Girls Recap: Egypt Bolan Repeats High Jump Title; Mikayla Shavers Wins Triple Jump; Ainsley Cuthbertson Wins Hammer After Overnight From West Coast

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

John Nepolitan Photos

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

PHILADELPHIA — Mallory Weller’s 63.62-second final lap made all the difference in the girls mile at New Balance Nationals Outdoor. 

The senior from Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran in Indiana passed Abigail Hennessy (Westford MA) in the last lap, making a move that neither Hennessy nor the rest of the field could answer, and broke the tape in 4:31.78 for the win.

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In one race, Weller earned her first national title, broke a meet record and became the fifth-fastest high school girl of all time in the outdoor mile.

“That still seems insane to me,” Weller said.

Weller came into the weekend without a lot of fanfare. She had run 4:33.76 in the 1,600 meters at a regional meet in Indiana, but she was disappointed to see that the performance didn’t receive much attention.

“Coming from Indiana, I wouldn’t say they’re the best at broadcasting all of the stuff that Indiana athletes are doing,” Weller said. “I definitely came in under the radar.”

On the upside, though, it meant she was able to come in without the weight of high expectations. Hennessy had just run 4:35.14 to take third at the HOKA Festival of Miles, and two-time NBNI champion Katy Zang (Teays Valley OH) was making her return to the national stage. Weller was the dark horse.

“I was really happy to just exceed those expectations,” Weller said.

Hennessy finished second in 4:33.18, followed by Maggie McCormick (Bay Shore NY) in third in 4:37.17. Zang took sixth in 4:40.98.

Egypt Bolan Repeats as High Jump Champion

It only took one jump for Egypt Bolan (Lindenwold NJ) to know that she was going to have a banner day at Franklin Field.

The run-up was smooth, and she had plenty of bounce. That’s all she needed to know.

“I came back to my coach and said, ‘Today’s the day, I feel good,’” Bolan said.

She was absolutely right. Bolan cleared 1.79 meters (5-10.50), nearly matching her personal best, to win the girls high jump for the second straight year.

Last year, Bolan didn’t even think she would be become an All-American, much less win a national title. She set a personal best of almost two inches in that meet, clearing 1.80 meters (5-10.75). Winning two in a row was an accomplishment that Bolan couldn’t fathom until Saturday.

Cuthbertson Wins Hammer After Flying From Eugene

Ainsley Cuthbertson’s victory was also improbable for another reason. The senior from Lexington, Mass. took sixth in the women’s hammer throw at the USATF U20 Championships in Eugene on Friday and threw a personal best of 54.97 meters (180-4) to win the hammer at Franklin Field on Saturday.

Between those two competitions, Cuthbertson took a cross-country flight that landed in Philadelphia at 3 a.m. on Saturday morning. She didn’t sleep at all on the flight, but she got about five hours at her hotel before rolling up to Franklin Field, and that was just enough.

Cuthbertson said she had some nerves, understandably, as she started throwing with less-than-ideal preparation. She approached the day with a cascading to-do list: make the finals, then earn All-American status, then go for the win. She fouled on two of her three attempts in the finals, but she clinched the win on her fifth overall throw.

She said she wanted to go for the meet record of 57.51 meters (188-8) set last year by Mia Hoskins (Coventry RI) — and she believes she could have if she was fresh — but it wasn’t in the cards on Saturday. Before the end of summer, she wants to approach the 60-meter mark.

Other Highlights:

>>> Viola Wilent (Lower Merion PA) led a Philly-area sweep of the podium in the girls pole vault, clearing 4.10 meters (13-5.25) for the win. Maddie Fuhrmeister (Doylestown) and Jolynne Daynorowicz (Holland) took second and third, clearing 4.00 meters (13-1.50) and 3.90 meters (12-9.50), respectively.

>>> Mikayla Shavers (Fleming Island FL) completed an undefeated season in the triple jump, winning with a leap of 13.07 meters (42-10.75).

>>> Caitlin Kasten (Waxhaw NC) ran a personal best of 6:26.30 to win the girls 2,000-meter steeplechase.

>>> The St. James Academy VA broke the meet record in the mixed 4x400 meter relay, running 3:26.33.