Frias eclipses 1982 state all-time mark held by Plumer with 4:35.06 effort, rallying past national freshman record holder Engelhardt (4:36.63) at Azusa Pacific; Colin edges Aaron as Sahlman brothers both run sub-1:49 in 800, Leo Young clocks 4:00.77 mile, Gibson caps night with 8:59.91 effort

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos by Alexis Romero

There haven’t been many events during the past year where the Newbury Park boys have raced and brothers Colin Sahlman and Aaron Sahlman, along with junior twins Leo Young and Lex Young, weren’t the marquee athletes competing.

All four individuals added more depth to their remarkable high school resumes Saturday night at the Meet of Champions Distance Classic at Azusa Pacific University’s Cougar Stadium, but they were also happy to share the spotlight with two of the elite female distance runners in California prep history.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Dalia Frias, a Duke-bound senior at Mira Costa High, produced a 66.37-second split over the final 400 meters of the girls invitational mile to rally past Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt – the fastest all-time high school freshman competitor – and prevail by a 4:35.06 to 4:36.63 margin.

Frias set the California state mile record, eclipsing the 1982 mark of 4:35.24 held by former University High of Irvine star Polly Plumer, and elevated to the No. 2 outdoor prep competitor in history, trailing only the 2018 performance of 4:33.87 achieved by North Rockland High of New York standout Katelyn Tuohy.

Engelhardt, who had run 4:37.40 for an indoor mile March 13 to set the freshman class record at New Balance Nationals Indoor at The Armory in New York, improved on her own ninth-grade all-time mark to ascend to No. 4 in prep outdoor history.

She had clocked 4:38.24 at the same venue Feb. 19 at a Sundown Track Series event hosted by Newbury Park coach Sean Brosnan.

Frias also produced a 4:33.54 split for 1,600 meters, moving ahead of the 2008 performance of 4:33.82 achieved by Woodbridge High graduate Christine Babcock at the California state meet. Engelhardt ran 4:34.79 for 1,600 meters.

Oaks Christian’s Payton Godsey took third in 4:51.14 for the full mile, leading 11 athletes under the 5-minute barrier. Godsey clocked 4:49.49 for 1,600 meters.

Newbury Park had a significant impact as well, with the Northern Arizona-bound Colin Sahlman clocking 1:48.84 to edge junior Aaron Sahlman in 1:48.91 in the invitational 800 meters. The brothers became the 17th and 18th athletes in California history to run sub-1:49 for 800 meters or from a converted 880-yard effort.

Ellis Delvecchio of Thacher School ran 1:50.76 to take third, as eighth competitors produced sub-1:55 efforts.

Leo Young closed in 58.38 seconds over the final 400 meters of the invitational mile to make an inspired push to join Colin Sahlman among Newbury Park’s sub-4 club, but just missed eclipsing the barrier with a 4:00.77 performance.

Lex Young was second in 4:04.68 and Christopher Caudillo, a junior at Clovis High, took third in 4:05.32.

Conor Gibson of West Torrance capped the evening’s schedule in memorable fashion by clocking 8:59.91 in the invitational 3,200 meters for his first career sub-9 effort, before being mobbed by friends and teammates in attendance at Cougar Stadium.

Clovis East’s Carter Spradling produced almost identical 1,600 splits and placed second in 9:01.14, with Vista Murrieta’s Lance Denhalter achieving the fastest final lap of 62.86 seconds to take third in 9:02.77.

Royal’s Jonah Bazerkanian was fourth in 9:04.65, Clovis’ Nathaniel Avila finished fifth in 9:06.53, West Ranch’s Billie Issa placed sixth in 9:06.85 and Great Oak’s Ramses Cortes rounded out the group of sub-9:10 performers by clocking 9:09.09.

Buchanan’s Sydney Sundgren pulled away from the pack in the second half of the invitational 3,200 to deliver a dominant performance by prevailing in 10:30.50, leading six athletes under 11 minutes, including runner-up Denise Chen of Claremont clocking 10:45.18.

Sundgren covered the final 400 with a 72.72-second split.

Newbury Park’s Samantha McDonnell, an Alabama signee, surged to the front of the invitational 800 with a 62.45-second first lap and never relinquished control to triumph in 2:08.33, with Palos Verdes’ Anna Terrell also among the five competitors to run under 2:20.