Photo by Daniel Hernandez/California MileSplit
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Ventura High distance standout Sadie Engelhardt opened her sophomore track and field season on Sunday, running the mile indoors at the Spokane HS Invitational.
Engelhardt, who set the national freshman class record for the indoor mile last March, won the invitational division race at The Podium in 4 minutes, 47.55 seconds, a gap of more than 16 seconds over Nicole Bissell of Spokane Speed.
The time for Engelhardt, who competed unattached, was just about 10 seconds over her freshman standard, and it fell just a few seconds off the national sophomore class record of 4:40.01, set by Ellie Shea last year.
Engelhardt is scheduled for at least two more indoor meets this winter, undoubtedly looking to add her name to another category in the record books.
In Sunday's race, she ran splits of 36.010, 35.858, 35.998, 36.566, 36.212, 35.434, and 35.176.
The winter season for the 16-year-old is also scheduled to include two trips to Boston to compete in the New Balance Grand Prix Series sandwiched around her scheduled outdoor debut with the Ventura High team at the Don Green Invitational in early March.
It was at New Balance National Indoor in New York last spring where she went 4:37.40 to establish a national indoor freshman class record.
That undoubtedly helped kick off a jaw-dropping freshman season where Engelhardt ran CA state records for 1500 meters (4:11.79) and 1600m (4:33.29), as well as the No. 2 mark ever CA in the mile (4:35.16). She won the CIF-Southern Section divisional titles in the 800m and 1600m and went on to win the CIF-State title in the four-lap race and placed second in the two-lapper.
This fall, Engelhardt's sophomore cross country season included CIF-Southern Section and CIF-State Division II titles, a win at the CHAMPS Sports West Regionals, and a 10th-place finish at CHAMPS Nationals in San Diego, earning All-America honors.
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File photo by Daniel Hernandez