There was no shortage of California representation at the 2026 Brooks PR Invitational, with two major victories by reigning CIF State Champions from the previous week. Chiara Dailey started the competition with a win in the stacked 2-mile, Benjamin Harris then stole the 100m with a massive lean, and Aelo Curtis ended the meet with California on top.
In the boys' 100m, Benjamin Harris entered as the favorite after finishing 4th last year as a sophomore. Additionally, he was carrying a lot of confidence after winning the CIF State 100m title with a personal best of 10.14 (+3.14w) the week before.
Although Harris carried all the momentum heading into Brooks PR, he was entering a lion's den of ruthless competitors from across the country. His biggest challenge was Mile Outterbrige, who broke the Bermuda 100m national record earlier this season, and Christian Witcher, who ran a wind-aided 10.26 to start his season.
When the gun fired on Sunday, Harris' momentum was gone, and his biggest challengers gained an advantage after a bad start. Witcher earned the early advantage over the entire field, and Harris had to play catch-up over the last 50 meters. As Witcher's form faltered in the last 20 meters, Harris was in full stride and leaned as his life depended on it.
Harris won the Brooks PR 100m Invitational by one-thousandth of a second over Witcher in a time of 10.58. This win places an exclamation point on an incredible season in which he won his second Arcadia Invitational 100m, anchored Servite to U.S. top-5 all-time marks in the 4x100m & 4x200m relays, and won his first CIF State 100m title.
In the girls' 2 Mile, Chiara Dailey beat one of the best distance fields assembled this 2026 track season, which included Nataza Dudek, Blair Bartlet, and Mia Sirois.
Early in the race, she positioned herself near the front, demonstrating the confidence she gained from earning her first CIF State track victory last week. After a conservative first mile, Mia Sirois separated from the field, and Dailey wasted no time in closing that gap and trailing her for the next four laps.
Sirois did her best to drop Dailey, but as at the CIF State Meet, she made an emphatic move in the final 300 meters to run away with the Brooks PR Invitational victory. Dailey's 2:07 split in the 800m surely propelled her to victory and a new personal record of 9:49.57.
In the girls' 1 Mile, Aelo Curtis took down a loaded field, including the nation's best milers, with an impressive 64-second last lap.
In her senior season, Curtis took an unorthodox approach to the track season, racing unattached alongside collegians and amateurs throughout the spring. She still found success this year, most notably running 4:16 in the 1500m, which she converted into one of the best mile times in the nation.
On Sunday, Kaitlyn Estep controlled the pace from the start, with every other girl in the race, including Curtis, sitting behind her. It wasn't until the final 200m that Curtis moved from 5th to 1st to win the Brooks PR Invitational Mile in a personal record of 4:39.11 (U.S. #9).
This was a big confidence boost for Curtis, who hadn't raced in a month and has her sights set on qualifying for the World Athletics U20 Championships. A Brooks PR win may have been the boost she needed to qualify for the 1500m and represent Team USA next week.
There was no shortage of California representation at the 2026 Brooks PR Invitational, with two major victories by reigning CIF State Champions from the previous week. Chiara Dailey started the competition with a win in the stacked 2-mile, Benjamin Harris then stole the 100m with a massive lean, and Aelo Curtis ended the meet with California on top.
In the boys' 100m, Benjamin Harris entered as the favorite after finishing 4th last year as a sophomore. Additionally, he was carrying a lot of confidence after winning the CIF State 100m title with a personal best of 10.14 (+3.14w) the week before.
Although Harris carried all the momentum heading into Brooks PR, he was entering a lion's den of ruthless competitors from across the country. His biggest challenge was Mile Outterbrige, who broke the Bermuda 100m national record earlier this season, and Christian Witcher, who ran a wind-aided 10.26 to start his season.
