Hedengren Bests Both High School and U20 American Record In Girls 5,000 Meters; Marcelo Mantecon Breaks Sophomore Class Record

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

John Nepolitan Photos

NEW YORK — Jane Hedengren came out blazing to start the last meet of her high school indoor career.

Hedengren, a Timpview UT senior, demolished the U20 American indoor record in the girls 5,000 meters, clocking a jaw-dropping time of 15:13.26. She and Santiago CA senior Rylee Blade both broke the record, with Blade finishing second in 15:16.72. Both were comfortably under the previous record of 15:20.72. WATCH THE RACE (RS+)

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“It was awesome to be there with Rylee,” Hedengren said, “and get to push each other. I don’t have that very often, so I’m always grateful for these opportunities to travel and get some competition with girls that work hard.”

Hedengren and Blade also destroyed the national high school indoor record of 15:28.90, which Elizabeth Leachman set in last year’s meet with a similar dominant performance.

Many of Hedengren’s races in the last year have been solo efforts, even on the national stage. At Nike Cross Nationals last fall, she beat runner-up Victoria Garces by more than 40 seconds. She said she was expecting something similar Thursday, but Blade was right behind her the entire way, and she even took the lead briefly late in the race.

“Honestly, Rylee's a phenomenal athlete, but I was a little bit surprised that she was right there on my heels,” Hedengren said. “I’m glad that I could take her through a fast time, because I led pretty much the whole race, but it’s just great to have competition.”

To put Blade’s performance into context, she beat her 3,000 meters personal best by 13 seconds during the race, and she was only eight seconds off her mile PB en route. That’s only considering the splits starting at the gun, though. Her last eight laps were three seconds faster than her first eight, meaning she came within five seconds of a mile PB during a 5,000 meters race. She destroyed her previous personal best in the 5,000 by more than a minute (16:18.17).

Zariel Macchia (William Floyd NY) cruised to third place after sticking with Hedengren and Blade for about a mile. She was completely by herself after eight laps, but despite finding company solely from lapping and being lapped (yes, Hedengren and Blade lapped the bronze medalist), she ran a respectable 16:29.02, nearly a minute faster than her previous indoor PB and about 15 seconds off her outdoor PB.

Macchia came into the meet with some serious momentum. A week prior, she won an appeal to compete at her indoor state meet, and she made the most of the opportunity. She won the 3,000 meters in a PB of 9:21.73, took third in the 1,000 meters in 2:46.95, and ran a 4:50 on the 1,600 meter anchor leg for her DMR squad.

“It was a really, really good triple,” Macchia said. “I think after that, I just knew I was in really good shape.”

The boys 5,000 meters, meanwhile, was much tighter. At 3,000 meters, the entire top 10 was within three seconds, and the lead pack stayed five strong until the bell. At that point, Marcelo Mantecon (Belen Jesuit FL) decided it was time to go, and he dropped a 29-second last lap to take the win in 14:14.37, a new sophomore class record.

“I think that was all heart,” Mantecon said of his kick. “For my parents, and I heard my team cheering for me. I can’t disappoint, so I just thugged it out for the last 200 meters and came away with the win and I’m happy with that.”

Will Sheets (Covington KY) took second place in 14:16.29, a 35-second improvement from his previous indoor personal best, which he set at this meet two years ago. This race, which was his first national-level race of the indoor season, served as a form of redemption. Last fall, he ended his season with a disappointing 133rd-place finish at NXN after finishing no lower than fourth in all of his previous races.

Jack Bowen (McCallie School TN) also enjoyed a breakout performance in his first indoor 5,000 meter race, taking third overall in 14:16.73. Similar to Sheets, Bowen finished second at the Foot Locker South regional last fall but only managed 25th at Nationals. Thursday’s race, though, was his highest finish ever at a national championship.

Running Garage TC (MD) won the Mixed 4x400 meter relay in 3:34.72 after a dramatic anchor leg comeback. Heading into the last handoff, they were behind Suffern TC (NY) by two seconds, but anchor Cohren Corbin split 55 seconds for her leg and broke the tape four seconds before Suffern.