Storyline #5: Weini Kelati Will Break The 5K National Record
In March 2004, Briana Jackucewicz won the 5K at what was then known as the National Scholastic Indoor Championship in 16:43. She was in seventh grade at the time, but she never ran faster in high school. In fact, no high schooler ran faster for seven years, until Waverly Neer won New Balance Nationals Indoor in 16:35 in 2011. Neer's time marked an opening of the floodgates. The NBNI 5K winner has now lowered the national record each of the last five years. Erin Finn won in 16:19 in 2012, Wesley Frazier won in 16:18 in 2013 (beating Finn by 0.01), Tessa Barrett won in 16:11 in 2014, and Anna Rohrer won in 16:10 last year.
Weini Kelati enters this year's 5K with a better 3K PR than all of those girls. In her only indoor race so far, Kelati ran 9:19.99 at the Camel City Elite Meet. She has a real chance to become the first high school girl ever to break sixteen minutes indoors. Only five girls--Mary Cain, Emily Sisson, Cayla Hatton, Caitlin Chock, and Wesley Frazier--have even done that outdoors.
She'll be joined in the field by Hannah Debalsi, Maryjeanne Gilbert, and Stephanie Jenks. DeBalsi's 9:55 two mile PR from 2014 is the fastest out of anyone currently in high school, and converts to a 9:11 3K. Gilbert has come closer than any high schooler to beating Kelati this year, finishing less than a second behind her at Foot Locker. And Jenks actually has the fastest indoor 5K PR in the field from her 16:37 runner-up finish in 2014.
Kelati ran 16:29 on a cross country course this fall. Look for Jenks to push the pace early and Kelati to dip under Rohrer's 16:10.79 record.
Kelati and Debalsi will double back in Sunday's two mile, where they'll be joined by Kate Murphy. The two mile is an hour and a half before the mile, making Sunday a brutal double for Murphy if she elects for it. She's only raced longer than a mile once this indoor season, winning the Virginia state meet 3200 in 10:38. If the pace is hot--and Kelati has never been known to let a race dawdle--it'll be interesting to see if Murphy can hang. She lost last year's two mile to Ryen Frazier by 18 seconds, but was before she became a 4:16 1500 runner and 4:41 miler.
Mary Cain's 9:38 high school record is out of reach here. But Kelati's 3K converts to about 10:04 for two miles. That'd be #6 all-time, and the non-Cain HSR is 9:55.92. That--and Aisling Cuffe's 9:56.85 meet record--are not outside of the realm of reality on Sunday.
--Dennis Young
Girls 5000 Championship field
Girls two mile Championship field
New Balance Nationals Indoor 2016 meet page
2015 5K results
2015 2 mile results