Record-Breaking Trio Continue To Link Up In Journey Through High School Track And Are Among The Headliners This Week At The Armory

By Mary Albl and Doug Binder of DyeStat

Three years ago at New Balance Nationals Indoor, Roisin Willis was a relatively unknown tall, lanky freshman from Stevens Point, Wis. who pulled off an historic upset, beating Athing Mu for the 800-meter title. That same weekend, Juliette Whittaker from Mount de Sales, Md., was racing in the girls freshman mile where she captured second place. Sophia Gorriaran (Providence, R.I.) wasn’t even in high school yet. 

Flash forward to March 2022 and those three have emerged as the best middle distance runners in the country and among the best prep competitors of all-time. This Friday through Sunday at The Armory in New York, after two years of absence due to the pandemic, the trio will headline a wildly talented girls middle distance field at New Balance Nationals Indoor. 

“It’s so crazy the last time I was at indoor nationals was my freshman year, and I feel like I'm such a different runner,” Whittaker said. “This is my first indoor championship race, which is exciting.”

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Added Willis: “I’m just excited to go back there and it’s kind of different to be one of the older people instead of the freshman that nobody knows. I'm excited, and we’ll see what happens.”

Whittaker, who won the Millrose Games girls mile (4:47.14), will line up in the mile on Sunday, while Willis looks to defend the 800 title from 2019. Gorriaran, running in her first NBNI, is entered in both events. 

Willis, Gorriaran and Whittaker made national headlines last summer when they qualified for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in the women's 800, with Willis and Whittaker advancing to the semifinals. Since then, all three have continued to progress and forge their own unique paths this indoor season. 

On Feb. 11 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University, Willis shattered the high school indoor 800 record of 2:01.78 held by Sammy Watson of Rush-Henrietta NY from the 2017 Millrose Games by running 2:00.06 on the notably fast track. Gorriaran, the youngest in the field, was fourth, running a personal-best 2:00.58, also well under the high school record and lowering her own World Under-18 all-time mark. The two enter Sunday’s 800 with a chance to break the meet record (2:03.59) and perhaps go under the elusive two-minute barrier. They’ll be in a field with seven other girls who have run 2:10 or faster. Besides the 800, Willis also holds the US#1 time in the 400 (53.87), while Gorriaran ranks US#1 in the 600 (1.27.7). 

“I think we (Sophia) are both striving to improve our times. For me personally I just want to see what I'm capable of doing,” Willis said. “It’s been a couple weeks since Boston. I think there’s definitely been some improvements made, but I'm just excited to see what we can do together. We've pushed each other to some fast times already this season so I'm excited to have one more go at it.”

Willis said this 800 in particular at The Armory means a little extra. 

“This is definitely a special race for me,” Willis said. “I felt like winning it as a freshman was the start of my high school career and a big eye-opener for me. I think coming back this year I'm definitely a different athlete and a different person, but it's just really exciting to have this opportunity again.”

For Whittaker, who holds a PR of 2:01.21 in the 800 (outdoors), there was some unfinished business in the mile that she wanted to focus on this winter. 

“I felt like there was a lot more I could do in the race and improve a lot more,” she said. “I felt a lot stronger and fitter after summer training and cross country. It was a hard decision for nationals between the mile and 800 because I knew in both races there would be amazing competition and bring about some fast times, but ultimately I decided I feel fit and ready to run a fast mile, and so I really want to see what I can do.”

Whittaker, who brings in a mile PR of 4:38.65 from last summer at Brooks PR, will be in a field with seven other girls who have run 4:46 or faster, including Ellie Shea of Massachusetts, Gorriaran and California freshman Sadie Engelhardt, who has run 4:38.24 outdoors. The meet record is 4:36.61 from 2016.

Like Willis and Gorriaran, Whittaker has experienced an historic indoor season. After dealing with an injury and missing the opportunity to run at a few premier meets, she seized the moment on Feb. 26 at the Ocean Breeze Elite High School Invitational, running 2:39.41 in the 1,000 to break the national high school indoor record of 2:40.72 held by Watson from 2017. Willis currently holds US#2 in the 1,000 (2:43.34), while Gorriaran is #3 (2:43.52). 

“I definitely had been wanting to chase after that record this whole season,” Whittaker said. “I was confident enough in my training but obviously not like this would be easy, I knew it would be hard, but I definitely thought it was dobale and after getting it, it put a lot of confidence in me. I was starting to feel just a little bit of doubt in myself, I was feeling a little nervous with all the amazing performances by Roisin and Sophia, and I was feeling a bit out of it and this gave me a lot of confidence in myself and my training.”

Come this weekend, Willis, Whittaker and Gorriaran have a chance to leave their legacy on another meet and it will undoubtedly be another notable moment in high school distance running. 

