Niwot High sophomore Shults, representing REAL Training, rallies for thrilling victory as eight girls run sub-5, with Mountain Vista senior Witt, competing for Vista Nation, earning wire-to-wire win to lead nine athletes under 4:20; Upland’s Crawford caps strong meet with four victories, along with Chandler’s Henderson 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

CHANDLER, Ariz. – The Sally Meyerhoff mile races at the NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational are annually among the strongest showcased at any regular-season track and field competition in the country.

The latest editions highlighted as part of the open/unattached/club section Saturday night at Austin Field will be remembered not only for their depth, with eight female competitors achieving sub-5 performances and nine male athletes running under 4:20, but also for the dramatic conclusion of the girls race that produced one of the greatest comebacks in meet history.

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Madison Shults, a sophomore at Niwot High in Colorado representing REAL Training, was in sixth place entering the final lap and still faced a five-second deficit behind junior Riley Stewart of Cherry Creek High in Colorado – competing for Kokopelli Racing Team – with 300 meters remaining.

But Shults continued to build momentum along the backstretch and despite still trailing by at least 10 meters coming around the final curve, managed to surge past Stewart just before the finish line to prevail by a 4:47.14 to 4:47.45 margin.

Only adding an extra layer to the emotional win was the fact that Stewart was credited with a faster 1,600-meter split than Shults, 4:45.76 to 4:45.81.

A similar scenario was on display at the NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational in 2017, when Brie Oakley of Grandview High in Colorado trailed Allie Schadler of Rio Rico High in Arizona by four-hundredths of a second at the 1,600-meter mark, only to rally to prevail in the mile by a 4:46.97 to 4:46.98 margin.

Five Colorado athletes were among the eight that eclipsed the 5-minute barrier, including Niwot freshman Mia Prok – also competing for REAL Training – clocking 4:50.85 to place fourth, with teammate and Princeton commit Lucca Fulkerson following her runner-up finish Friday in the 3,200 meters by securing sixth in 4:52.43 and Brooke Wilson of Valor Christian taking seventh in 4:56.74.

Sadie Engelhardt, an eighth-grader from Ventura, Calif., who competes for the Valley United Striders, ran a lifetime-best 4:50.31 to take third, with junior Chloe Foerster of Jesuit High – representing Stumptown Racing – finishing fifth in 4:51.65 and 3,200 winner Ella Borsheim of Bellarmine Prep in Washington clocking 4:59.03.

Colorado athletes also had a strong presence in the boys mile, with Princeton commit Harrison Witt of Mountain Vista – competing for Vista Nation – producing a wire-to-wire victory in 4:08.51, including a 1,600 split of 4:07.14.

Dayton Carlson of Casteel High in Arizona rebounded from a frustrating performance Friday in the 3,200 to achieve a personal-best 4:10.50 in the mile, including 4:08.99 in the 1,600.

Zane Bergen of Niwot and REAL Training followed his 3,200 victory and sub-9 effort by taking third in 4:13.15, Evan Jenkins of Camas High in Washington clocked 4:13.53, followed by Niwot and REAL Training’s Grayden Rauba (4:16.78) and James Overberg (4:17.80), in addition to Erik Le Roux of Cheyenne Mountain and Kokopelli Racing (4:18.27).

Charlie Welch of George Washington High in Colorado (4:19.33) and Ryan Montera of Legacy (4:19.69), both competing for REAL Training, capped the sub-4:20 efforts.

Shults wasn’t done following the mile, returning to the track less than 20 minutes later to compete for REAL Training in the 4x400 relay, which also prevailed in 3:50.75.

That race also marked the fourth event in two nights for Stanford signee Taylor James of Niwot, who won the 800 in 2:09.44, in addition to placing second in the 400 in 56.47 and fifth in the 200 in 25.18.

Shults also finished fourth Friday in the 400 in 57.27.

Kimona Northrup of Niwot completed a sweep of both girls hurdle races for REAL Training, clocking 14.70 in the 100 hurdles and 43.95 in the 300 hurdles, despite clipping the final barrier and stumbling across the finish line. Northrup also placed third in the 400 in 56.87.

Chandler juniors Trinity Henderson and Jocelyn Johnson, after contributing to victories Friday in the elite 4x100 and 4x400 relays in 46.09 and 3:54.07, returned to take the top two spots in the 200 in 24.01 and 24.55.

Upland High in California also pulled off a sweep of the boys 4x100 and 4x400 in the open/unattached/club section, highlighting an exceptional meet for junior Delaney Crawford, who also added a 200 victory Saturday in 21.49 after prevailing in the 100-meter dash Friday in 10.89.

Crawford contributed to a 42.46 performance in the 4x100 and 3:25.05 effort in the 4x400 for Upland, which also had sophomore Kai Graves-Blanks win the 110 hurdles (14.19) and take third in the 300 hurdles (39.82).

Carson, led by sophomore Reign Redmond winning the 100 (11.93) and taking third in the 200 (24.72), added another victory for California in the girls 4x100 in 47.36.

Jack Vanden Heuvel of Healdsburg High in Northern California secured an 800 victory in 1:55.14, with Carson Kaminski of Trabuco Hills clocking 38.75 to triumph in the boys 300 hurdles.

Wyatt Pruce of Pueblo West in Colorado, representing REAL Training, won the boys open/unattached/club discus with a throw of 157-9 (48.08m) and Dekel Regev of Clark High in Nevada prevailed in the boys javelin with an effort of 141-3 (43.05m).

Kohana Nakato of Summit High in Oregon secured victory in the girls javelin with a meet-record 138-8 (42.27m) and teammate Kitt Rupar triumphed in the girls discus with a throw of 114-2 (34.80m).

Steadfast Academy Track Club teammates from Colorado, Fabiola Belibi of Regis Jesuit and Symone Adams of Cherokee Trail, both produced marks of 17-11 (5.46m) in the long jump. Belibi was recognized as the winner based on a better second jump over Adams by a 17-8 to 17-7 margin.

Dylan Lee of La Cueva High in New Mexico took the boys long jump with a leap of 21-8 (6.60m).

Stephanie Richartz of Arizona Pole Vault Academy was the winner of the open/unattached/club pole vault, clearing 13-3.75 (4.06m). Cailee Faulkner of Mountain View Mesa in Arizona cleared 11-5.75 (3.50m).

Freddie Crittenden III, competing in his first race since September, won an exhibition men’s 110-meter hurdles in a wind-legal 13.70.