Girls Mile Preview: The Deepest Year Ever On Display
A 4:40 mile just a few years back seemed like a time that the United States might be lucky to have one or two high school girls in an entire season come close to or dip under. Definitely no more than a handful for a really exception year. Now, we are hosting an elite high school girls field of 14 milers this weekend in New York City in the adidas Dream mile which there are more than a handful of girls sitting home this weekend because they weren’t “good enough” to receive an invitation despite running times around 4:40 this season for the mile or 1600.
The rise of the high school girl miler, much to the chagrin and envy of freshmen boys and JV boys milers everywhere, have been making mile times venturing well into the 4:40’s and starting to creep into the 4:30’s as a common occurrence.
Leading the girls mile field as the US #1 ranked miler and a two-time national champion is Ryen Frazier from North Carolina. Frazier is looking to follow in the footsteps of her big sister Wesley Frazier, who won the adidas Dream mile title back in 2012. Two weeks ago, Frazier defeated an equally as strong field assembled for the Prefontaine Classic high school mile in running a new personal best time of 4:39.84. The NC State recruit is just one of many girls who come into this race believing they have a strong shot at winning.
The two runners who finished just off her heels in that race at the Prefontaine Classic also come in picked by many as serious contenders to come away with the Dream mile victory in Dani Jones from Arizona and Christina Aragon from Montana.
The University of Colorado recruit Jones has set virtually every state record in her home state from 800 meters to 3200 meters as she is rounding out her decorated high school career at Desert Vista High School outside of Phoenix. Jones was a top 3 finisher at NXN in the cross country season, finished runner-up to Frazier in the New Balance Nationals indoor mile racing by herself out of a slow heat, and won the stacked Arcadia Invitational 3200 as some of her finest racing moments as a senior.
Only hundredths of a second separated Jones (4:39.88) and Frazier (4:39.84) at the Pre Classic, so Jones comes into this racing knowing it won’t take much drastically of a different strategy for her win the Dream mile. She has finished strong in many major national meets over the past year, but besides the Arcadia 3200 has not gotten that signature victory. The Dream Mile would be the perfect opportunity for Jones to strike and dip well under 4:40 in the process.
Meanwhile, Aragon has really made her splash on the national scene just in the past few months despite being one of the top runners in Montana for the past few years. The daughter of a near Olympian at 1500 meters in Chuck Aragon (4th in 1984 Olympic Trials), Aragon closed a little too late like her dad in the Prefontaine Classic mile to kick strong to grab third just behind Frazier and Jones in a new 4:40.75 PR.
The Billings High School junior really caught the nation’s attention earlier in May at the Payton Jordan Invite when she raced against collegiates and pros in the 1500 meter run at Stanford University. Most going into the race were looking to see what kind time would be produced by not Aragon, but instead Katie Rainsberger, a junior from Colorado and 4:41 miler, who was also in the same heat. However, Aragon ended up finishing well ahead of Rainsberger (who will be racing also at the Dream Mile on Saturday) and running a time of 4:16.36, which ranked her incredibly US #5 all-time at 1500 meters. The names ahead of her on that all-time list are names all know for their greatness including Mary Cain, Alexa Efraimson, Elise Cranny, and Jordan Hasay.
The top 3 from Prefontaine Classic could very easily be re-ordered this weekend many different ways between Frazier, Jones, and Aragon. But others in the field believe they can break up that field as well, especially those who were not at Hayward Field two weeks ago.
Three of the most notables entrants in the Dream Mile, who have the credentials and times to compete for a sub 4:40 victory on Saturday in New York include Missouri state champ and returning Dream miler Hannah Long, recent California state 1600 meter champ Amanda Gehrich, and 9:53 3200 meter runner Destiny Collins.
Long received her invitation to come back to the Dream Mile just two weeks ago after she went out and delivered a then US #1 1600 meter time of 4:40.15 in a solo effort at her final Missouri State Championships. She kept her tear of US leading times and PR’s going only five days later in running another nation’s best, but this time at 800 meters against a pro field at the Festival of Miles with a low 2:04 performance.
Earlier in the season, Long had attempted to earn her way back to New York in the auto qualifier race at the Kansas Relays. She led Stephanie Jenks of Iowa until the final 75 meters when Jenks went by her to win in a then US #1 time of 4:40 while Long took second in a 4:43.
