Alexa Efraimson placed sixth in the 1500m finals at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The 19-year-old will compete for a spot in the 1500m again at these championships, two weeks before she races at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Distance
800m
Who: Sammy Watson, Jazmine Fray, Ersula Farrow
When: Friday, 5:55 p.m. PT [First Round]; Saturday, 8:00 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: IAAF World Youth champion Watson is the headliner here. She's run 2:03.06 this year, barely off the 2:03.0 standard to enter the Olympic Trials. The junior from New York won Brooks PR last weekend in a relatively pedestrian 2:05 and she'll want to make this sure this one is fast as it's her last shot to go to Eugene. Helping push the pace should be Fray and Farrow, who have progressed into consistent 2:04 performers at Texas A&M and Clemson, respectively.
Watch Sammy Watson win the 800m at the Brooks PR Invitational:
1500m
Who: Alexa Efraimson, Kate Murphy, Christina Aragon, Katie Rainsberger
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. PT [First Round]; Sunday, 7:42 p.m. PT
Why: 19-year-old Nike pro Efraimson owns a PR of 4:03.39 and has run 4:06.38 this year, the No. 11 time in the U.S. She will race the 1500m at the Olympic Trials two weeks after this, where she'll see familiar faces in Murphy and Aragon. Haven't you heard? It's the year of the 1500m! Four high school girls have rewritten the U.S. all-time top 10 list this spring and all are entered here, minus Stanford commit Ella Donaghu, who is a late scratch. Murphy broke out with a 4:07.21 run to win the adidas Dream 1500m last weekend; only Mary Cain and Efraimson ran faster as preps. Aragon has run No. 4 all-time 4:09.27 while Rainsberger, a Ducks commit, ranks No. 6 all-time with her PR of 4:12.62. Rainsberger has declared for the Trials and this is her last shot to run under the 4:09.5 standard.
Watch Christina Aragon qualify for the Olympic Trials 1500m with an impressive kick:
3K
Who: Fiona O'Keeffe, Destiny Collins, Katie Rainsberger, Erin Dietz, Kate Murphy
When: Saturday, 9:00 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: Get ready for a heated rematch of the CIF State Finals 3K between O'Keeffe and Collins. Collins, a Texas recruit, won last year in 9:53, while Stanford-bound O'Keeffe won this year in 10:08. O'Keeffe is coming off a tough loss at Brooks PR, where she led for most of the race is entered in both the 3K and 5K but said at Brooks PR she will likely choose just one race. Dietz of Harvard won the 2015 Pan-American Junior Athletics Championship 3K in 9:36. Two top entrants in the 1500m will double up in the 3K: Rainsberger, the NXN champion and a 4:12 1500m runner, who says she will likely choose just one event, and Murphy, who says she is considering doing both events but wants to make sure she books a ticket to Poland.
O'Keeffe talks about keeping the pace honest at Brooks PR:
5K
Who: Anna Rohrer, Fiona O'Keeffe, Amy Davis, Bella Burda
When: Friday, 9:00 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: Two-time Foot Locker champion Rohrer redshirted the outdoor season after a strong freshman campaign for the Fighting Irish that saw her place fourth in the 5K at the NCAA Indoor Championship and set a PR of 15:32.03. O'Keeffe, the California state 3200m champion, said she will choose between the 5K and 3K here. The Stanford commit has run 16:28.35 on the track. Davis of Wisconsin and Burda of Villanova have both run 16:25.
3K Steeplechase
Who: Devin Clark, Rylee Bowen, Alex Harris
When: Saturday, 8:45 p.m. PT [Final]
Why: Clark set and reset the American junior record in the steeplechase multiple times this spring as a freshman for Arkansas, culminating with a 9:49.25, fifth place at the NCAA Championships. Bowen represented Team USA at the IAAF World Youth Championships last summer, though she finished behind Harris at USATF Jr. Nationals. Harris, of DMR national record-setting North Rockland High School, New York, placed third at the Pan-American Junior Championships in 10:31.79 last summer.
Watch the interview with Devin Clark after breaking her own American junior record in the 3K steeplechase at NCAAs:
10K Racewalk
Who: Lauren Harris
When: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. PT [Final]
Why: Harris, a high school junior from Sachem East High, New York, set the national high school record for the one mile racewalk at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in 6:52.23.