With the 2024 Texas Distance Festival just days away, anticipation for what's sure to be yet another impressive meet is nearing its peak.
While we've already given a preview into some of the key entries in each event, several additional entrants could have a real impact on this weekend's races.
Whether it be a further injection of speed into a loaded 800m field or another round of cross-country talent taking to the track over 5000m, the races this weekend are looking fast. We're excited to see yet another showcase of Texas's elite distance talent.
800m
As is well known in the distance community, the 800m has never been the most coveted race at Texas Distance Festival with much of the attention being geared toward the longer distances. However, it more than makes up for its lack of priority with the amount of talent we see throughout the field each year.
This year is no different, the field possesses several top talents from the state and surrounding region.
So, let's take a look at the final entries for the Girls 800m race and get an idea of who the top contenders are and what they can produce this weekend.
University of Oregon commit and Flower Mound senior Samantha Humphries currently holds the top seed time with a 2:07.68 that won her the UIL State Championship back in 2022.
Humphries has been a staple of Texas distance running for several years, and one look at her career will tell you exactly why. She currently holds personal bests of 2:07.68 over 800m, 4:40.10 over 1600m, 10:02.95 over 3200m, and 16:52.90 over 5000m.
Humphries is a true jack of all trades and we'll see her contest her shortest distance this weekend. We'd expect to see her come away with the win and get near or under the 2:07 mark based on some of the impressive results she's had to start the season.
Northside Brennan junior Caila Lyons comes into this weekend with the second fastest seed time in the form of a 2:09.82, a time that got her second place at the UIL State Meet last year.
Lyons is a true triple threat as she's shown an ability to run fast over 400m, 800m, and 1600m. She currently holds additional personal bests of 55.50 in the 400m and 4:54.90 in the 1600m.
Look for Lyons to end up around the 2:10 mark this weekend and be at the front of the field. She has a diverse skill set with a unique blend of speed and endurance that makes her a true threat over this distance.
Smithson Valley junior Mia Perez comes into this weekend with the third fastest time in the field thanks to the 2:11.09 that she ran at last year's TTFCA Meet of Champions.
Perez has a similar skill set to Caila Lyons in the way that she's shown range and proficiency from 400m to 1600m. She currently holds personal bests of 59.46 and 4:57.94 in both events respectively and that's surely helped her become a better 800m runner.
Look for Perez to run in the range of her personal best this weekend and continue to build momentum in the way she did last year as the season goes on.
Austin Anderson junior Faith Murphy comes into Texas Distance Festival with the fourth fastest time in the field in the form of a 2:11.16 that she set at last year's meet.
Murphy has primarily been a 400/800m specialist throughout her career, and it's served her well as she's found substantial success in both events. Her outdoor 400m personal best currently sits at 57.16, but she ran even faster indoors this year when she ran 57.04 at New Balance Nationals.
Look for Murphy to be in prime shape this weekend as she had a rapid indoor season, she'll likely go around the 2:10 mark and maybe even dip under it if everything goes well.
Slotting into the final spot in the top five is University of Texas commit and The Woodlands senior Gia Kurp. Similar to most of the field, Kurp has had her best performances over 400m and 800m and she's proven to be a state-caliber competitor in both.
She comes into this weekend with personal bests of 57.25 and 2:11.22 respectively and looks to be in good shape to build on these performances.
Look for Kurp to be at the front of the race and run around the 2:10-2:11 mark if the race is as fast as it's expected to be.
Additional Runners to Watch:
Hailey Johnson: 2:11.78 (800m)
Grace Kowalski: 2:13.69 (800m)
Vanessa Vezga: 2:14.19 (800m)
Ivy Parada: 2:14.19 (800m)
Yaneli Rocha: 2:14.23 (800m)
1600m
While the 1600m may be one of the events that seems to be overlooked at the Texas Distance Festival from time-to-time, that surely won't be the case this year as the field is truly stacked. There's a lot of potential to run fast in this race and there are many contenders to do so. So, let's find out who they are.
University of Oregon commit and Flower Mound senior Nicole Humphries is the second Humphries sister to come into this weekend seeded first. Much like her sister, Nicole is extremely talented and boasts a wide range of skills from 800m to 5000m.
Her current 1600m personal best sits at 4:44.91 which gives her the top seed by 3.5 seconds. In addition to her 1600m, she also holds impressive personal bests of 2:06.82 over 800m, 10:11.87 over 3200m, and 17:07.52 over 5000m.
Look for Humphries to be a clear contender for the win and run in the mid-4:40s this weekend.
Fellow Flower Mound teammate Alexandra Fox comes into this weekend with the second fastest time in the form of a 4:48.41 that she ran at the HOKA Festival of Miles last year.
Fox is yet another Flower Mound distance runner who's shown great skill over a wide variety of distance events. She holds additional personal bests of 2:15.34 over 800m, 10:18.43 over 3200m, and 17:22.00 over 5000m.
Look for Fox to be up at the front with her teammate and lower her already impressive personal best into the mid-4:40s.
Juliet Frum of Mountain Vista High School (CO) comes into this weekend with the third fastest seed time in the form of a 4:50.57 that she set at the HOKA Festival of Miles.
Frum has found most of her success over 1600m and longer distances as she has a 5000m personal best of 16:53.21 along with a 3200m personal best of 10:52.04.
Frum has proven to be a great all-around distance talent throughout her career and look for her to showcase that this weekend by potentially dipping under the 4:50 mark.
Sliding into the fourth spot in the top five of this weekend's entries is Oklahoma State University commit and Lucas Lovejoy senior Kailey Littlefield.
Throughout her career, Littlefield has shown an ability to run quite literally any race as she's competed anywhere from the 100m to 300m hurdles, all the way to the 5000m. Her main strengths have been over 800m and 1600m where she's run 2:06.21 and 4:50.36 respectively. She also currently holds a 55.60 personal best over 400m.
