Preview: Girls Dream Mile qualifier
Amanda Gehrich enters the Girls 1,600m with the fastest seed time of 4:46. She ran a 4:59.56 1,600m/US #2 10:33.99 3,200m double last weekend.
Tesoro junior Amanda Gehrich headlines the Girls 1,600m line-up with the fastest personal best time of 4:46.53, clocked en route to a third place finish at the CIF Southern Section Masters last year. She started her 2015 with a dominant 4:59.56 1,600m/US #2 10:33.99 3,200m double win at the Laguna Beach Trophy Championship.
Sophomore Sydney Belus (Great Oak) is listed at just seventh on the descending order list, but actually clocked a faster 1,600m than anyone else so far this year. Her 4:56.01 win at the Great Oak vs. Poway dual meet ranks US #11 and CA #2 for the 2015 outdoor season. Finishing right behind her in that race was teammate Kiyena Beatty (US #12, CA #3 4:56.21), who will also contend for the Dream Mile bid.
If the race goes out slow, look no further than Hannah Benoit of Buchanan, who finished third in the 2014 CIF State Finals 800m in a personal best 2:08.75. She also won the Seeded Mile at the Arcadia Invitational last year in 4:53.03. Also present in that 800m state final was Cassie Durgy of Huntington Beach, who just missed All-State honors as a sophomore with a 2:11.54, ninth-place run.
The lone freshman in the field is Elena Kamas of Homestead, who was the top frosh at the CIF State Cross Country Championship this past fall in 18:00.00, fifth overall. She has recorded a 1,600m best of 5:04.9 this year.
2014 Nike Cross Nationals runners-up Great Oak features three girls in the adidas Dream Mile qualifier, including varsity contributors Kiyena Beatty and Sydney Belus. Evelyn Mandel will also compete.
| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | SEED TIME |
| Amanda Gehrich | 2016 | Tesoro (CA) | 4:46.0 |
| Hannah Benoit | 2015 | Buchanan (CA) | 4:51.6 |
| Emily Hubert | 2015 | Bishop Amat (CA) | 4:54.0 |
| Ally Palomino | 2017 | Bishop Amat (CA) | 4:54.0 |
| Camille Hines | 2017 | Palos Verdes (CA) | 4:54.0 |
| Kiyena Beatty | 2017 | Great Oak (CA) | 4:56.0 |
| Sydney Belus | 2017 | Great Oak (CA) | 4:56.0 |
| Cassie Durgy | 2016 | Huntington Beach (CA) | 4:56.0 |
| Mikayla Soderstein | 2016 | Clovis (CA) | 4:57.0 |
| Samantha Ortega | 2015 | Saugus (CA) | 4:57.1 |
| Sydney Tullai | 2016 | Ayala (CA) | 4:58.0 |
| Evelyn Mandel | 2017 | Great Oak (CA) | 5:01.0 |
| Briar Brumley | 2015 | Tesoro (CA) | 5:01.0 |
| Claire Graves | 2017 | Citrus Valley (CA) | 5:03.3 |
| Elena Kamas | 2018 | Homestead (CA) | 5:04.9 |
