National Record Goes Down

[Fred]

Holy crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCtnx6Jonkk

[Fred]

How do Grace Ping's times compare?  She ran in the 16's last year as an 8th grader not sure what she is doing this year.

Ping was at altitude for a year.

[nadra's babydaddy]

Lulz, half a lap in and the race is over. 

I haven't paid as much attention in recent years, but it's interesting how there always seems to be a lot more scatter in elite girls fields, with one person just blowing everyone away, while there seems to be more jockeying amongst the elite boys.  Maybe it's just my perception, but that's definitely how it was when I was in high school. 

[Coyote Mas Loco]

Lulz, half a lap in and the race is over. 

I haven't paid as much attention in recent years, but it's interesting how there always seems to be a lot more scatter in elite girls fields, with one person just blowing everyone away, while there seems to be more jockeying amongst the elite boys.  Maybe it's just my perception, but that's definitely how it was when I was in high school.

There was a wave of really good girls starting about 2011 or 2012, but they were older (as juniors and seniors). Mary Cain and Sarah Baxter sort of headed that cohort (future status questionable, Baxter no longer on Oregon's roster and hardly competed in college, Cain fallen off the radar for 2+ years now). On their heels were a bunch of really good runners, and some are making a good go of it (e.g., Katie Rainsberger at Oregon and Allie Ostrander at Boise State). And then about two or three years ago we started getting these really young phenoms like Ping and Tuohy and we'll just have to see how they develop.

Meanwhile, this has been a heyday for boys too - they're (someone) pretty much breaking 4 minute miles every year and 8:40 for 3200 (Prefontaine level, which for 40 years was extremely rare). This year it's Brody Hastey, who sports a rasta man bun and has run 4:00.05 indoors. But there are a bunch of kids right on his tail--and he got beat at NXN last fall, after being the heavy favorite. Their development tends to be a little more linear than the girls, but not always. A lot fall off once they reach college age.