Littlefield has the most impressive range in the state and look for her to utilize it this weekend to break the 4:50 barrier if everything goes well.
University of Illinois commit and Berthoud senior Jaycee Williams comes into this weekend holding the fifth-fastest seed time. Williams set her current personal best of 4:51.64 at the HOKA Festival of Miles like many of the other runners in this field and she'll look to build on that this weekend.
She's performed well over 800m as well in her career and she holds a 2:12.99 personal best, and look for her to perform well this weekend as she's shown an ability to live up to high expectations against some of the nation's best talent.
Additional Runners to Watch:
Bella Nelson: 4:51.76 (1600m)
Peyton Adams: 4:52.27 (1600m)
Katherine Valentine: 4:53.16 (1600m)
Hannah Stuart: 4:54.28 (1600m)
Felicity Hamilton: 4:54.33 (1600m)
Madison Peters: 4:56.23 (1600m)
3200m
Moving towards the more distance-oriented events of the weekend, this year's 3200m looks to be yet another quality field in a long line of them.
So, let's take a look and see who the contenders are along with some additional runners to watch.
Junior Emma Wade of Cedar Park Vista Ridge currently holds the fastest seed time in the form of a 10:38.36 that she ran at last year's Texas Distance Festival. She also holds some impressive personal bests over 800m, 1600m, and 5000m with times of 2:13.84, 4:48.67, and 17:53.00 respectively. Look for her to be near the 10:30 mark this weekend and likely come away with the win if she has a good race.
San Antonio Antonian junior Micaela Villarreal currently holds the second fastest official time in the form of a 10:46.06 which she also set at last year's meet. Villarreal is another runner with a great range of events as she holds additional personal bests of 2:15.32 over 800m, 4:58.30 over 1600m, and 17:45.50 over 5000m. Look for her to be at the front this weekend and run near the 10:40 mark.
Santa Fe High School junior Natalie Duggan currently holds the third fastest official time in the form of a 10:58.68 that she set to open up her outdoor season. She also holds additional personal bests of 2:19.25 over 800m, 5:05.21 over 1600m, and 17:35.32 over 5000m.
Austin Vandegrift senior Annie Burton slots into the number four seed thanks to a 10:59.58 that she opened up her outdoor season with. She also holds additional personal bests of 5:08.57 over 1600m and 18:28.50 over 5000m.
Slotting into the fifth and final spot in the top five is Riverdale Ridge senior Payton Meineke with a personal best of 11:00.78. She also holds additional personal bests of 5:00.97 over One Mile and 17:31.80 over 5000m.
Additional Runners to Watch:
Addison Scott: 11:01.66 (3200m)
Kapri Parry: 11:03.27 (3200m)
Liliana Campos: 11:08.01 (3200m)
Kaitlyn Gale: 11:08.15 (3200m)
Brooklyn Albert: 11:10.01 (3200m)
5000m
Moving on to the final and perhaps most highly anticipated race of the weekend, the Girls 5000m is sure to be a stacked race with one of the faster fields that you'll see in the nation this year.
With a national record holder and a host other other elite talent, this year's field is sure to produce something special.
Boerne Champion sophomore and national record holder Elizabeth Leachman holds the fastest seed time by fifty-one seconds with her incredible 16:07.60 that she set in the fall. Just this past weekend at the Nike Indoor Nationals, She ran 9:44.16 in the two mile and then 15:28.90 in the 5,000m to set a new indoor national record. The outdoor 5,000 national record is 15:25.93, set by Natalie Cook (Flower Mound) in 2022 and it is in jeopardy this weekend.
On top of these mind-boggling time, Leachman also holds incredible personal bests of 2:13.97 over 800m, 4:48.55 over One Mile, and 9:43.74 over 3200m. Look for Leachman to quickly run away with the race and likely break the 16:00 barrier with relative ease.
Slotting into the number two spot is Mountain Vista junior and star Keeghan Edwards. Edwards holds a current personal best of 16:58.16 over 5000m, making her one of the top girls in the country.
On top of this, she also holds impressive personal bests of 2:15.32 over 800m, 4:49.60 over 1600m, and 10:25.43 over 3200m. Edwards has incredible range and endurance, and look for her to come away with a big personal best on Saturday.
Southlake Carroll senior and Auburn University commit Alexandra Walsh comes into this weekend with the third-fastest seed time in the form of a 17:05.92 which she set at last year's meet.
She also holds impressive personal bests of 4:59.70 over 1600m and 10:28.56 over 3200m. Look for her to break the 17:00 barrier this weekend and fight for a place on the podium.
Sliding into the number four seed is another Southlake Carroll senior in the form of University of New Mexico commit Sylvia Schwedler.
She comes into this weekend with a personal best of 17:27.80. She also holds additional personal bests of 5:04.68 over 1600m and 10:44.61 over 3200m. Look for her to run under the 17:20 mark this weekend with a good race.
Coming into the fifth and final spot in the top five is University of Texas commit and Frisco Liberty senior Sydni Wilkins. Wilkins comes into this weekend with a personal best of 17:38.69. She also holds additional personal bests of 5:18.63 over 1600m and 10:58.62 over 3200m. Look for her to break into the 17:20s this weekend with a good race.
Additional Runners to Watch
Kathryn Koonts: 17:42.00 (5000m)
Adelynn Rodriguez: 17:42.21 (5000m)
Loghan Gonzales: 17:45.00 (5000m)
Caroline Fender: 17:51.00 (5000m)
Charlotte Martin: 17:57.25 (5000m)
Sarayu Veluri: 17:58.95 (5000m)
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for some exciting racing on Saturday.