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It's been almost two years since the last Distance Challenge was held, but after things have had a chance to calm down, we are finally back to seeing some regular meets on the calendar.  This Friday will be featuring some of the top distance talents from four different states, and they'll all be competing on the unique track at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah.

    The Oval has been known to run fast times, especially for a distance runner.  It is full of rich history and excellent marks that have left the rest of the country in awe of the performances that come from this historic venue.

    Last year's indoor season was geared more towards sprinters due to the impact of Covid, but this year the distance runners will have their chance to show what we have been missing out on.

Who and what to watch:

Boys:

The boy's races are packed with some of the best talents we've seen, and this year, we have some records that are in jeopardy of falling.

The Boy's 1600m looks to be a battle between two quick juniors, Jaron Hartshorn of Lone Peak and Tayson Echohawk of Orem.  Hartshorn ran 4:08 last outdoor season and was the 6A state champ in that event, while Echohawk ran 4:14 and was the 5A state champ in that event.  This two have the potential to run something quite amazing.  The meet record is 4:10 which is Held by Davis Alumni Logan Mackay.

    The Boy's 800m will feature Idaho standout Jacob Van Orden who comes in with a PR of 1:53 for this event. Jacob was the runner-up in the Idaho 5A finals and he is projected to be the top returner for that event.  Challenging Van Orden will be Farmington's Duo Henry Prusse and Matthew Neuenschwander who both have seed times of 1:57.

The Boys 3200m will have a tight pack of 8 guys who are all seeded at 9:40 or better. Jess Christiansen of Emery and Idaho stud Daniel Simmons both have the top seed times of 9:29.  Challenging them will be recent BYU commit Jayden Fitzgarrald of American Fork who is coming off a great cross country season

    The Boys 400m will have the BYU Indoor Invite 400m champion Henry Prusse who is also entered in the 800m.  He ran 51.54 at BYU and owns a personal best of 49.36.  It'll be interesting to see how fast he can go on a bigger track with less turn.

Girls:

The girl's race also will feature some of the top distance talents in the state of Utah as well as some elite talent from surrounding states as well.

    The Girl's 1600m will feature a slew of BYU commits including Footlocker Qualifier Taylor Rohatinsky of Lone Peak.  Rohatinsky is entered with a seed time of 5:00 and her next competitor is teammate Katie Bybee with a 5:04.  Also looking to mix things up is 6A cross country 2nd and 3rd place finishers Avalon Mecham (American Fork) and Hailey Low (Layton). Our top 7 entries were all top finishers in that 6A girl's xc race so it'll be fun to see them all back on the same starting line. 

    The Girl's 800m has only one athlete entered in at a sub 2:20 time and that is Hailey Renzello of Pocatello Idaho.  Renzello is just a sophomore and has already notched herself a state title in the 800m at the Idaho 4A state championships.  Challenging Hailey will be Caroline Moon (Lehi), Anne Coon (Skyline), and Aldana Navarrete-Lamas (Timpanogos) who all have seed times of 2:23 or better.

    The Girls 3200m seems to be the Corner Canyon vs Riverton dual race with 16 of the top 20 seed times being from one of these two schools. It'll be interesting to see how this race plays out. Corner Canyon has six girls seeded under 12 minutes!

    The Girl's 400m will feature a good amount of Gold Medal Athletics athletes who like to come to the distance meet and throw down some fast 400s.  Maili Boyer and Caroline Moon have the top seed times and both ran well at the BYU Indoor Invitational. Maison Heap of Juab and Millie Wilcox of Olympus will be up with Boyer and Moon.  All four girls are seeded at 60 seconds and change.