A Fast Mile Would Give Tuohy Rare Distinction

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

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Katelyn Tuohy, the super-talented sophomore from North Rockland NY, has her sights set on the mile this weekend at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Greensboro, N.C. 

It's an event she won last year in 4:45.95 and she may have big plans to go faster this weekend. 

If she can push to a new PR under 4:40, Tuohy would have a chance to become the only prep runner on the Top-10 all-time lists in the outdoor mile and 2-mile. 

Tuohy is already the national record holder in the 2-mile, thanks to her 9:47.88 3,200 meters from the Loucks Games. That converts to 9:51.29, slightly faster than Brie Oakley's 2-mile time from the 2017 Brooks PR Invitational. 

No one is currently on both lists, although the mile/2-mile skill set has clearly been mastered before. Mary Cain ran 1,500/3,000 PRs of 4:04.62 and 8:58:48 before she graduated from Bronxville High in New York. Cain simply didn't have opportunities to run miles/2-miles (or 1,600/3,200) outdoors because those weren't distances she focused on after turning pro as an 11th grader.

Cain does own the prep indoor 2-mile record with 9:38.68 and the indoor mile record at 4:28.25. Both performances came in professional races.

Alexa Efraimson, who also turned pro before graduating high school, ran 4:33.29 for 1,600 meters in a solo effort at the Washington state meet in 2014. That coverts to 4:34.89 for the full mile and is the high school outdoor record. 

Efraimson ran 9:59.41 (converted) as a senior at Arcadia. But she has been bumped out of the top 10 -- by three girls this season alone -- and now sits 13th. 

The top section of the championship mile is set to go off at 4:55 p.m. on Sunday. The weather is likely to be a factor, and not in a good way. The forecast high is 94 degrees, which is awfully warm to race a mile.

All-time Outdoor U.S. Mile List 

1. 4:34.89, Alexa Efraimson (Camas WA), 2014 - converted from 4:33.29 1,600 meters at WIAA state meet

2. 4:35.24, Polly Plumer (University CA), 1982

3. 4:35.42, Christine Babcock (Woodbridge CA), 2008 - converted from 1,600m

4. 4:36.94, Kim Gallagher (Upper Dublin PA), 1982

5. 4:36.95, Sarah Bowman (Fauquier VA), 2005

6. 4:37.23, Arianna Lambie (Broomfield School MA), 2003

7. 4:37.91, Christina Aragon (Billings Senior MT), 2015

8. 4:38.48, Caitlin Collier (The Bolles School FL), 2018 at adidas Boston Boost Games

9. 4:38.59, Ryen Frazier (Ravenscroft NC), 2015

10. 4:39.17, Wesley Frazier (Ravenscroft NC), 2013

(All-time indoor record of 4:28.25 by Mary Cain in 2013)

All-time Outdoor U.S. 2-Mile List

1. 9:51.29, Katelyn Tuohy (North Rockland NY), 2018 -- converted from 3,200m at Loucks Games

2. 9:51.35, Brie Oakley (Grandview CO), 2017

3. 9:52.03, Kim Mortensen (Thousand Oaks CA), 1996 -- converted from 3,200m

4. 9:53.54, Bethan Knights (Northwood CA), 2014

5. 9:54.22, Aisling Cuffe (Cornwall Central NY), 2011

6. 9:54.95, Camila Noe (Bozeman MT), 2018

7. 9:55.05, Hannah DeBalsi (Staples CT), 2014

8. 9:55.45, Katelynne Hart (Glenbard West IL), 2018 -- converted from 3,200m

9. 9:55.59, Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep CA), 2008  -- converted from 3,200m

10. 9:55.98, Laurynne Chetelat (Davis CA), 2008 -- converted from 3,200m

(All-time indoor record of 9:38.68 by Mary Cain in 2013)

# - Source: Jack Shepard's High School Track 2018