Heidesch Edges Devan Kipyego For Boys Mile Win; Engelhardt Moves Late To Pass Tatum David To Win Girls Mile In Boston
By Sheridan Wilbur for DyeStat
Running fast in the mile is undeniably cool. As a runner, you’ll often hear people ask about your mile time. But the real thrill comes from winning a race against the toughest competition in the country. That’s exactly what Jackson Heidesch (Dowling Catholic IA) and Sadie Engelhardt (Ventura CA) accomplished at The TRACK at New Balance Nationals Indoor on Sunday.
Balancing speed, endurance and strategy, they threw themselves into the tape and earned victories from behind.
“I was pretty tired getting there,” said Heidesch, the Duke University commit. “It’s weird running indoor track because usually the third and fourth lap are the hardest, and the two (in the middle) threw me off.”
NEW BALANCE NATIONALS INDOOR BIG BOARD | MEET PAGE/VIDEOS
In the boys race, Miguel Pantojas (Hagerty FL) quickly took the lead as the rabbit, setting a 4-minute pace to avoid the pitfalls of slow, tactical championship races. Pantojas blazed through 880 yards in 1:58 before dipping off the track and left the field with a sub-4 mile within its grasp. But two seniors, Heidesch and Devan Kipyego (St. Raphael Academy RI) were not content to leave their final indoor race up to chance.
With a lap to go, Heidesch and Kipeygo went stride-for-stride. Kipyego didn’t linger for long and he surged to the front with a grimace across his face. Heidesh quickly responded, overtaking him on the next turn, then Kipeygo came up around the final bend.
“I thought I was done. I thought I was done,” Heidesch said.
“I tried to get Devan, but he gave one last surge. And then I had one more last little surge in me. I leaned at the line and fell through it. It got me the win, so I gotta be happy about it.”
Both boys dove across the finish line but Heidesch got there first in 4:02.25, running his final two laps in 60.27 seconds.
“That’s probably the hardest I’ve ever digged in a race before. That’s what happens when you race these national caliber athletes that push you to your very best and that’s what happened today.”
Heidesch, who came into the race with a personal best of 4:06.14, moved up to No.13 in U.S. high school history in the indoor mile.
Pushed by Kipyego, who clocked 4:02.30, and split a 59-second final 400, Heidesch said, “I had no idea if I got the win or not. I had to look up…
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