IAAF World Youth Championships 2013Jul 11, 2013 by Mitch Kastoff
You haven't read about Alexa Efraimson this year? Let's change that.
You haven't read about Alexa Efraimson this year? Let's change that.
Any other year, she’d be making headlines. It just so happens that this year, fast female prep milers are the new black. They’re everywhere, they’re making history, and they’re winning national championships (senior and junior).
A few weeks ago, we received the following email from Patty Barnard:
I realize Mary Cain rules the prep field for girls. She's awesome and I love watching her run. But...
I've spent hours looking at your website hoping for videos of Alexa Efraimson and other top prep girls in the country...
She (a sophomore) just ran -- without a legendary coach, while running locally -- a 2:06! Mary Cain is great. So is Alexa. She ran a 4:19 and beat all the other runners at Oregon Preview!
Please? Your site has so much more potential...
Thanks, Patty
You know what? She’s right.
Nestled right on the southwest border of Washington and Oregon, lies Camas High School. If Alexa Efraimson lived a few miles south and across the Columbia River, then she’d have a blue “OR” on her Nike Borderclash jersey instead of a green “WA.”
It’s every Oregonian or Washingtonian’s greatest fear.
In this non-alternate reality, Efraimson is the top miler in The Evergreen State. With in-state competition that includes Amy-Eloise Neale (Glacier Peak HS), and Megan Beauchene (Kamiakin), and Katie Knight (North Central), it’s a pretty big accomplishment.
The national rankings for the 1500m have Neale ranked 5th, Beauchene at 7th, and Knight at 15th. You thought your Saturday invitationals were tough.
It’s not going to get any easier for Efraimson. Both Neale and Knight will still be in-state next year... Oh, oh they’re both going to the University of Washington? Well, Beauchene will be at least be a senior. What about Efraimson?
Next year, she’ll be a junior. Yes, a high school sophomore has run 4:16.00. Even still, she has higher aspirations.
“Before the season, I think I wanted to hit 4:36,” Efraimson said in an interview with Flotrack. “Now, I want to run low 4:30s.”
She’s close. Her personal best (4:16) came at the Portland Track Festival, where she finished sixth in the women’s high performance heat.
Stop being so fast, high schoolers.
“Going into that race, I really wanted to try and get a huge PR,” she said. “I knew that I was going to have the chance to do it. I wanted to run anywhere from 4:08 to 4:12. I just knew that I was going to have to hit the times that I wanted to hit.”
When asked if her workouts indicated that she was ready to pop a big time, Efraimson remained confident. “The Monday before [Portland], I did a workout where I had 400s. I tried to shoot for 62 on each of them and I had a 400m recovery. I hit almost every single one...”
Three quick takeaways:
1) This wasn’t the “Girl’s” heat, it was the “Women’s.” This isn’t the first time that Efraimson has gone up against some top collegians and professional milers.
2) She wasn’t the only high schooler in that race. Niwot’s Elise Cranny, who we profiled at the end of the indoor season, finished just one spot ahead of Efraimson in fifth (4:15.86).
3) A high school sophomore wants to run between 4:08 and 4:12? Déjà vu.
Despite racing women almost twice her age, Efraimson thrives on the step up in competition. “I love it and I know that it's different in those collegiate races. Obviously you don't have your best race every single race, so I need to focus on those moments when I'm able to race against those girls.”
Like we said, this isn’t the first time that Efraimson has made the jump up to the faster, more experienced heats. As Patty Bernard mentioned in her email, Efraimson ran in the fast section at the Oregon Relays. She not only won (4:19.54), but she took down some Bowerman AC members and some tough Oregonians (Sarah Penney and 800m special Laura Roesler).
“I really like [running against them] because I know that I'm going to be pushed. That's what it's going to be like in college with all the elbows and everything. I really like racing against those girls.”
