Is there an event Millville’s Bryanna Craig isn’t good at? We haven’t found one yet.
Craig, a two-time national champ in the heptathlon and pentathlon, is now a freshman at Purdue, and while she hasn’t participated in a collegiate multi-event yet, she showed just how much she’s improved her middle-distance fitness with a crazy 800 performance over the weekend.
After winning the high jump at 5-7 ¼ on Friday, Craig ran an eye-opening 2:14.27 to win the 800 at the Edmonds-Wilt Invitational at Purdue’s Lambert Fieldhouse in West Lafayette, Ind.
This isn’t just impressive, it’s important in terms of multi-events, since the 800 is the closing event of the women’s multis – the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon.
Craig’s previous PR at 800 meters was 2:18.06 finishing off her win at the Ocean Breeze Nationals in Staten Island, N.Y., in March. Craig was competing for Ruston (La.) High School after spending her first two years at Millville.
In pentathlon scoring, the difference between 2:14.27 and 2:18.06 is 53 points (903 vs. 850), which could be critical in big meets.
Craig’s 800 time is fast enough to rank her third among freshmen in NCAA Division 1 in the early going, behind Macey Hilton of SMU [2:10.49] and Jacey Farmer of BYU [2:11.02].
Purdue freshman Jessica Lyons from Allentown High in Monmouth County was second in 2:16.02.
Craig was out in 30.30 for her first lap and then ran 34.16, 35.78 and 34.04 splits for 64.46 and 69.82.
Craig’s pentathlon PR is her 3,780 at Ocean Breeze, No. 6 in scholastic history. Her heptathlon PR is 5,388 from the USATF Under-20 Championships in Eugene in June.
Craig has PRs of 25.29 in the 200, 58.14 in the 400, 2:14.27 in the 800, 8.31 in the 55 hurdles, 9.01 in the 60 hurdles, 5-8 in the high jump, 18—0 in the long jump and 30-10 ½ in the shot put indoors and 25.11 in the 200, 2:19.42 in the 800, 14.08 in the 100 highs, 5-9 in the high jump, 18-8 in the long jump, 34-7 in the shot put and 118-6 in the javelin outdoors.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 