Heidesch Edges Devan Kipyego For Boys Mile Win; Engelhardt Moves Late To Pass Tatum David To Win Girls Mile In Boston

By Sheridan Wilbur for DyeStat

Photos by Keenan Gray

BOSTON – Running fast in the mile is undeniably cool. As a runner, you’ll often hear people ask about your mile time. But the real thrill comes from winning a race against the toughest competition in the country. That’s exactly what Jackson Heidesch (Dowling Catholic IA) and Sadie Engelhardt (Ventura CA) accomplished Sunday at The TRACK at New Balance Nationals Indoor.

Balancing speed, endurance and strategy, they threw themselves into the tape and earned victories from behind. 

“I was pretty tired getting there,” said Heidesch, the Duke University commit. “It’s weird running indoor track because usually the third and fourth lap are the hardest, and the two (in the middle) threw me off.” 

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In the boys race, Miguel Pantojas (Hagerty FL) quickly took the lead as the rabbit, setting a 4-minute pace to avoid the pitfalls of slow, tactical championship races. Pantojas blazed through 880 yards in 1:58 before dipping off the track and left the field with a sub-4 mile within its grasp. But two seniors, Heidesch and Devan Kipyego (St. Raphael Academy RI) were not content to leave their final indoor race up to chance. 

With a lap to go, Heidesch and Kipeygo went stride-for-stride. Kipyego didn’t linger for long and he surged to the front with a grimace across his face. Heidesh quickly responded, overtaking him on the next turn, then Kipeygo came up around the final bend. 

“I thought I was done. I thought I was done,” Heidesch said.  

“I tried to get Devan, but he gave one last surge. And then I had one more last little surge in me. I leaned at the line and fell through it. It got me the win, so I gotta be happy about it.” 

Both boys dove across the finish line but Heidesch got there first in 4:02.25, running his final two laps in 60.27 seconds.

“That’s probably the hardest I’ve ever digged in a race before. That’s what happens when you race these national caliber athletes that push you to your very best and that’s what happened today.”

Heidesch, who came into the race with a personal best of 4:06.14, moved up to No. 13 in U.S. high school history in the indoor mile. 

Pushed by Kipyego, who clocked 4:02.30, and split a 59-second final 400, Heidesch said, “I had no idea if I got the win or not. I had to look up at the scoreboard.”

Newbury Park CA's Aaron Sahlman ran 59.21 in the final 400, the fastest of the race, to earn third place the hard way in 4:05.70. 

What’s next for the mile champion?

“I’m gonna go chill. I actually have a flight to catch to Costa Rica tonight,” Heidesch said. “So, have some fun, enjoy the sun. I’ll be running there, then get back to racing in three or four weeks outdoors.” 

Kipyego leaves The TRACK with more to prove. He entered the race with the fastest indoor mile time in the field with 4:01.

“I didn’t get the time I wanted, but it was a hell of a race,” he said. “I tried. He’s a great competitor. I’m happy I could battle with Jackson.” 

Kipyego, with an outdoor best of 4:00.64, aspires to make history as the first black U.S.-born high school sub-4 miler.

“I was very excited when I found that out,” he said, looking ahead to his next battle, the Penn Relays in April.

Kipyego is determined to leave his mark before he graduates and joins his brother Darius on Iowa State’s track and field team next fall.

Engelhardt Wins It In Homestretch

Tatum David didn’t know if she’d even make it to the start line. On Friday afternoon during the girls 2-mile, the Olney (Richland County) IL senior fell on the sixth lap and dropped out.

“I was a little nervous, following the 2-mile,” she said. 

But David picked herself back up. When the gun went off on Sunday, she surged to the front.

“I just told myself to go for it and try to run a good time. It doesn’t hurt anything to run,” the Virginia commit said. “My plan was to get out fast, try not to get boxed in and get trapped. I just wanted to get out fast and stay strong.” 

David turned nerves into action, chasing no one but herself and the pace lights set for 4:34. She ran the first quarter in 68 seconds, with Engelhardt not far behind in second, and local standout Ellie Shea from Emerging Elite TC following in third. By the half, the girls fell off the pace lights, in 2:20.37. 

“The pacing lights are sometimes distracting, when it’s up front and you’re not with it, it’s like ‘oh man,’” said Engelhardt, who finished second in the NBNI mile last year as a freshman.  

Pacing lights be damned. David, Engelhardt and Shea raced each other. With two laps to go, Shea made her move on the outside, putting herself in position to win. Shea, who won the 2-mile and 5,000 earlier this weekend, looked like she might break away to earn the triple crown in her iconic blue sunglasses.

But David held onto her lead. And Engelhardt deliberately held back, biding her time. 

“I decided it would be a sit and kick race since Tatum was taking it out pretty quick,” Engelhardt said. “She was trying to kick to get rid of me in the last 300, but I stayed calm for that. Then in the last 100, I gave it my all.” 

David did the work, leading for nearly the entire race, but couldn’t respond to Engelhardt's move. 

Sling-shotting past David, Engelhardt pulled away to rightfully claim her mile title. Her time of 4:38.65 was one second off what she ran at New Balance Nationals Indoor last year when she faced Juliette Whittaker, but it would have placed her seventh in this year’s NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships. It also gave her the sophomore class indoor record. Engelhardt now owns both the freshman and sophomore all-time marks, along with the age 15 mile world record in 4:35 from the 2022 outdoor season. 

David, who ran the US#1 2-mile time in January, crossed the line to earn silver in 4:38.80.

“It means a lot to me to end my season like this,” David said in high spirits. “I wanted to come out to Boston and do something great. It means a lot to end my indoor season with a fast time.” 

Shea closed strongly after a tiring weekend to finish third in her third and final event of NBNI in 4:40.76. Seven girls ran under 4:45.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” is an adage that seniors Heidesch, Kipyego and David understand maybe more now, than ever.

For underclassmen Engelhardt and Shea, they’re just getting started.