Girls 5,000 meters record under assault again at NBNI

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

At some point, logic dictates that the streak will eventually come to an end. 

For six straight years the New Balance Nationals Indoor girls 5,000 meters has produced a new national high school record. 

The possibility of a seventh straight looms over Friday evening's race at The Armory. 

When Waverly Neer of Culver Academy IN ran 16:35.15 in 2011 she broke what could be considered a soft record by nearly eight seconds. The 5,000 meters is a seldom contested event at the high school level, and even less so indoors. 

In 2012, Erin Finn of West Bloomfield MI breezed through the race and stripped 15 more seconds off the record. STORY

Wesley Frazier of Ravencroft NC used a crazy kick to stab the victory, and the record, away from Finn in 2013. INTERVIEW

A year after that, Foot Locker champion Tessa  Barrett of Abington Heights PA took more than six seconds off the record with her dominant victory in 2014. RACE | INTERVIEW

Anna Rohrer of Mishawaka IN, by then a two-time Foot Locker champion, dipped under the record in 2015. INTERVIEW

And last year, Weini Kelati of Heritage VA extended the streak by running 16:08.83 for what is the current record. RACE | INTERVIEW

In the span of six years, more than 26 seconds have been shaved away. Over that time it has also become a bucket list item for girls aiming to distinguish themselves as the top distance runner of the year.

This year, Nike Cross Nationals champion Brie Oakley from Grandview CO is taking aim at the record. For the sake of perspective, six high school girls have run sub-16 minutes outdoors for 5,000 meters. None have done it indoors. 

On the day that she was named the Gatorade High School Girls Athlete of the Year (Jan. 31), Oakley said the record was already on her radar.

"I'm definitely looking forward to that," she said. 

Oakley and other other entries Friday will have a chance to etch their name into history and push the streak to seven years. 

As with any big record set at The Armory, one of the spoils is a plaque that goes up in the stairwell to the third and fourth floors. 

Here is a look at the six markers on the wall: