Scotts Valley junior Boothby becomes second athlete in meet history to sweep elite girls 1,600 and 3,200 races, St. Mary’s Malko-Allen is first to repeat in boys 1,600, with Monte Vista’s Peters earning three straight girls 800 wins; Long and Miller prevail, as Campolindo girls and Santa Cruz boys take DMRs

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

DUBLIN, Calif. – Whether it was wearing many hats, in this case championship sombreros, achieving multiple personal-best performances or running both individual events and relay legs less than 90 minutes apart at the end of a 14-hour schedule, many of the top athletes in Northern California and Nevada were more than happy to pull double duty Saturday at the 15th Dublin Distance Fiesta.

And no competitor enjoyed more success than Scotts Valley junior Ashlyn Boothby, who became only the second female athlete in meet history to sweep the elite sections of the 1,600 and 3,200 meters at Dublin High’s Gaels Stadium.

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

Boothby achieved lifetime-best efforts in both races, clocking 4 minutes, 49.29 seconds in the 1,600 along with 10:26.12 in the 3,200, joining Albany High graduate and Washington freshman Sophia Nordenholz in winning both races, which she accomplished at the 2021 Dublin Social Distance Fiesta.

Boothby became the first California competitor this season to run sub-4:50 and under 10:30 on the same day, matching the success of Santa Rosa Montgomery’s Hanne Thomsen at last year’s meet.

Thomsen achieved the impressive double on the same day three times last season, with Newbury Park’s Samantha McDonnell, Poway’s Mackenzie Rogers and Nordenholz all achieving the feat once last year.

Monte Vista senior Cate Peters, a Stanford signee, became the first female athlete since San Ramon California’s Alyssa Brewer in 2017-18 to produce consecutive victories in the elite section of the girls 800. Peters also won the 800 in 2:17.51 at the 2021 Dublin Social Distance Fiesta in her high school debut in the event.

Relying on 62-second pacing through the first lap by sophomore teammate Cate Miller, Peters completed her first 800 since June with a 2:11.04 performance, separating herself early from College Park senior Jessica Chisar (2:16.87), Tamalpais sophomore Emma Gardner (2:18.01) and Clayton Valley senior Isabelle Ruff (2:18.06).

Mateo Malko-Allen of St. Mary’s Berkeley, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit, became the first competitor in meet history to win back-to-back boys 1,600 titles. He led 11 athletes under 4:20, contributing to the most sub-5 performances in a single meet in the world with 411, surpassing the previous all-time mark of 405 at the Azusa Pacific Meet of Champions Distance Classic.

Malko-Allen benefited from a conservative early pace, before surging ahead of Albany junior Lucas Cohen (4:15.37) in the final 300 meters to prevail in a personal-best 4:13.40.

Malko-Allen, who won last year in 4:14.55, returned Saturday in pursuit of his first 800 championship, but Piedmont senior Parker Long dropped 10 seconds from last year to triumph in 1:53.25.

Menlo’s Justin Pretre, a Cal commit, placed second in 1:53.71, with Malko-Allen taking third in a personal-best 1:54.40.

San Jose Pioneer sophomore Carson Hedlund finished fourth in a lifetime-best 1:55.36 after securing third in the 1,600 in 4:15.73.

Monte Vista’s Ethan Miller produced the most thrilling finish of the meet in the elite section of the boys 3,200, benefitting from the support of his younger sister Cate and several teammates to rally in the final 50 meters by using his long stride to edge Larkspur Redwood’s Daegan Cutter by a 9:00.73 to 9:00.91 margin.

Miller, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo signee, improved by 22 seconds from last season, leading nine competitors under 9:10, including Sonora sophomore Broen Holman, who completed his first 3,200 in nearly 11 months by clocking 9:03.11 to take third.

Cohen won the penultimate section in a personal-best 9:10.16, holding off Oakdale’s Caleb Cavanaugh in 9:10.86.

Cutter, a Yale commit, returned to the track less than an hour later to anchor Redwood’s distance medley relay lineup, improving from sixth entering the final 1,600 meters to earn a third-place finish in 10:46.78.

Santa Cruz achieved a program record to secure the victory, with Jim Ratliff, Dylan Hermanson, Will Trowbridge and Eli Fitchen-Young clocking 10:37.09 to prevail against College Park (10:38.10).

Ellie Buckley and Shea Volkmer also shined in the DMR for Campolindo, following 10:41.96 and 10:42.43 performances in the 3,200 to secure seventh and eighth, respectively.

Buckley and Volkmer teamed with Meagan Kennedy and Sloan Pullen to triumph in 12:36.04. Volkmer separated herself on the 1,600-meter anchor leg from Monte Vista, which placed second in 12:50.11.

Buckley, a Boston College commit, and Volkmer were among 19 competitors to achieve sub-11 performances in the 3,200, including Redwood’s Audrey MacLean winning the penultimate section in 10:54.93.

Renae Searls, a junior at Martinez Alhambra High, produced a late surge to secure second behind Boothby in a lifetime-best 10:32.89, rebounding in impressive fashion following an 11th-place effort of 5:07.37 in the 1,600.

Rocklin Whitney’s Katie Kopec, an Oregon State signee, took third in 10:33.93 following a sixth-place performance in the 1,600 in 5:04.66.

Eleanor Raker, a sophomore at Galena High in Nevada, took advantage of favorable weather and strong competition to achieve lifetime-best efforts in both races. Raker placed second in the 1,600 in 4:55.77 and finished fourth in the 3,200 in 10:34.65.

Branson’s Adeline Johnson also produced a pair of personal-best marks, taking third in the 1,600 in 4:56.94 and placing fifth in the 3,200 in 10:39.76.

Johnson joined Boothby, along with Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura and Buchanan teammates Grace Hutchison and Elle Lomeli as the only female athletes in California to have run under 2:15 in the 800, sub-5 in the 1,600 and faster than 10:40 in the 3,200 during their prep careers.

Archbishop Mitty sophomore Evie Marheineke secured sixth in the 3,200 in a lifetime-best 10:40.56, in addition to grabbing seventh in the 1,600 in 5:04.93.

Boothby, Raker and Johnson were the only sub-5 competitors, but there were 262 athletes who achieved sub-6 efforts, just shy of the all-time mark at a single meet of 268 at the APU Meet of Champions Distance Classic.

The addition of 4x800 relays to the meet schedule showcased a thrilling girls matchup Friday, with Rio Americano, led by Olivia Schlieman and Summer Doyle, edging Lodi by a 9:50.15 to 9:50.72 margin.

Clayton Valley, highlighted by seniors Alex Walker and Alan Solari, won the boys 4x800 in 7:57.44, with Crystal Springs Uplands placing second in 7:58.90, even more impressive for the Gryphons considering they raced without their top 800 competitor in Furious Clay, a 1:52.69 performer.

Benjamin Bouie split 1:57 for Crystal Springs Uplands and returned Saturday to win the penultimate section of the 1,600 in a personal-best 4:19.38.