“All three of us qualifying for the Trials was just crazy enough and not many times do we see high schoolers qualifying for the Trials, and the fact we had three in the same exact event was incredible,” Whittaker said. “And this year with them running 2-flat and even in the mile so many girls running low 4:40s, it definitely says a lot about high school mid-distance right now and it’s just so exciting to be a part of.”

That trio is one of many storylines to follow at The Armory. The early commitments of Newbury Park CA, Bullis MD and Union Catholic NJ helped set the stage for New Balance Nationals as it became a competitive situation with the Nike/NSAF meet, also this weekend at Staten Island. NBNI has nearly twice the entries. 

Newbury Park, with its supremely talented sets of brothers, Colin Sahlman and Aaron Sahlman and Leo Young and Lex Young, are poised to smash the 4xMile record on Saturday afternoon. The record is 17:01.81. Newbury Park entered a seed time of 16:20 and that may be a conservative estimate. 

The Sahlman brothers are also entered in the boys 800. 

Shawnti Jackson, the high school record holder in the girls 60 meters, is entered in that event and also the 200. She faces competition from Kaniya Johnson, Kaila Jackson, Laila Campbell and Madison Whyte -- a handful of the top sprinters in the country. 

The boys sprints are also loaded, particularly in the 200 where a showdown of Jordan Anthony, Justin Braun, Terrell Robinson Jr, Isaiah Monroe, Shamali Whittle, Fitzroy Ledgister and Nyckoles Harbor could produce an extra jolt of excitement. 

Braun, from Westerville Central OH, won Ohio indoor titles in the 60 and 200 last weekend. He is also the top seed in the boys 400 this weekend at NBNI with a best of 46.38. 

The boys mile has the potential to be a memorable event in a weekend stuffed with big matchups. It features James Donahue from Belmont Hill MA., who ran 4:02.25 at the BU Last Chance Meet for US#3, Connor Burns of Southern Boone MO, who ran US#4 4:02.96 at the Iowa State Classic, Zane Bergen of Niwot CO, who ran 4:03.90 last June, Gary Martin of Archbishop Wood Catholic PA and Gavin Sherry of Conard CT. Eastbay Cross Country champion Riley Hough from Hartland MI is also in the event. 

Natalie Cook, the Eastbay and RunningLane cross country champion from Flower Mound TX, leads the field in the girls 2-mile. Cook has not raced indoor this season, but opened her outdoor campaign with a 4:44.7 1,600 meters last weekend. Cook is also bringing teammates and will compete in the 4xMile. 

The top two 60-meter hurdles in the country, Andre Korbacher from Washington and Blaise Atkinson from North Carolina, are both entered in the event. 

Oak Park MI (Motor City TC) star Nonah Waldron, the top female hurdler in the country, will contest the 60-meter hurdles and is also a key member of a national record chase in the shuttle hurdles relay. Waldron is also part of a sprint medley relay team that has national title hopes. 

Among the big relay matchups, a showdown in the girls 4x800 and distance medley relays between Union Catholic NJ and the Purple Track Club (Ann Arbor Pioneer MI) are also highlights. The Michigan group ran 11:21.95 for a sensational time that exceeded the national outdoor record in the DMR with sophomore Rachel Forsyth on the anchor. UC's lineup has been strengthened by the addition of Peyton Hollis. 

In the field events, Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan of Woonsocket RI is looking to cement his legacy as one of the best combo weight-shot put athletes of all-time and is ranked US#1 in both events. 

Alyssa Jones from Miami Southridge is the top entry in the girls high jump and long jump. 

Brion Stephens from Warren Central IN is the favorite in the boys high jump and cleared 7 feet last weekend in his first outdoor meet of 2022. 

Allison Neiders from the Northwest Pole Vault Academy in Washington tops the field in the girls pole vault. She jumped 14 feet last year. Emery Prentice from Vanderbilt Catholic LA has jumped 13-6.25 this season. 

Wyatt Stewart from Madison KY and Justin Rogers from Hershey PA both have 17-foot clearance to their credit and lead the boys pole vault field.

Gregory Foster of Lawrenceville NJ is the U.S. leader in the long jump and is also a threat in the triple jump and the 60 hurdles. 

Another big matchup is set for the girls shot put, where US#2 Emma Callahan from Shenango PA and US#3 Trinity Franklin of Bullis MD will compete for the title.

Making the trip out from Colorado, Agur Dwol will put her US#1 girls triple jump mark (42-0.75) to the test when she faces Tamiah Washington from Utica NY, US#2 at 41-1. Washington will also get a rematch with Alexandra Kelly of Rocky Point, who beat her at last weekend's New York state meet. Kelly jumped 39-6 to Washington's 38-10.25.