Girls competing in the B.A.A. Middle School 1K pass Old South Church.
a 2020 Olympian at 1500 meters who a night before helped shatter the world best in the distance medley relay.
A three-time NCAA Division III champion out of aCentre College in Kentucky. the 25-year-old Rodenfels ran amid the pack of 11 women until easing up toward the leaders in the penultimate turn. “At first I was going to settle for third," said the distance specialist, “but then I was like ‘no. I came out here to test my speed against them to get better.”
Asked if she surprised herself a little with the win, Rodenfeis laughed. "I surprised myself a lot,” she admitted. ”I love the BAA. They took a chance
on me when a lot of people wouldn‘t, and | feel just as much as I want to succeed for myself as I want to succeed for them, too."
In the Scholastic Mile, which features two high school athletes from each of the eight cities and towns along the marathon course, Sam Burgess of Framingham broke the tape for the boys and Camille Jordan won for the girls.
For his victory, Burgess had to battle Tyler Tubman of Newton to the tape, with Burgess (4:25.32) barely edging Tubman (4:25.32) before crashing to the pavement in exhaustion. The fifth-fastest 2-miler in the state last year, Burgess is no stranger
to winning at this event: he is the 2018 BAA. Middle School 1K champion.
In the girls' scholastic mile, Rory Clare of Wellesley led most of the way before being caught by Camille Jordan of Brookline in the final straight. Jordan prevailed by less than a second. breaking the tape in 5:13.15 just ahead of Clare's 5:14.13.
In the Middle School 1000-meter race, John Bianchi of Natick took the win for the boys (3:05.53). while Abigail Beggans of Wellesley needed every inch of Boylston Street to eke out a win over Sasha Lamakina of Framingham in a new event record. 3:14.05 to 3:14.09.