Nicki Southerland won the 2023 Runninglane Track Championship 1,600m and was runner-up in the 800m
The mile events will bring the 2024 RunningLane Track Championships to an end on Saturday night. This event is the meet finale for a reason, and that's because we expect some fireworks from both the girls and the boys milers.
There are talented girls coming from all across the states and the meet record could go down as should some shuffling of the national top-10 mile rankings.
Of the entries, 19 girls will head to Huntsville, Alabama with sub 4:56 performances including five girls who have run in the 4:40s.
Check out how we think things might shake out.
1. Nicki Southerland
School - Delta HS, Muncie, Indiana
Grade - Senior
College - Notre Dame signee
Personal Bests - 2:05.06, 4:42.65, 10:13.37
For a couple of reasons, Nicki Southerland is our pick to win the 2024 RunningLane Track Championships girls mile.
The Notre Dame signee has big race experience from not only the IHSAA, but also Foot Locker XC Nationals, New Balance Indoors, and the RunningLane Championships. That's right, Southerland has history with this track; she won this event in 2023 dropping her 4:42.65 personal best.
Southerland just might be the fastest girls at the track meet altogether. Not only has she run the fastest mile of all the girls and a 10:13.37 3200m best, but she has the 2:05 800m capability along with a 57.59 400m best.
2. Lily Guinn
School - Maury HS, Norfolk, Virginia
Grade - Senior
College - Florida State signee
Personal Bests - 2:14.83, 3:48.08, 10:25.94
Guinn doesn't run much, in fact, this will only be her second run at the mile distance.
Her 4:53.91 from the Carolina Distance Carnival wouldn't make you think she'd be predicted to possibly finish as high as second, but expect her to be ready to roll.
Last season, she came to RunningLane with the same type of resume; very few races and a 4:53.97 from the Carolina Distance Carnival. That is when she went for her 4:48.08 personal best run in Huntsville, taking fourth place.
3. Emma Wade
School - Vista Ridge, Cedar Park, Texas
Grade - Junior
Personal Bests - 2:12.91, 4:48.67, 10:38.36
This will be Wade's first real big time national level race. That makes mocking her this far up a step out on the ledge, however there some things that elevate the confidence level in her.
Despite only racing out of state girls at the Texas Distance Festival, Wade still races national level talent on the regular. A couple of miles away at her fellow district school, Wade has regularly raced Isabel Conde De Frankenberg along with Elizabeth Leachman, San Juanita Leal, Samantha Humphries and Nicole Humphries.
Wade has been as consistently good as almost anyone in Texas. She has individually qualified for the Texas UIL 6A state meet every season in both cross country and track and field. In Texas, they only qualify 10 in cross country from each region and nine total in each classification during the track season.
4. Elin Latta
School - Texas/Colorado Homeschool
Grade - 8th
Personal Bests - 4:51.19
Eighth grade Latta is a gamer and one of the best rising young distance talents in the country. During the indoor season, Latta set a new National Record for middle school girls when she ran 4:51.19 at the indoor mile.
She recently ran 4:55.42 at the Distance Night in Palatine Community Races and winning by over 20-seconds. If she can stay in the mix and be able to match the leg speed of the older girls, Latta could challenge for the win this weekend.
5.Payton Meineke
School - Riverdale HS, Thornton, Colorado
Grade - Sophomore
Personal Bests - 2:13.44, 4:54.63, 10:16.87
Meineke is just a sophomore, but she already has very impressive stats.
She was only sixth at the Colorado state meet last weekend in the 800m and runner-up in the 1600m. Given that, she does have a blazing fast 4:47.16 in the mile from last month's Penn Relays.
It's her placement in races that has us seeing her placing fourth or in that range. However, her black and white time in the mile and elevation running makes us think she can even possibly challenge Southerland for the win. Can the Alabama weather and lack of elevation giver her the jolt she needs to challenge for the win?
6. Elena Rybak
School - Father McGivney, Glen Carbon, Illinois
Gade - Junior
Personal Bests - 2:07.13, 4:54.07
Rybak is your typical good high level high school runner; except, she is slightly different. Like majority, she is very good on the grass at the Illinois three-mile distance and continues that on the track. However, there lack of 3,200m performances on her profiles tells us this girl is a half-miler/miler and she knows it.
Rybak went 2:09 and 4:51 indoors at New Balance, showing she can compete on the big stage. Outdoors, she ran 2:07 and 4:54 along with capturing IHSA 1A 800m and 1,600m titles last weekend.
7. Gabbie Bishop
School - Providence Classical Christian Academy, Rogers, Arkansas
Grade - Sophomore
Personal Bests - 2:15.23, 4:49.85, 10:25.37
Like Rybak, Bishop is a small school athlete. That hasn't affected her running and ability to show up big in major races.
Indoors, against Arkansas' best, she showed her ability to turn things up at the Arkansas Indoors Championships. She also went to Texas in back-to-back March weekends where she ran 4:49 and 4:50 consecutively with her PR coming at the Texas Distance Festival.
School - Creekside, St. Johns, Florida
Grade - Sophomore
Personal Bests - 2:13.98, 4:52.51, 10:30
Johnson is coming off FHSAA state titles where she ran 4:53 and 10:30. She does have experience in big races thanks to her AAU Junior Olympic Games racing and her RunningLane Track Championships from last season. Her personal best runs are from her races here at RunningLane, so look forward to the ramped up competition level to cause Johnson to turn things up another notch again this weekend.
School - Williamstown HS, Williamstown, West Virginia
Grade - Junior
Personal Bests - 2:17.42, 4:49.72, 10:11.81
Sauro is coming off West Virginia regional wins in the 800m, 1,600m, and the 3,200m races. She has high level racing experiences from this year's indoor season circuit giving it a go at the VA Showcase and NBNI, as well as the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships. Those events should pay dividends at the RunningLane 1,600m race.
10. Allison Pippert
School - Stargate HS, Thornton, Colorado
Grade - Senior
College - Colorado State signee
Personal Bests - 2:15.10, 4:51 (Converted), 10:45.84
The Colorado senior comes in with an elevation converted tome of 4:51. She hasn't run many 1,600m races or miles this season, but she was recently third at her state meet in the events and runner-up in the 3,200m.
The Colorado State signee could be eyeing a new personal best and could be in the mix with the Alabama weather and absence of altitude.
Nicki Southerland won the 2023 Runninglane Track Championship 1,600m and was runner-up in the 800m
The mile events will bring the 2024 RunningLane Track Championships to an end on Saturday night. This event is the meet finale for a reason, and that's because we expect some fireworks from both the girls and the boys milers.
There are talented girls coming from all across the states and the meet record could go down as should some shuffling of the national top-10 mile rankings.