Jane Hedengren's On a Roll - U20 Record at the Bryan Clay Invitational

Editor’s Note: We’re at the Mt. SAC Relays today-tomorrow and interviews are popping here as they happen. Here’s a bit about the Bryan Clay Invitational this week. Results. Fun fact: We first met Lexy Halladay-Lowry in the 7th grade. The next year she was featured in Youth Runner Magazine. Next up will be coverage of the Boston High School mile.

Samuel leads five of top 16 all-time collegiate outdoor men’s 5,000 efforts by winning in 13:05.87, with New Mexico teammate Kosgei holding off Halladay-Lowry of BYU by a 14:52.45 to 14:52.93 margin to highlight four of the top six collegiate women’s outdoor 5,000 performances in history, as Hedengren takes third competing unattached and sets American U-20 record at 14:57.93; Silva gets NAIA men’s 5,000 mark, with Rose repeating in women’s 800 and Reinheimer also securing victory

Azusa Pacific University’s Bryan Clay Invitational is named after the former elite APU decathlete, but Thursday the meet was celebrated for the deepest 5,000-meter races in collegiate history.

Post-event interviews

The women’s invitational 5,000 produced four of the top six all-time NCAA outdoor marks in the event, with the men’s 5,000 highlighted by a new outdoor record by New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel and five of the top 16 all-time marks.

The women’s race was won by New Mexico freshman Pamela Kosgei (14:52.45), which was the second-best NCAA outdoor time, trailing only the 14:52.18 achieved at last year’s NCAA Division 1 final by Parker Valby of Florida.

Second place, and the No. 3 all-time mark, was achieved by BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry (14:52.93), with fourth place (No. 5 all-time) secured by Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi (15:04.65), and fifth place (No. 6 all-time) earned by Chloe Scrimgeour of Georgetown (15:05.40).

Sophia Kennedy of Stanford secured sixth and still ascended to the No. 10 all-time collegiate outdoor performer at 15:11.12.

The third-place finisher in the race did not qualify for an all-time NCAA mark, although the 14:57.93 performance was an indication of what the future might hold for the athlete in the collegiate ranks.

Jane Hedengren, a senior at Timpview High in Utah who has committed to BYU, was running unattached in the elite field.

Less than a week ago at the Arcadia Invitational, Hedengren set a high school national record in the 2-mile race by clocking 9:34.12.

Her time Thursday not only lowered her own American Under-20 absolute 5,000 record from 15:13.26 on March 13 at Nike Indoor Nationals in New York, but it also marked the earliest date ever on the outdoor calendar that a World U-20 athlete produced a sub-15 performance.

Hedengren became only the third 18-year-old competitor globally to ever achieve a sub-15 effort on American soil, with two athletes from Ethiopia achieving the feat in an elite professional race at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field.

“I wanted to come out here and compete and stay really calm,” Hedengren said. “This was a new thing tonight (running against pros and college athletes). Regardless of what came at me, I wanted to put myself in it and enjoy it.”

For most of the race, Hedengren, Kosgei and Halladay-Lowry were in a pack together and even with 400 meters left, Hedengren was just 1.03 seconds behind the leader.

Kosgei was initially confused at Hedengren’s success.

“I thought she might have been a pacemaker,” Kosgei said with a smile about Hedengren. “I was confused.” 

Samuel set a new outdoor record in the men’s 5,000 (13:05.87), while his teammate, Ishmael Kipkurui – the fastest collegiate athlete in history in the 10,000 at 26:50.21– was second in 13:09.24 (No. 4 all-time) followed by Cal Baptist’s Valentin Soca (13:13.10, No. 7 all-time), Washington State’s Evans Kurui (13:16.01, No. 12) and Northern Arizona’s Drew Bosley (13:17.06, No. 16).

“My teammate is my main competitor, so it’s good,” Samuel said. “After indoor, I was a bit disappointed, but it’s good to come back and get the college rec

Samuel ran 13:04.92 in February at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University, elevating him to the No. 4 all-time collegiate indoor 5,000 competitor.

Evert Silva of Oklahoma City set an NAIA record of 13:27.76 to win the second invitational men’s 5,000 section.

Earlier in the day, the women’s elite 800 meters was won by LSU’s Michaela Rose in 2:00.22, even though she was unable to improve on her meet record set last year in 1:58.37.

Rose, who has been the top collegiate athlete three consecutive years at Bryan Clay, edged Northern Arizona’s Maggi Congdon (2:00;27), Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan (2:00.61) and Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker (2:00.76).

Congdon became the 14th-fastest outdoor 800 runner in NCAA history, with Rose remaining the No. 2 all-time collegiate athlete, both indoors and outdoors. 

“I definitely had higher expectations (for the time),” Rose said. “Coming out here healthy and with the win is enough to get me back on my training schedule and figure out the little kinks to work out.” 

In the men’s 800, Washington’s Kyle Reinheimer won in a PR of 1:46.09, beating out six other runners who were less than a second behind, including BYU freshman Tyler Mathews, who secured second in 1:46.20, and British athlete Reece Sharman-Newell from CSU-Pueblo taking third in 1:46.50.

“I think I knew I had it with two meters to go,” Reinheimer said. “One hundred left and I was probably fifth. .. I was able to get it done at the end.”

The final section of the women’s invitational 800 looked to be a battle between two of the fastest athletes in NCAA Division 2: CSU-Pueblo’s Helen Braybrook and Academy of Art’s Lina Hanich.

Instead, the race was won by New Zealand 18-year-old athlete Boh Ritchie (2:03.76), with Dutch competitor Lieke Hoogsteen of Adams State emerging as the top Division 2 competitor, finishing second in 2:03.99.

Ritchie represented the New Zealand Secondary Schools in the invitational girls race April 12 at the 57th Arcadia Invitational and placed second in 2:06.32, before rebounding Thursday to produce the second-fastest outdoor performance of her career.

Hanich, representing Germany, ranks No. 7 all-time among Division 2 outdoor athletes at 2:03.60, with Hoogsteen elevating to No. 10 and Braybrook at No. 11 with her 2:04.11 effort.

“My main goal in this race is to run the Euros under-23 standard for the Netherlands and I did that,” Hoogsteen said. “I was really happy with it.”

Judy Rono of New Mexico won her section in 2:03.98, the second-fastest overall performance in the invitational 800 behind Ritchie.