The 2024 edition of the Indiana Runner Distance Showcase looks to feature some fierce competition as the indoor club season unwinds and HSR season approaches. A total of 604 entrants were made for the Distance showcase excluding relay teams which makes it one of the largest in its history.
MileSplit will have the team on site for coverage including social media updates and interviews as well as photos and race videos available after both the Sprint and Distance Showcase Meets!
Information and heat sheets for this weekend's competition can be found here. Check out some of the top entries to look out for this weekend at Wabash College!
800m Run
In the girls 800m the state leader in the event, Brinkley Cooper, has the field's best seed time with a 2:16. She ran this time a few weeks ago during the fourth meet of the Michigan Indoor Track Series at Grand Valley. Other top girls in the lineup with sub 2:20 seed times include Audrey Ricketts, Kaitlyn Stewart, and Elizabeth Butler. Of this trio Kaitlyn and Elizabeth has started their indoor campaign. Stewart raced last weekend in a stacked mile at Warsaw where she would run to a 5:07 Butler has raced twice so far this year including a new indoor full 2 mile best of 11:08.
Thomas Biltimier has the fastest entry listed in the boys 800m with a seed of 1:57. He looks to be opening up his indoor season after coming off a top 25 finish at the state cross country meet this past fall where he would be a member of the Carmel team that dominated the field. The field features 5 additional entries with sub 2 minute marks including Tyler Dillon, Caleb Winders, Drew Grogan, Jace Trevino, and Aiden Waugh. Of these runners Caleb has the fastest time of the year so far as he has run to a 1:58.52 this past month at the MLK Invite in Louisville.
1200m Run
In an event that could help coaches decide lineups for the DMR for the HSR series next month the girls 1200m looks to have a trio of competitors in the mix for the win. Kaelina Matthews, Phoebe Dowty, and Eve Schurr all have seed times of 4:00 or faster. Matthews has raced the 1600m twice this year with a 5:24 best time so far while this appears to be Phoebe's first indoor meet of the year. Schurr has had the most experience so far this season as she has competed in several meets both in and out of state. Some of her best races include a 5:15 full mile and 2:22 for the 800m so far this year.
There also appears to be three frontrunner entries in the boys 1200m as well. Gavin Rockwell, Ben Hunter, and Caelan D'Onofrio all three have a seed at 3:15 or faster and all are returners from last year's event as Hunter was runner up with Rockwell and D'Onofrio going 3-4. Rockwell looks to be kicking off his indoor campaign after having a great cross country season where he would run to a 15:31 at Nike Valley Twilight as well as be Indiana's top runner at the Mid-East Championships. D'Onofrio would just miss the podium at XC state placing 26th and Hunter would sneak his best 5K under 16 minutes at Regionals this past fall.
Mile Run
In one of the staple events of the day we look to have another exciting matchup between Ava Jarrell and Libby Dowty. The duo has already faced off twice so far this season in the 1600m with Jarrell taking the most recent victory from this past weekend at Warsaw. Ava would run to a 4:55.84 with Libby right behind at a 4:56.72. Earlier in the year at the Indiana Runner Opener Libby would run 5:00 to best Jarrell by three seconds back in January. This weekend we will be treated to an additional 9 meters of racing as the event will be a full mile.
Ian Baker enters with a seed of 4:18, the best in the field by 6 seconds. He is coming off a stellar Junior season on the grass where he would attain a PR of 15:17 as well as earn a top ten finish at state. Last year he would run to a season best of 4:14 at HCC during outdoor. The rest of the field looks to be very competitive as well with 13 athletes are listed at 4:30 or faster. Of the competitors Jackson Nolan and Corbin McGaughey look to have solid times so far this year going 4:23.80 and 4:24.75 respectively.
With this being a full mile the following conversion will be made to adjust performances to the 1600m distance. To find your converted time you can use our conversion calculator to find what your 1600m would be based on your mile result, just make sure to select "1 Mile" for the event. Our race calculator can be found here.
3200m Run
Elizabeth Butler and Hadessah Austin look to have the best entry times with a 10:47 and 10:57 respectively. Butler has ran a 11:08 earlier this year for a full 2 mile at the MLK Weekend Invite in Louisville. Hadessah looks to be opening up her indoor season after coming off a cross country season that saw her on the state podium as well as sub 18 minutes at the Charger Classic. Eleanor Barco looks to have the next best time as she is listed with a 11:09. The field will feature 10 girls with seeds at 12:00 or faster.
The boys race looks like it could be one of the first 3200m races of the year featuring multiple elite Indiana runners in the same race. Martin Barco and Shane Conroy are listed at 9:05 and 9:06 with several others at 9:45 or faster. So far this year Cameron Todd has ran a 8:57 converted 3200m with Jackson Nolan and Ralph Brown at 2-3 with times of 9:16 and 9:24. Conroy's win from two weeks ago at the Indiana Runner Indoor Invitational has him 4th at 9:33.61. Kyle Montgomery, Neal White, Jacob Mitchell , Carson Brown and Chris Ross could all be in the mix as well. After this weekend we could see a huge shakeup on this performance list as many prepare for the HSR qualifying season. The field also features 19 boys with seed times of 10:00 or faster.
DMR
The showcase will wrap up with 6 teams in the girls DMR and 12 teams in the boys race. SLAYERS has the best seed time for the girls at 12:52 while Soar with the Eagles and The Spartan Project both have the best seeds for the boys at 11:00.