PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, June 19–22 — Anyone hoping to see New Jersey soph Paige Sheppard (Union Catholic, Scotch Plains) put on another show at 800 had to settle for her breaking records in other events. The shock winner of the Brooks PR 800 in a soph-record 2:01.50, at New Balance she planned to focus on the mile and the distance medley.
The mile came on Saturday, and fans could be forgiven for thinking that California star Sadie Engelhardt (Ventura) was the favorite. But the pace was gentle up front (2:20.89 at 809m), allowing a big pack to stay close to Engelhardt, who positioned herself on the leader’s shoulder and didn’t make a break until the third lap. When she did, Sheppard followed closest and in the final 100 the soph delivered a stunning sprint to win, 4:33.67–4:34.46, her time a 10th-grade record.
The next day, Sheppard opted to join her teammates on the DMR. Good call. They led every leg, with Sophia Thompson (3:25.76), Taylor Aska (53.69), and Kayla Devine (2:16.79) teeing up the chance to break the absolute HSR of 11:17.50, set indoors last year by North Carolina’s Cuthbertson. Sheppard came through with a 4:35.96 (64.9 final lap) for an 11:12.20 record-smasher.
Said Sheppard, “No matter where I am, it doesn’t really matter how you start, it’s how you finish it.”
The other headliner of the girls meet was New Jersey junior Natalie Dumas (Eastern Regional, Voorhees). Anything but a clear favorite, she still walked away with three MRs and a place among the legends. First came the 400H on Friday, where she outgutted Bullis’s Sydney Sutton to the line, 55.99–56.04, putting them at Nos. 7 and 8 all-time. Later she ran a 2:03.90 on the runner-up sprint medley.
On Saturday came the 400, where she and Sutton once more tangled. Again, Dumas gutted out the win, diving across the line in 51.14, good for No. 8 all-time, as Sutton clocked 51.23.
Then on Sunday, “for fun” she said, she took on national leader Emmry Ross (Onsted, Michigan) in the 800. She followed Ross as she led through 400 in 58.85, then jumped her with 300 left. Ross did not relent, chasing hard through the last turn. The momentum seemed to belong to the Michigander as she pulled close to Dumas on the run-in, but the junior responded with a final burst that took her to the line in 2:00.11, just ahead of…
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