* Sadie Engelhardt claims the 2022 New Balance Nationals Indoor title in the mile in Boston, Massachusetts
Photo Credit: Tony Morales/MileSplit
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Ventura High School junior Sadie Engelhardt, one of the country's brightest stars, has signed a Name, Image and Likeness deal with New Balance, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
She is the first high school girls athlete, along with Community North's Allison Ince, to sign a NIL deal with the sponsor New Balance.
Male athletes in the signing class, include American Fork senior Daniel Simmons, Bullis School sophomore Quincy Wilson and Georgetown freshman Tinoda Matsatsa.
New Balance first jumped into the track and field space over the spring when it signed Roisin Willis, a freshman standout from Stanford University. From there, the floodgates seemed to open.
Charles Hicks and Parker Valby signed with Nike, while Katelyn Tuohy joined adidas and Juliette Whittaker went to On.
In July, Nike landed Mia Brahe-Pedersen.
The high school space is still widely unknown, though some athletes have begun to wear specific sponsor kits at national meets. In July, 40 athletes from around the U.S. were identified and signed to the Nike Elite program, which will provide gear and travel to specific events around the U.S. for those athletes.
As a sophomore, Engelhardt clocked three back-to-back sub 4:40 mile performances, including a 4:38.96 to win the New Balance Nationals Outdoor title. During the indoor season, she ran a similar time of 4:38.65 to grab her first national high school title in her career at New Balance Nationals Indoor in Boston, Massachusetts.
Englehardt, one of the nation's top middle-distance high school athletes, was ranked U.S. No. 1 in the 1,600m with a 4:33, No. 3 in the mile and 3,200m when she produced a 4:36 and 9:51, and U.S. No. 16 in the 800m when she ran 2:06 at the beginning of April.
Engelhardt is also in the hunt to win a cross country national title this fall. The Ventura (CA) standout won the CIF Cross Country Championship title with a 5K personal best of 16:57.84. As she wrapped up her cross country season, she qualified to compete at Champs Sports Nationals after she won the West Regional Championships. At Balboa Park, she crossed the finish line as the 10th-best finisher.
* Sadie Engelhardt reflects on her New Balance Nationals Outdoor title in Pennsylvania
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