Chamberlain clocks 4:46.34 in the girls 1,600, with Thomsen taking 3,200 in 10:14.46; Roberts rolls to 1:52.34 in 800, as King, Malko-Allen and Peters also earn victories, along with Bellarmine Prep boys and Tamalpais girls in DMR races

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

From a phenomenal last lap in the girls 1,600 meters by Riley Chamberlain to an impressive comeback down the final stretch of the boys 3,200 by Braden King, along with record-setting performances by Santa Rosa Montgomery freshman Hanne Thomsen and El Camino of San Francisco senior Yutaka Roberts in between, the biggest Dublin Distance Fiesta in history also showcased the greatest depth ever produced at the event.

The largest distance-only high school track competition in the country – featuring 147 races including 149 schools and 2,946 student-athletes – included 11 female competitors producing sub-5 performances in the 1,600, as well as 11 athletes breaking the 11-minute barrier in the 3,200, along with seven girls running under 2:20 in the 800.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Although there were no sub-9 efforts in the boys 3,200, seven athletes clocking under 9:10, in addition to 10 competitors running faster than 4:20 in the 1,600 and 21 individuals eclipsing the 2-minute barrier in the 800.

Bellarmine Prep won its third boys distance medley relay title in eight years at Dublin, with Ryunosuke Yanashita, Will Rainey, Ben Pinkel and Tanish Chettiar clocking 10:33.27 to triumph against College Park in 10:38.06 and Monte Vista in 10:38.59.

Chettiar and Yanashita doubled back less than an hour after running the 3,200, with Pinkel returning after competing earlier in the 800 and Rainey joining the lineup following his participation at the St. Francis Invitational.

Tamalpais earned its first girls DMR victory in meet history, with Ellery Barnes, Alana Concannon, Emma Gardner and Emma Dunmire running 12:34.83 to hold off Campolindo in 12:38.12.

Barnes and Dunmire returned after racing earlier in the 1,600, with Concannon and Gardner both competing in the 800 during the day schedule.

Joining Bellarmine Prep and Tamalpais in earning commemorative sombreros and securing automatic berths to compete in the invitational sections of the Arcadia Invitational on April 8-9 were Chamberlain of Del Oro and Mateo Malko-Allen of St. Mary’s Berkeley in the 1,600, along with Monte Vista’s Cate Peters and El Camino’s Roberts in the 800, in addition to Jesuit’s King and Thomsen in the 3,200.

Chamberlain, a Brigham Young commit, pulled away from an outstanding field of challengers in the final 400 to run 4:46.34, her fastest performance in a true 1,600 competition since a 4:44.80 time trial in June 2020. Chamberlain had also run 4:45.47 in the 1,600 en route to a 4:47.13 full mile in July at The Outdoor Nationals Presented by Nike at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Thomsen secured second in a personal-best 4:49.02 and Albany senior Sophia Nordenholz, a Washington commit who set the meet record of 4:53.26 at the Dublin Social Distance Fiesta last year, took third in 4:51.44.

Sacramento St. Francis teammates Tatiana Cornejo (4:53.27), a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit, and Georgetown signee Cate Joaquin (4:53.54) were fourth and fifth overall.

Thomsen returned to the track eight hours later to take control in the second half of the 3,200, pulling away from Nordenholz (10:19.12) and Chamberlain (10:30.72) to prevail in 10:14.46, trailing only fellow California competitors Dalia Frias of Mira Costa (9:59.94), a Duke signee, and freshman Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura (10:00.60) on the national outdoor list this season.

Thomsen took down the meet record of 10:24.33 achieved last year by Nordenholz.

Athena Ryan of Sonoma Academy finished fourth in 10:40.48, after running 4:57.98 in the 1,600, with Whitney’s Katie Kopec placing fifth in 10:44.14 after clocking 4:59.38 in the 1,600.

Peters produced a personal-best 2:11.45 in the 800 by pulling away from the field on the second lap. After winning in May at the Dublin Social Distance Fiesta in 2:17.91, Peters became the first female athlete in meet history to repeat in the 800 since Alyssa Brewer of California (San Ramon) in 2017-18.

College Park’s Jessica Chisar secured second in 2:15.84 and Branson’s Adeline Johnson achieved her second personal-best effort of the meet by taking third in 2:16.86 after finishing 10th in the 1,600 in 4:59.39.

Merced’s Isabel Perez-Zoghbi, less than 24 hours removed from running a personal-best 45.04 in the 300-meter hurdles at the Gateway to Track and Field Invitational at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium, won her section in the 1,600 and finished 25th overall in 5:13.84, followed by placing second in her 800 section and earning seventh overall in 2:19.94.

Roberts rebounded from a 4:18.31 performance in the 1,600 to place sixth overall by winning the 800 in 1:52.34, eclipsing the 2017 meet record of 1:53.27 established by Alex Scales of Bellarmine Prep.

Roberts, the California Winter outdoor champion Jan. 29 in the 600 meters in 1:19.53, ran a personal-best 1:51.94 at a Berkeley All-Comers meet Feb. 19 at Cal’s Edwards Stadium.

Malko-Allen, the 1,600 winner in 4:14.55, placed second in the 800 in 1:54.49, with Stockton Lincoln’s Noah Pagaran taking third in 1:54.92 and Pinkel finishing fourth in 1:55.48.

Kyle Ortega-Gammill of Reno High, who was second in the 1,600 in 4:15.16, earned fifth overall in the 800 in 1:55.87.

King, a Yale commit, trailed Daniel Winter of Stockton St. Mary’s by more than 10 meters entering the final lap, but mounted an inspiring rally to edge his fellow Sac-Joaquin Section competitor at the line by a 9:01.95 to 9:02.03 margin.

Bella Vista’s Sean Lacey, the early leader, took third in 9:05.76, followed by Air-Force bound Zach Ayers of Davis Senior (9:06.70) and Mario Giannini (9:07.18) of Chico. Chettiar was eighth in 9:10.82 for Bellarmine Prep, before anchoring the DMR to victory.

Ryan Mitchell of Davis Senior took third in the 1,600 in 4:16.40, with Sean Morello of Albany finishing fourth in 4:16.82, followed by securing sixth in the 3,200 in 9:07.39.