New Jersey miler sets national, state records at New Balance Nationals; Female stars aplenty in Philadelphia

Union Catholic incoming junior Paige Sheppard outkicks California phenom Sadie Engelhardt down the stretch; Natalie Dumas, Cooper twins, Sydney Sutton also set national best marks

Paige Sheppard of Union Catholic Regional wins the race. NJSIAA Cross Country Meet of Champions takes place at Holmdel Park. Holmdel, NJ Saturday, November 16, 2024; On Saturday, Sheppard won the New Balance Nationals mile run in a sophomore national record time. / Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s all about the finish and one New Jersey teen showed off one fantastic one Saturday at the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia. 

Paige Sheppard, who will be a junior at Union Catholic in the fall, broke her state’s mile record and set the U.S. sophomore mark in a dramatic comeback victory at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. 

According to NJ.com, Sheppard overcame a slow start with a fantastic 500-meter kick to win in 4 minutes, 33.67 seconds, edging defending champion and California stalwart Sadie Engelhardt (4:34.46). 

The previous national sophomore record, according to the newspaper, was 4:33.87 set in 2018 by Katelyn Tuohy, of North Rockland (N.Y.). 

The New Jersey speedster also bettered the U15 world mark of 4:35.16 of Engelhardt run at the 2022 Arcadia Invitational. 

Engelhardt, who attended Ventura High School, went on to win four state California titles (one in the 800, three in the 1600) before skipping her senior season in 2025 to run professionally. 

She set a national high school outdoor mile record of 4:28.46 in 2024 before Jane Hedengren, a recent graduate at Timpview (Provo, Utah), shattered that mark earlier this month in in 2025 going 4:23.50 at the HOKA Festival of Miles in St. Louis (Mo.). 

BACK TO SHEPPARD

After two laps, Sheppard was in sixth place before running a remarkable 63.04 final lap to edge Engelhardt, Abigail Hennessy an incoming senior at Westford Academy (Ma.) in 4:34.69, Claire Stegall, of Nolensville (Tenn.) in 4:36.89 and Hanne Thomsen of Montgomery (Santa Rosa, Calif.) in 4:39.24. 

Stegall and Thomsen each just graduated from high school. 

“When (Engelhardt) made her kick with (roughly) 500 meters to go, I knew that was when I kind of had to go and kind of attach myself to her if I was gonna have any chance to win,” Sheppard told NJ.com reporter Corey Annan. “(Engelhardt) is an incredible runner. Obviously, everyone deserves to be here. She deserves to be here. But so do I.

“If I want to do these kinds of things and break records, I have to put myself in that position. No matter where I am, it doesn’t really matter how you start, it’s how you finish it.”

In the 1500, Engelhardt edged Sheppard 4:16.55 to 4:16.90, while Hennessy finished third in 4:17.44. 

Hanne Thomsen (right) won her fifth and sixth North Coast Section Meet of Champion titles on Saturday, May 24, 2025. / Photo by Eric Taylor

Thomsen, the California 3200 champion who will run at Stanford in the fall, came back to win the 2-mile in 9:55.48, over San Antonio, Texas incoming homeschooled junior Elin Latta (9:59.12) and Chloe Huyler of Lakeridge (Lake Oswego, Ore.) in 9:59.18.  

MORE FEMALE STARS AT NEW BALANCE NATIONALS

• Incoming senior Natalie Dumas, of Eastern Senior (Voorhees, N.J.) ran the nation’s top prep 400 time, winning in 51.14 over recent Bullis (Potomac, Md.) graduate Sydney Sutton (51.23) and McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.) senior Elise Cooper (51.95). 

Jan 25, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; Natalie Dumas crosses the finish line in the Girls 400m HS Invitational during the Dr. Norb Sander Invitational. At New Balance Nationals, which concluded Saturday in Philadelphia, Dumas was one of the meet's stars with the nation's top 400 and 800 times, while also winning the 400 hurdles. / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

• Cooper won the 200 in 22.44, the second fastest mark in the nation this season. Her twin Elena won the long jump with the nation’s No. 3 mark this season, at 21 feet, 1½ inches.  

• Dumas came back to win the 800 in 2:00.11, the fastest time in the country, edging Onsted (Mich) senior Emmry Ross (2:00.25), and Ursuline School (New Rochelle, N.Y.) junior Jane Hickey (2:03.61). Ross was the second fastest mark this season and Hickey was No. 5, according to athletic.net 

• Dumas was not done, putting her stamp all over the meet, winning the 400 hurdles in 55.99 — the second fastest time in the nation — over Sutton (56.04). 

• Sutton wasn’t nearly done either, as she ran the legs on two victorious relay teams for Bullis in the 4x100 (44.80) and 4x400 (3:37.24). She anchored the 4x100 after Kassidy Hopkins, Payton Payne and Aida Joseph to run the fourth best time in the country this season. The 4x400 team of Kennedy Brown, Chrishelle Campbell and Tatum Lynn already owned the nation’s best time of 3:33.30 at the Penn Relays. 

• IMG Academy recent graduate Yuliya Maslouskaya dominated the heptathlon with 5,582 points over Allegany (Cumberland, Md.) senior Avery Miller, who finished second in 5,290. Maslouskaya also won the open high jump at 5-11¼. 

Feb 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Sydney Suttonfrom Potomac, MD won the girls 300 meter race during the Millrose Games at The Armory in New York City Feb. 11, 2024. At the New Balance Nationals which concluded Saturday, Sutton was second in the open 400 and 400 hurdles and ran legs on victorious 4x100 and 4x400 relays. / Seth Harrison / USA TODAY NETWORK

manual