Hedengren Vs. The Field In Girls Two-Mile; Emmry Ross Chasing Alexa Efraimson's 800 Meet Record; Elite Hurdle Race Features Nation's Top Three Athletes

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Photos by Ken Martinez (Anisa Bowen Fontenot), Keenan Gray (Jasmine Robinson) and Logan Hannigan-Downs (Jane Hedengren)

High school track and field’s biggest names make way to Renton Memorial Stadium on Sunday June 8 for the 14th edition of the Brooks PR Invitational.

Here are the six races to follow and the athletes to watch on the girls side:

WATCH THE BROOKS PR INVITATIONAL LIVE SUNDAY ON RUNNERSPACE

Girls 2 Mile – 1:32 pm PT

Jane Hedengren has surpassed all expectations over the past year.

But running 9 minutes, 48.77 seconds in last year’s girls 2-mile a day after ending up in the hospital the night before with a 102-degree fever just shows how much talent she truly carries even when she’s not 100 percent healthy.

Assuming that isn’t the case for this year’s race, Hedengren’s odds of taking down Allie Zealand’s meet record of 9:41.76 are favorable given she’s ran faster than that this season. In fact, Hedengren’s time of 9:34.12 at the Arcadia Invitational in April shattered Zealand’s national record set at Brooks last year.

Hedengren aimed to go under 9:30 at Arcadia, so we can expect the same effort in her second attempt.

This race will come three days after her North American U-20 record in the mile on Wednesday in 4:23.50 in St. Louis. 

The 11 other girls entered along with Hedengren have all gone 10:10 or faster.

Hanne Thomsen, Rylee Blade and Jaelyn Williams will renew their 3,200 race from the California state meet, which was won by Thomsen in a US#2 9:48.98. Blade, making her Brooks PR debut, finished second to Thomsen. Williams, fourth, ran in last year’s 2-mile race at Brooks, finishing sixth.

Three more girls return from last year’s race: Addison Ritzenhein, Sophia Rodriguez and Chloe Huyler. All three won their respective state titles in either the 3,000 or 3,200.

Zariel Macchia, Mia Sirois and Calysta and Jazzlyn Garmer complete the field of competitors, making their Brooks PR debuts, too.

Girls 400m – 2:20 pm PT

Any comparison with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is worth mentioning. Natalie Dumas is in that conversation as a prep 400-meter runner.

The junior from Voorhees, New Jersey, ran an eye-opening US#2 51.87 second effort in the girls 400 on May 17, tying the four-time Olympic gold medalist's state record.

Skyler Franklin’s meet record of 52.01, established last year, could be gone in a blink-of-an-eye if Dumas can replicate her personal best time.

Angel Brefo and Ashtyn Lewis are another pair of US top 10 performers entered in Sunday’s race. Brefo beat Lewis in the Texas 5A state final by a margin of 52.58 to 52.75.

Kaddel Howard, the 2024 AAU Junior Olympics 15-16 champion over the 400, brings in a personal best of 52.47. Howard’s season’s best of 53.12 is US#15.

Maddison Brister-Wesley, Malia Campbell, Sofia Castaneda and Kinzlee Riddle all boast times under 54 seconds.

Girls 800m – 2:50 pm PT

Alexa Efraimson’s time of 2:03.26 in the girls 800 is the longest-standing record in the history of the Brooks PR Invitational at 11 years.

Six of the top 10 runners in the U.S., who average together 2:03.16, are entered in this year’s field and all make a case to lower Efraimson’s time.

Top entry Emmry Ross is currently US#1 in an astounding time of 2:00.53 from the Distance Night Under the Lights at Houseman Field on May 24. She also produced the sixth-fastest time in high school history.

US#3 Oluwatosin Awoleye, US#4 Olivia Cieslak and US#6 Clemmie Lilley are three returning competitors from last year’s race. Cieslak took third, Awoleye placed fifth and Lilley earned seventh.

US#2 Makenna Herbst, who ran a personal best of 2:02.28 recently at the California state championships, and US#5 Paige Sheppard add to a historically fast field.

Carter Torrence, Elyse Wilmes and Reagan Moore round out the nine competitors. All three are ranked top 20 in the country.

Girls 100m Hurdles – 3:10 pm PT

Aleesa Samuel and Rebekah-Jhade Garrett, the top two finishers from last year’s girls 100 hurdles race, will meet with Anisa Bowen-Fontenot and Jasmine Robinson, the top two hurdlers in the country this season.

Samuel won last year’s Brooks PR title with ease in 13.29 seconds and Garrett ran 13.41 for second. Both girls have yet to run those times this year.

Bowen-Fontenot and Robinson renew their Arcadia Invitational race in April, which saw Bowen-Fontenot winning in US#1 wind-legal time of 13.16 to Robinson’s 13.22. Robinson recently lowered her personal best to 13.17 last weekend at the Music City Track Carnival in Cleveland, Tenn.

Taylor Cox elevated to US#3 most recently after running 13.18 to put all three of the nation’s fastest girls within two hundredths of a second of each other going into Sunday’s race.

US#9 Kyndall Spain and US#21 Madeline Cooper add more depth and talent to an elite field.

Girls 100m – 3:30 pm PT

While Tate Taylor and Brayden Williams stole the show at the Texas state meet on the boys side in the sprints, twin sisters Mia and Mariah Maxwell were nearly as impressive on the girls side.

Mia won the 6A girls 100 in a high school No. 6 all-time performance of 11.04, which ranks US#2 this season to US#1 Dana Wilson in 11.02. Mariah won the girls 200 in 22.93, but has run a wind-aided 22.77, good for US#4.

The Maxwell sisters are going up against three more Texans: US#3 Kylah Woods, US#4 Taylor Nunez and US#5 London Jackson Bray. Woods and Bray finished second and fourth, respectively, to Mia in the state 100 final, and Nunez swept the 3A titles in the 100 and 200.

Outside the five from Texas, US#11 Ryan Jennings from New Jersey is sure to show what the east coast can bring to the table, having run a wind-aided 11.32 this season.

Somto Igwilo and Keelan Wright are the only two competitors back from last year’s race, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.  

Girls Mile – 4:04 pm PT

Looking back, Hedengren’s 2023 mile victory was a portend of big things to come.

This year’s field features stars across the board, but all of them are still chasing after that springboard win.

Braelyn Combe brings in the most momentum of any racer after running 4:35.64 for the 1,600 to win the California state title.

Another Californian, Chiara Dailey, has had a career year as well, running a personal best 4:40.28 in the 1,600. She finished fourth in last year’s mile race.

Lily Alder has shown her range as a racer has grown this season. Her speed from the 800 translates well to the 1,600, but it’s her strength from the 3,200 that could propel her to win after finishing ninth last year. She ran 10:19 at the Utah state meet in Provo at 4,500 feet.

Ryin Miller, a five-time Kansas state champion, expects to be up the mix Combe, Dailey and Alder, looking to run under 4:40 for the first time. All four are juniors, too.

Ellery Lincoln is the only other returning athlete in the field along with Dailey and Alder. The Oregon native, who finished 10th last season as a freshman, has run a US#1 4:39.37 in the mile this season.

Lincoln will be one of two sophomores in the field with Sophia Thompson from New Jersey.

Elin Latta, the only freshman in the field, has proven no matter her age, she’ll always find a way to be in the race till the very end. She’s run 4:40.94 for the full mile, making her the fastest freshman in the country this season.

Seniors Claire Stegall, Victoria Rodriguez, Alexa Matora, Libby Castelli, Dylan McElhinney and Sophia Bendet are hoping to make one last impression before concluding their high school careers.