Since then, Efraimson has maintained her level of competition. First, she dropped down to the 800m at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Efraimson wanted “to run between 2:03 and 2:04,” but was also aware that the second-fastest girl in the nation, Benjamin Cardozo’s Sabrina Southerland, would be in her race. Efraimson would finish runner-up to Southerland, 2:06.26 to 2:07.04.
Stepping back up to her main event (the 1500m), Efraimson had her sights locked on the World Youth Track and Field Trials and beyond.
“I really want to qualify for Worlds,” said she prior to the meet. “It would be an awesome opportunity and I know that I'll have to bust my butt and hopefully get a PR and go to Worlds. I think it's going to be awesome.”
In the final, the rising sophomore sat behind San Lorenzo Valley’s Anna Maxwell for the first two laps before kicking for home. Efraimson would take the win in 4:23.12 and book her trip to the World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine. Maxwell would finish second.
“I’ve never been out of the country,” Efraimson told Greg Jayne of The Columbian. “I know there will be Ethiopians and Kenyans, so I hope I get a PR there.”
Efraimson may be looking for a new 1500m PR, but she first had to get out of the preliminary heats in Ukraine. In the second section, Efraimson would earn an automatic qualifier to the final with her 4:23.27 third place finish. Team USA will have both representatives in the final with Maxwell getting the last time qualifier in the first heat.
This is where the comparisons start and end.
The last time a sophomore made the World Youth 1500m final, she had a personal best of 4:16.52. If you don’t know by now, this was last year. The same girl finished sixth and set a new PR of 4:11.01 in that race. You know what? I can't remember her name...
We promised ourselves (and Patty Barnard) that we’d only make one Mary Cain comparison. That’s it.
If this was last year or basically any other year in the history of high school distance running, the fanfare for Efraimson would be unreal. It just so happens that she’s part of a generation of girls who are turning the volume up so loud, that most of us are now tone-deaf.
Consider the following. Before Cain, the sophomore class record (4:16.98) belonged to Jordan Hasay. At the time, that was the fastest time ever by an American 15-year-old and the fastest high school time in the last 25 years.
Now, it’s caught up in the mix. Whatever happens after the 1500m final on July 13th, Efraimson will be one to follow next year. And the year after that. And probably for a long time.
A few weeks ago, we received the following email from Patty Barnard:
I realize Mary Cain rules the prep field for girls. She's awesome and I love watching her run. But...
I've spent hours looking at your website hoping for videos of Alexa Efraimson and other top prep girls in the country...
She (a sophomore) just ran -- without a legendary coach, while running locally -- a 2:06! Mary Cain is great. So is Alexa. She ran a 4:19 and beat all the other runners at Oregon Preview!
Please? Your site has so much more potential...
Thanks, Patty
You know what? She’s right.
Nestled right on the southwest border of Washington and Oregon, lies Camas High School. If Alexa Efraimson lived a few miles south and across the Columbia River, then she’d have a blue “OR” on her Nike Borderclash jersey instead of a green “WA.”
It’s every Oregonian or Washingtonian’s greatest fear.
In this non-alternate reality, Efraimson is the top miler in The Evergreen State. With in-state competition that includes Amy-Eloise Neale (Glacier Peak HS), and Megan Beauchene (Kamiakin), and Katie Knight (North Central), it’s a pretty big accomplishment.
The national rankings for the 1500m have Neale ranked 5th, Beauchene at 7th, and Knight at 15th. You thought your Saturday invitationals were tough.
It’s not going to get any easier for Efraimson. Both Neale and Knight will still be in-state next year... Oh, oh they’re both going to the University of Washington? Well, Beauchene will be at least be a senior. What about Efraimson?
Next year, she’ll be a junior. Yes, a high school sophomore has run 4:16.00. Even still, she has higher aspirations.
“Before the season, I think I wanted to hit 4:36,” Efraimson said in an interview with Flotrack. “Now, I want to run low 4:30s.”
She’s close. Her personal best (4:16) came at the Portland Track Festival, where she finished sixth in the women’s high performance heat.
