Rylee Blade rewrote the history books last night at Nike Indoor Nationals by shattering the old U.S. indoor 5000m record in a time of 15:16.72. Blade finished second behind Jane Hedengren, who gained the title as record holder with a blistering time of 15:13.26.
U.S. All-Time High School Girls Indoor 5K
Hedengren and Blade also went under the old indoor 5000m U20 American record of 15:20.57 set by Sarah Disanza in 2014.
From the gun, it was Blade following Hedengren, looking smooth as can be. They both went through 1600m at 4:54, looking on pace to break the record. Then Blade made history for herself by breaking the 10 minute barrier for the first time for 3200m when she split 9:50.
After the race, Blade said she didn't recognize that she even PRed for 3200m; it showed when she made a daring move to the lead with 800m to go. She threatened to take the national title for almost three laps until Hedengren made an abrupt move with about 210m to close in a 33-second last 200m.
This performance further solidifies Rylee Blade as one of the greatest Califonia high school distance runners of all-time. The Florida State University Commit also holds the U.S. high school three-mile cross country record from the 43rd Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic last year.
Blade is also entered in the 2-mile, Distance Medley Relay, and 1-mile Championships. After this amazing performance, we'll see what she runs, but when talking about the rest of the weekend, Blade seems most excited to race the DMR.