nationals. The roles were reversed Sunday afternoon at The Armory.

In her only event of the weekend, Mariah beat her sister Mia and took over the US#1 with a 22.84-second performance in the 200 final, good for No. 4 all-time.

“It’s definitely competitive,” Mariah said. “I love running with (Mia) and it’s always guaranteed it’s going to be a good race with her.”

Mia, who ran 22.89 at the Texas High School Indoor Championships, ran 23.04 for second, but was bouncing back and forth between the track and competing in the triple jump.

Mia opened with a 40-foot, 9-inch (12.42m) mark and fouled in round two before going to run the 200.

“It was a little chaotic,” Mia said. “I tried to calm my nerves down, take a breath and slow my body down because speed on the track is not the same on the runway…kind of just keep my composure.”

Fatigue began to set in for Mia during the 200. Mariah had the better start, and Mia couldn’t make up the stagger on her sister. Mia did close in on Mariah in the final 50 meters but couldn’t get to the tape first on tired legs from triple jump.

“I was just trying to finish,” Mariah said. “I was tired, my legs were starting to get a little tired…I was just running for my life.”

Mia was happy for Mariah for a moment, but finishing second was extra fuel for her going back to the triple jump.

“I gotta win something,” Mia said laughing.

Trailing Bailey Hensgens (Incarnate Word Academy MO) in the fifth round by over 10 inches, Mia took the lead with a 42-6.75 (12.97m) and then built her lead even more in round six, finishing with a 43-0.25 (13.11m).

“I definitely did come off the 200 feeling like, ‘alright, now I gotta win triple,’.

Built as a preparation week for the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland after finishing second in the 60 at the USATF Indoor Championships, Mia confirmed after her triple jump victory she will not be competing for Team USA and instead will turn her attention to the outdoor season.

“I have an outdoor season to get ready for,” Mia said. “Going into it mentally, it was just a smarter decision for me to not participate in the World Championships.”

Twenty points from the Maxwell twins contributed to Texas winning the state scoring title with 291 points. Texas earned 129 points from sprint and hurdle events.

Braelyn Combe Wins Mile, Anchors California To State DMR Title

Braelyn Combe (Santiago CA) improved her early-season 4:38.97 mile from late January to 4:38.18 to win national title in the girls mile, beating Ellery Lincoln (Lincoln OR) in a kicker’s race.

Running a comfortable 2:25 at the halfway point, both Combe and Lincoln began picking up steam and distant themselves from the rest of the field. With two to go, Combe turned it up.

“We all kind of had the same strategy: sitting and kicking,” Combe said. “I knew once I was leading the majority of it, I had to make a strong move with 200 to go.”

For the last 200, Combe said the “fear of Ellery” catching her resulted in a 29.60-second last lap. Ellery, who finished in 4:39.98, had already run 4:35.55 at an outdoor race in Portland.

“I knew I had to save something for the end of the race,” Combe said.

Three hours later, Combe came back and ran another sub-4:40 performance on the 1,600 leg for Team California in the inaugural state distance medley relay. She split 4:37.23 as California dominated Team New York by 18 seconds in 11:16.02. Chiara Dailey (3:30.22), Isla Bulmer (59.44) and Grace Smith (2:09.13) ran on the other legs.

Destiny Coleman (Woodlawn MD) ran a US#1 and No. 8 all-time performance 8.12 to beat Aaliyah Turpin by a tenth of a second.

Sophomore Janessa Brown (Buford GA) ran 7.35 in the girls 60 final to outlean seniors Shiasia Mitchell (Mallard Creek NC) and Aster Jones (Roosevelt OR) for the title.

CUB Athletics DC, featuring Abigail Anstett, Ann Hodges, Helena Kelly and Kieran Murray, collectively ran a US#6 9:06.24 to beat the defending girls 4x800 relay champions Bucks County PA, who ran a US#10 9:08.22.

Izzy Robbins (Grand Haven MI) cleared a US#5 13-8.25 (4.17m) to defeat US#1 Addison Kleinke (Churchill OR) by four inches in the girls pole vault.