Distance duel comes down to final step

Sally Meyerhoff girls mile showdown involving two of the nation's elite runners ends in dramatic fashion; Hamilton's Loff nearly takes down 800 record, with Desert Vista's Wolf, Saguaro's Barney, Volcano Vista's Cleveland and Boulder Creek's Lozano also running personal bests

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Allie Schadler hadn't lost a race in Arizona in two years.

Brie Oakley hadn't lost to anyone at any distance in nearly nine months.

So it was only fitting that the highly anticipated matchup involving two of the nation's most talented seniors in the Sally Meyerhoff girls mile race Saturday at the 77th NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational was decided by the narrowest of margins.

And the heavyweight showdown resulted in somewhat of a split decision.

Oakley, who made her debut at Austin Field after traveling with her team from Grandview CO, was credited with the mile victory in 4 minutes, 46.97 seconds, ahead of Rio Rico's Schadler in 4:46.98.

But what made the outcome even more dramatic was that the second camera capturing the 1,600-meter splits had Schadler ahead of Oakley by a 4:45.39 to 4:45.43 margin.

"I think it was great. To finally have somebody pass me, Allie is a great competitor and I was just excited to have a really great race (Saturday)," Oakley said. "That last 100 was definitely crazy. It was amazing."

Oakley had prevailed two weeks ago against Schadler 9:56.06 to 10:13.74 in the New Balance Nationals Indoor 2-mile championship race at The Armory in New York City after setting the national high school record in the 5,000 meters March 10 by clocking 15:55.75.

But Schadler, who ran 4:43.18 in the Prefontaine Classic high school mile in 2015, believed the four-lap race would be the ideal setting to challenge Oakley, who won the Simplot Games 1,600 title Feb. 18 in 4:48.53.

"The mile is my favorite event and it's my strongest, but running against Brie at NXN and New Balance, I know she's very fast and very strong, so I knew she would push me to a fast time," Schadler said. "I love running against her."

Oakley and Schadler ran stride for stride through 1,200 meters at 3:36.1. Schadler surged with 250 meters left and held a 5-meter advantage over Oakley with less than 100 remaining.

At the 1,600 split, the Washington-bound Schadler was still a half-step ahead of Oakley, but with her last six strides, the Cal signee managed to overcome the deficit and prevail in the closest outcome of her high school career.

"I think I definitely need to work on my shorter distance," Oakley said. "The mile is not my favorite. I love the 2 mile and coming down to the mile, I knew I'd have to work a lot harder and just to have a great competitor like Allie to push us to a fast time, it was definitely good."

Oakley hadn't lost a race since placing third in the 2-mile June 18 at the Brooks PR Invitational, going undefeated in her cross country season capped by winning the Nike Cross Nationals title Dec. 3 in Oregon. She later placed sixth in the 800 in 2:15.67, a seven-second improvement from last year's Colorado state final.

Even with the narrow setback, Schadler appreciated being part one of the most memorable races in meet history in her final Rotary appearance, with Oakley and her ranking second and third all-time in the mile behind only the 4:46.17 in 2015 from Desert Vista graduate Dani Jones, a two-time NCAA indoor champion at Colorado.

"It was very fun and exciting," Schadler said. "It's been a while since I've been in that close of a race. I really liked it."

Hamilton junior Melanie Loff nearly missed breaking Jones' 2015 meet record 2:11.42 in the 800, clocking 2:11.43 to rally past Chandler sophomore Morgan Foster (2:11.59) in a showdown of two of Arizona's elite middle distance runners.

"My coach and I talked about it. I've raced her before, I love racing her and we knew what we had to do to beat her," Loff said. "I've got the sprint base and we've been working on that. I did what I had to do and dropped the hammer."

Loff, who placed 12th at last year's Division 1 state final, lowered her personal best by more than three seconds to edge Foster, the fastest freshman in the country last year at 2:07.06.

In a tightly packed race with 350 meters remaining, Foster -- third in the mile in 4:55.17 -- tried to avoid being boxed in near the rail and attempted to move to an outside lane on the curve. Although Loff and Foster avoided contact, several other runners near the back of the pack got tangled, resulting in Chandler senior LaMeyah Charlton being knocked to the ground and not finishing the race.

"It just gives me more confidence for state and that big pack at state," Loff said. "I know that whole issue over there is going to happen at state or could happen at state, I should say."

After placing sixth in the mile in 5:00.16, Desert Vista AZ junior Haley Wolf returned to win the 3,200 in a personal-best 10:47.72, holding off Regis Jesuit CO freshman Isalina Colsman in 10:50.43.

"It gives me some confidence going on through the season," said Wolf, who was edged in last year's 3,200 by a 10:48.17 to 10:48.84 margin against Arena Lewis of Belen, NM.

"After the mile, I just regrouped and tried to get ready for this race and it went pretty well. I just tried to keep pulling ahead. They were pretty close the whole time."

Volcano Vista junior Jericho Cleveland followed Friday's open session record 9:18.11 in the 3,200 by winning the elite mile Saturday in 4:18.67 ahead of fellow New Mexico standout Harrison Smith III of El Dorado and Arizona Division 2 state cross country champion Manny Olivo-Quinones of Buena.

"It really boosted my confidence because I didn't think I could run those even splits just by myself. After doing that (Friday) night, it showed me that I could have the endurance to keep going and do strong (Saturday)," said Cleveland, who had a 1,600 split of 4:17.15.

"I just figured the slow pace for the first two laps was really going to benefit me because I'm usually more of a kick runner and after that third lap, I knew I could take it if I kicked right at 300 to go, I knew I had (Harrison)."

Michael Barney of Saguaro AZ won the elite 3,200 in 9:14.47, a personal best by more than 14 seconds and No. 5 in meet history.

"I just felt good (with 800 left), so I wanted to go and I just went. I felt great still," Barney said. "I'm pretty excited about it. I'm just hoping I can keep getting down there toward 9 minutes."

Daniel Lozano of Boulder Creek AZ won the boys elite 800 in a personal-best 1:55.01.