It's hard to ignore the last name Ritzenhein as a track fan. Former Olympian and 5000m American Record Holder Dathan Ritzenhein was a two time Foot Locker Nationals XC Champion in 1999 and 2000. We've seen his daughter Addison Ritzenhein win the 2023 Nike Cross Nationals Individual title as well as many Colorado State Championships. Now Niwot freshman Jude Ritzenhein has run the 10th fastest freshman 1600m in US history with his 4:10.95 on Saturday.
At nearly 5,200 feet altitude at his teams home Niwot Invitational, Jude took 2nd overall behind teammate Rocco Culpepper who won in 4:09.66. Along with teammate Hunter Robbie, Culpepper led through 400m in 1:02.56 and 2:07.06 through 800m. He'd come through 1200m in 3:10.15 with Ritzenhein and Robbie just behind. Culpepper would blast a 59.51 final 400m as Ritzenhein would close in 1:00.54 for 2nd and in 4:10.95 with Robbie third in 4:15.20.
While the 4:10.95 mark is impressive, being able to close in 60 seconds behind your teammate, who just ran 4:05.51 at New Balance Indoor Nationals, proves how good Ritzenhein is projecting to be this season and beyond. When you factor in altitude conversions, his predicted sea-level time is 4:05.42 per Final Surge.
Just two weeks ago Ritzenhein competed in the Emerging Elite Mile at Nike Indoor Nationals placing 10th in 4:19.26. This cross country season he placed 40th overall, the top freshman in the field, and was fourth on Niwot's National Champion team who scored 61 points to Herriman's 97.
As an 8th grader, he placed 7th at the Brooks PR Invitational running 4:33.01 for the Full Mile and 4:31.22 for 1600m.
It is only March and Ritzenhein has joined some all-time freshman in what was a big breakthrough performance. Josiah Tostenson (Crater, OR) currently holds the top All-Time mark for 1600m with a 4:07.66 conversion from a Mile in 2022. With some standout names on the list below, Ritzenhein's was the only one run prior to late April. With the Colorado state championships being May 14th-16th and a month in between Outdoor National Championship meets, it's safe to say we're on Freshman National Record watch every time Ritzenhein runs the 1600m or Mile this outdoor season!
All-Time Freshman 1600m National Rankings (Full Rankings)
It's hard to ignore the last name Ritzenhein as a track fan. Former Olympian and 5000m American Record Holder Dathan Ritzenhein was a two time Foot Locker Nationals XC Champion in 1999 and 2000. We've seen his daughter Addison Ritzenhein win the 2023 Nike Cross Nationals Individual title as well as many Colorado State Championships. Now Niwot freshman Jude Ritzenhein has run the 10th fastest freshman 1600m in US history with his 4:10.95 on Saturday.
At nearly 5,200 feet altitude at his teams home Niwot Invitational, Jude took 2nd overall behind teammate Rocco Culpepper who won in 4:09.66. Along with teammate Hunter Robbie, Culpepper led through 400m in 1:02.56 and 2:07.06 through 800m. He'd come through 1200m in 3:10.15 with Ritzenhein and Robbie just behind. Culpepper would blast a 59.51 final 400m as Ritzenhein would close in 1:00.54 for 2nd and in 4:10.95 with Robbie third in 4:15.20.
While the 4:10.95 mark is impressive, being able to close in 60 seconds behind your teammate, who just ran 4:05.51 at New Balance Indoor Nationals, proves how good Ritzenhein is projecting to be this season and beyond. When you factor in altitude conversions, his predicted sea-level time is 4:05.42 per Final Surge.