Stop being so fast, high schoolers.
“Going into that race, I really wanted to try and get a huge PR,” she said. “I knew that I was going to have the chance to do it. I wanted to run anywhere from 4:08 to 4:12. I just knew that I was going to have to hit the times that I wanted to hit.”
When asked if her workouts indicated that she was ready to pop a big time, Efraimson remained confident. “The Monday before [Portland], I did a workout where I had 400s. I tried to shoot for 62 on each of them and I had a 400m recovery. I hit almost every single one...”
Three quick takeaways:
1) This wasn’t the “Girl’s” heat, it was the “Women’s.” This isn’t the first time that Efraimson has gone up against some top collegians and professional milers.
2) She wasn’t the only high schooler in that race. Niwot’s Elise Cranny, who we profiled at the end of the indoor season, finished just one spot ahead of Efraimson in fifth (4:15.86).
3) A high school sophomore wants to run between 4:08 and 4:12? Déjà vu.
Despite racing women almost twice her age, Efraimson thrives on the step up in competition. “I love it and I know that it's different in those collegiate races. Obviously you don't have your best race every single race, so I need to focus on those moments when I'm able to race against those girls.”
Like we said, this isn’t the first time that Efraimson has made the jump up to the faster, more experienced heats. As Patty Bernard mentioned in her email, Efraimson ran in the fast section at the Oregon Relays. She not only won (4:19.54), but she took down some Bowerman AC members and some tough Oregonians (Sarah Penney and 800m special Laura Roesler).
“I really like [running against them] because I know that I'm going to be pushed. That's what it's going to be like in college with all the elbows and everything. I really like racing against those girls.”
Since then, Efraimson has maintained her level of competition. First, she dropped down to the 800m at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Efraimson wanted “to run between 2:03 and 2:04,” but was also aware that the second-fastest girl in the nation, Benjamin Cardozo’s Sabrina Southerland, would be in her race. Efraimson would finish runner-up to Southerland, 2:06.26 to 2:07.04.
Stepping back up to her main event (the 1500m), Efraimson had her sights locked on the World Youth Track and Field Trials and beyond.
“I really want to qualify for Worlds,” said she prior to the meet. “It would be an awesome opportunity and I know that I'll have to bust my butt and hopefully get a PR and go to Worlds. I think it's going to be awesome.”
In the final, the rising sophomore sat behind San Lorenzo Valley’s Anna Maxwell for the first two laps before kicking for home. Efraimson would take the win in 4:23.12 and book her trip to the World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine. Maxwell would finish second.
“I’ve never been out of the country,” Efraimson told Greg Jayne of The Columbian. “I know there will be Ethiopians and Kenyans, so I hope I get a PR there.”
Efraimson may be looking for a new 1500m PR, but she first had to get out of the preliminary heats in Ukraine. In the second section, Efraimson would earn an automatic qualifier to the final with her 4:23.27 third place finish. Team USA will have both representatives in the final with Maxwell getting the last time qualifier in the first heat.
This is where the comparisons start and end.
The last time a sophomore made the World Youth 1500m final, she had a personal best of 4:16.52. If you don’t know by now, this was last year. The same girl finished sixth and set a new PR of 4:11.01 in that race. You know what? I can't remember her name...
We promised ourselves (and Patty Barnard) that we’d only make one Mary Cain comparison. That’s it.
If this was last year or basically any other year in the history of high school distance running, the fanfare for Efraimson would be unreal. It just so happens that she’s part of a generation of girls who are turning the volume up so loud, that most of us are now tone-deaf.
Consider the following. Before Cain, the sophomore class record (4:16.98) belonged to Jordan Hasay. At the time, that was the fastest time ever by an American 15-year-old and the fastest high school time in the last 25 years.
Now, it’s caught up in the mix. Whatever happens after the 1500m final on July 13th, Efraimson will be one to follow next year. And the year after that. And probably for a long time.
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