Four Things You Need To Know About The Desert Dream Invite


STACKED DISTANCE RACES

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One of the most exciting events going down this weekend will be the 1,600m -- for both the girls and boys.

There are a total of 20 girls who have broken five minutes at the disatnce. Lexy Halladay, a BYU recruit from Mountain View, is the top seed in the event. She recently ran an unofficial 4:47.9 in the MileSplit Virtual Classic and during the indoor season ran a 4:53.77.

But Halladay will have some major competition. There's Tully's (NY) Brooke Rauber, the three-time NXN All-American and U20 Pan American Cross Country Champion, and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian's (MI) Abby Vanderkooi. Rauber ran top 10 efforts in the country in the 1,000m, 1500m, and 3K indoors. Vanderkooi, meanwhile, ran the fourth-fastest effort in the 1,600m this indoor season with a 4:48.62.  Plus, she's a two-time Foot Locker Nationals All-American.

On the boys side, there are five athletes who have run 4:16 and nine under 4:20. Jonas Price of Eisenhower Senior (WA) may be the favorite. Last year, he ran a personal best of 4:10.22 in the 1,600m at his state championship.