Ellie Shea Wins Second Distance Title; Tinoda Matsatsa Runs No. 3 All-Time 800 Meters at New Balance Nationals Indoor

By David Woods for DyeStat

Keenan Gray photos

BOSTON – The pace lights, and Edward Cheserek’s record, were slipping away. Not that it was uppermost in Tyrone Gorze’s mind. He sought to win.

In doing so, he put Cheserek’s record to bed. To underscore it, the winner celebrated by placing head on hands in the “night, night” gesture of NBA superstar Steph Curry.

“His name is King Ches for a reason. It was cool to get that indoor record,” Gorze said.

In a finish befitting elite distance runners, the Crater OR senior won the 5,000 meters in 13;56.82 on Saturday at the New Balance indoor nationals.

It was not only the fastest indoor 5K in high school history. It was the deepest.

Gorze, junior Daniel Simmons of American Fork UT (13:59.96), Lex Young of Newbury Park CA (14:00.64) and junior Patrick Koon of Leon FL (14:11.92) climbed to Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6 on the all-time list.

Cheserek, of St. Benedicts Prep NJ, set the previous record of 13:57.04 in 2012.

Young had made it clear he was going for it, and he wasn’t the only one.

“It’s so much bigger than just this race. It speaks to the whole sport,” Young said. “When you’ve got not just one guy shooting for the record, but three. It just shows the momentum that’s building in the whole sport now. It’s just awesome to be a part of that.”

With five laps left, the record was no longer prioritized. Victory was. But Gorze made a bold move to the front and held it through a closing 800 of 2:02.94.

“When he caught the lights with a lap to go, I was like, ‘Oh gosh. This is something special,” Crater coach Justin Loftus said. “We didn’t talk about records.”

They talked about finishing fast, and Gorze delivered.

“It worked out perfectly,” he said.

Simmons led nearly every lap until the closing kilometer. By comparison, Gorze’s last 800 was comparable to those in Friday’s NCAA 5,000 at Albuquerque, N.M. Winner Dylan Jacobs of Tennessee closed in 2:01.69 and fourth-place Nico Young of Northern Arizona (brother of Lex) in 2:03.35.

Loftus saw it coming when Gorze ran a 1,000 in 2:34 in the middle of a recent workout.

“He’s an aerobic beast, really,” the coach said.

Gorze was vexed Friday even in Crater’s victory in the distance medley relay but “got some bugs out,” as Loftus put it. Anchored by Gorze’s 4:07.28, Crater missed becoming the eighth school under 10 minutes, clocking 10:00.20.

On the other hand, this is Gorze’s first meet on a banked indoor track, and that DMR was a tuneup. It was something of a redemptive victory after he finished 12th in the 5K at last August’s World Under-20 Championships at Cali, Colombia, and third at Nike Cross Nationals at Portland, Ore.

One of Gorze's goals for the past year was to crack the 14-minute barrier in the 5,000. 

“There’s a lot of big names in track and field right now at the high school level,” said Gorze, a Washington recruit. “I feel like everyone gets their moment. This was definitely my moment.”

There was a chance for back-to-back 5K national records, considering how fast and how often Ellie Shea has been racing. Instead, she ran the No. 2 time of all time, 15:46.28.

Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland NY – a double winner in the 3,000 and 5,000 at this weekend’s NCAAs – set the high school record of 15:37.12 in 2018. Shea, of Emerging Elite TC and nearby Belmont High, ran 15:49.47 in last year’s New Balance Nationals Indoor at New York.

“My thinking is, if I keep breaking my personal records, I’ll get closer to those bigger records,” Shea said.

She also had an emphatic finish, closing in 3:06.48 as her fastest kilometer.

Maryland’s Masatsa runs No. 3 800 ever

When Gorze was alluding to big names, he could not have meant Tinoda Matsatsa.

Matsatsa was third in in the mile in last year’s Nike Outdoor Nationals (4:10.43), and he won an AAU Junior Olympics 800 in 1:49.87. Yet his success has been mostly regional. The St. Andrew’s Episcopal MD senior is staying regional for college, heading to Georgetown.

