By Lori Shontz Special to DyeStat

Becky Holbrook Photos

RESULTS/VIDEOS

Jude Ritzenhein arrived at the Oregon Relays on Friday with a goal: He wanted to break the freshman record in the mile.

Just a week before, at altitude at his home Niwot Invitational, Ritzenhein had run 4:10.95 for 1,600 meters, which got plenty of people calculating what he could do closer to sea level. Including Ritzenhein himself.

But he got stuck in the middle of the pack, ran much of the race in Lane 2 and finished 11th in 4:11.77 – a personal best for the mile, but not what he had wanted.

His Niwot teammates went 1-2-3: Rocco Culpepper in 4:05.95, Quinn Sullivan in 4:05.97 and Hunter Robbie in 4:08.71.

On this night, at least, it was OK to let his older teammates have the spotlight. Ritzenhein's time is coming. 

“It was fine,” Ritzenhein said. “I tried to go out with the leaders, but I got stuck in the back for a while. I tried to make it up that last lap, but it was a big gap. I feel I could have gone harder, but it was still a good effort.”

Ritzenhein said that after running the 1,600, the 800 and a leg of the 4x400 relay last weekend, he felt it in his legs this week, especially his quads and hamstrings. So given that, he didn’t think he could be upset with Friday’s race.

“It just wasn’t a good race strategically,” he said.

As a freshman, Ritzenhein said he is learning a lot from his older teammates and benefitting from being on the team with his older sister, Addison, a senior, who won the girls mile in a season best 4:45.70.

Both Ritzenheins, of course, come from one of America's best-known track and field families. Their father, Dathan Ritzenhein, is a distance running legend, Olympian and coaches the elite training group On Athletics Club. And their mom, Kalin (Toedebusch) Ritzenhein was a two-time Foot Locker qualifier and collegiate runner at Villanova and Colorado.

Brother and sister are making the most of their one year together on the team. 

The have both enjoyed national success in cross country. Addison won the NXN individual title in 2024 and Jude contributed to last December's Niwot team championship, making a strong team even stronger. 

Addison has comitted to run at Northern Arizona next year. 

“It’s sad it’s only one year, but it’s been a great year,” Jude said. “She’s been teaching me a lot about the school and the team as well.”

Ritzenhein’s goal for the rest of the season: to break the freshman mile record, 4:09.11, set by Crater’s Josiah Tostenson in 2022.

“I was hoping to get that today, but I think I can by the end of the year,” he said. “And maybe run like a 4:05, even though my coach doesn’t want me to go for any records right now. He wants us to like focus on more just enjoying the running. But I think I can get the record and enjoy it still.”