by Larry Eder
Mary Cain, 2013 New Balance Games, photo by PhotoRun.net
Mary Cain is rewriting the High School Girls record books, and this writer believes that she has just gotten started!
Her brilliant charge over the last 300 meters of the Nike NXN course left her several seconds short of the crown, but several eye witnesses told RBR that it may have been the best high school girls cross country duel EVER.
On January 12, 2013, at the UW Seattle Opener, Mary Cain ran 9:02.10 for 3,000 meters on the 305.7m indoor track. Too large for indoor records, Cain’s 9:02.10 is, in fact, the fastest time EVER, indoor or outdoors for an American Junior (9:16.7), and in fact, eclipsed the 9:08.6 from 1975, run by Lynn Bjorkland!
And now, two weeks later, Mary Cain, by finishing third in the NB Games mile, in 4:32.78, has destroyed the 40 year old high school record in the girls high school mile, set by Debbie Heald, way back in the USA vs USSR meeting in 1972!
En route, Mary Cain ran 4:16.1, breaking the previous record, set by Lynn Jennings, way back in 1978, of 4:18.9! Mary Cain already has the American junior record for the 1,500 meters outdoors, of 4:11.1. Her splits: 67.3 at 400 meters, 2:16.7 at 800 meters, and 3:28.0 at 1200 meters.
Mary Cain is under the watchful eye of Alberto Salazar. Alberto, who has had much success recently, with Mo Farah, double Olympic champion and Mo’s training partner, Galen Rupp, Olympic silver medalist at 10,000 meters, plus Matt Centrowitz, bronze medalist in the 2011 WC, has been coaching Mary for a very short time.
We wish Mary Cain much success.
Next weekend, Mary Cain will be running, on February 2, 2013, at the New Balance Indoor Games, over two miles. The current HS Federation two mile record is 9:55.92, set in 1991 by Melody Fairchild.
Mary Cain, 2012 US Olympic Trials, 800 meters, photo by PhotoRun.net
RBR predicts a time under 9:40.
For more on today’s mile record, please read the excellent piece from the Armory website: http://www.armorytrack.com/News/Post/mary-cain-just-wow