And he will arrive on the Hoyas’ campus as a big name.

Matsatsa seized control with an opening 400 of 52.88, then held on to win the 800 in 1:48.27.

The didn’t-see-that-coming run ranks No. 3 in prep indoor history, trailing only Josh Hoey of Bishop Shanahan PA, 1:47.67 in 2018, and Will Sumner of Woodstock GA, 1:48.14 in 2022.

Alex Leath of Vestavia Hills AL charged at Matsatsa late and finished second in 1:48.46.

“I thought, ‘Man, I hope he doesn’t pass me and win,’ “ Matsatsa said. “I made sure I stayed true to my form and pushed through the last 100.”

Matsatsa thought NXN champion Aaron Sahlman of Newbury Park CA might push the pace, but Sahlman was swallowed by the field to begin the third lap. Sahlman, the NXN champion, finished last in the last section in 1:53.63.

Matsatsa said he had a quadriceps injury ahead of a mile at the Millrose Games, where he was fourth in 4:10.72. He will try the mile again Sunday.

“I knew at nationals, I’d be fine if I trained consistently,” he said.

Matsatsa is of Zimbabwean ancestry. He said he would try to represent the United States in international competition and not the country of his parents.

From hoops to 800 win for Ince

Elsewhere:

>> When Ali Ince aims at something, she usually hits it. The junior shoots 3-pointers at 42% for her Normal IL basketball team, whose 31-4 season ended a couple of weeks ago, short of the team’s final four goal.

Her consolation prize was an 800 national title, a 2:04.77 state indoor record, US#2 and No. 9 on the all-time list. Ince has won Illinois titles in both the 400 (55.25) and 1,600 (4:40.85). She next aims at Sunday’s mile, in which Shea goes for a three-day distance sweep.

“It’ll be crazy to see what different training plans do,” Ince said. “I’m more speed-based, and others are more distance-based.”

>> Maddox Hamm of Scottsboro AL won the pole vault at 17-8.50/5.40m for a US#1, although short of his 18-foot clearance at last year’s adidas indoor nationals.

>> Kellen Kimes of Hart MI won the weight throw with a US#3 distance of 78-4.25/23.88m.

>> Nyckoles Harbor II of Archbishop Carroll DC  was a no-show in the first round of the 60 meters. The touted South Carolina football signee had run a US#1 of 20.78 for 200 and US#2 of 6.60 in the 60.

IMG FL boys 4x200 among near-record relays

>> IMG won the boys 4x200 relay in 1:26.06 for No. 2 all-time behind Bullis MD, 1:25.60 in 2019.

>> Bullis MD won the girls 4x200 relay in 1:35.62 – a time only Bullis (twice) has surpassed. Bullis has clocked 1:34.75 and 1:35.39, both in 2018. A Bullis “B” team was third in 1:37.54

>> Flower Mound TX won the girls 4xMile relay in 19:50.34, No. 3 all-time. Flower Mound, then anchored by Natalie Cook, set the record of 19:37.78 at last year’s New Balance Nationals Indoor. Cuthbertson NC, running as Carolina Cavaliers, was second Saturday in 19:55.21 for No. 4 all-time.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

All-time indoor 5,000 meters

Boys

13:56.82 Tyrone Gorze, Crater Or 2023

13:57.04 Edward Cheserek, St. Benedicts NJ 2012

13:59.96 Daniel Simmons, American Fork UT 2023

14:00.64 Lex Young, Newbury Park CA 2023

14:06.78 Lucas Verzbikas, Sandburg IL 2011

14:11.92 Patrick Koon, Leon FLA 2023

14:19.82 Kirubel Erassa, Grayson GA 2010

14:20.54 Hunter Jones, Benzie Central MI 2023

14:21.98 Aidan Cox, Coe-Brown North Academy NH 2023

14:22.88 Solomon Haile, Sherwood MD 2009