Both Jenks (2nd) and Long (4th) are actually the top returnees from last year’s adidas Dream mile and each will look to recall that positive race experience from last June on Saturday. Jenks is looking to bounce back from a 7th place finish at the Prefontaine Classic as she found herself in position at the end, but didn’t have the finishing kick like a few others to finish higher despite a new PR time of 4:42.16. Jenks was a runner-up in last year's Dream Mile in a time of 4:42.68 as a sophomore.
The two from California in Gehrich and Collins qualified in two different ways for the Dream, but both will be at the adidas Grand Prix with the same goal. To win. Gehrich qualified earlier in the season at one of the first auto qualifiers in the Azusa Meet of Champions with a 4:55 win, while Collins qualified by invitation after a great close to her championship season with a 4:40 1600 at Southern Section Masters Meet and a 4:41 1600/9:53 3200 double at the California State Meet.
Collins won the 3200 title, but loss the 1600 title to Gehrich who along with Marissa Williams out kicked Collins who led the majority of the race in the final straightaway with a huge PR drop and new US #1 for 1600 meters in 4:39.33. With her state title performance, Gehrich went from someone viewed as a middle of the pack runner for the Dream Mile field to someone who could win it all! Meanwhile, Collins who has had to lead all of her 1600 meter races as of late will probably thrive on sitting back on others leading like she did in her California State Meet 3200 race on Fiona O’Keeffe to help her run her sensational 9:53 time.
Believe it or not, the national sophomore class record of 4:39.28 set by Mary Cain at the 2012 Penn Relays could be in jeopardy with the likes of Texas 1600 meter state record holder Julia Heymach (4:40.97 PR) in the race as well as another top sophomore in Virginia state 3200 meter champ Rachel McArthur also in the race. Heymach has had a month to train since her state meet when she was able to lead and beat a 2014 adidas Dream miler in Devin Clark twice in both the 1600 and 3200 meter run in both meet record times.
McArthur is coming off a 10:19 3200 PR win at her state meet, but qualified for the Dream mile kicking in a 62 second last lap at the Golden South Classic. The runner which she held off for the auto Dream Mile spot in Orlando in Lauren Gregory from Colorado went onto run a 4:41 low in the mile the very next weekend at the Prefontaine Classic. Could McArthur in a much faster and deeper race than she has ever seen drop down and join fellow sophomore around 4:40 and flirting with Mary Cain's sophomore class record? It will intriguing to see if one of the two sophomores comes close to Cain's times in a perfect race to go for it!
It would be a huge mistake to not mention the slowest entrant in the race (including slower than the designated pacer in Pennsylvania 1600 meter state champ Marissa Sheva - 4:45 1600m). That slowest entrant happens to be two-time Foot Locker National champion Anna Rohrer. That is right. The girl who has twice proven herself to be the best cross country runner in the nation comes into a mile field of 14 owning the slowest mile or 1600 time of the group with her recent 4:52 1600 meter win at the Indiana State Meet. It is hard to imagine the competitor that is Rohrer would finish dead last in any race and not stick her nose up near the front of the field and compete for first place. It will be interesting to see what she does.
adidas Dream Girls Mile Field
1. CHRISTINA ARAGON (Billings MT - 2016) - Invited
2. LUCY BILES (Herriman UT - 2016) - New York Relays Auto Qualifier
3. DESTINY COLLINS (Great Oak CA - 2016) - Invited
4. MALIA ELLINGTON (Davidson NC - 2015) - Raleigh Relays Auto Qualifier
5. RYEN FRAZIER (Ravenscroft School NC - 2015) - Invited
6. AMANDA GEHRICH (Tesoro CA - 2016) - Azusa Meet of Champions Auto Qualifier
7. JULIA HEYMACH (Houston Lamar TX - 2017) - Invited
8. STEPHANIE JENKS (Linn-Mar IA - 2016) - Kansas Relays Auto Qualifier
9. DANI JONES (Desert Vista AZ - 2015) - Invited
10. HANNAH LONG (Eureka MO - 2015) - Invited
11. RACHEL MCARTHUR (Patriot VA - 2015) - Golden South Classic Auto Qualifier
12. KATIE RAINSBERGER (Air Academy CO - 2016) - Invited
13. ANNA ROHRER (Mishawaka IN - 2015) - Invited
14. MARISSA SHEVA (Pennridge PA - 2015) - Invited/Pacer
adidas Dream Race Previews
Boys Mile - Girls Mile - Boys 100 - Girls 100
adidas Dream Race Predictions: Boys - Girls
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Pre-Race Interviews