Isabella Leak, an Egg Harbor Township graduate, ran one of the fastest miles in Monmouth history Saturday at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.
Leak ran 4:53.52, 6th-fastest on the all-time Monmouth list.
There haven’t been a lot of fast women milers from South Jersey lately, and it looks like Leak’s time may actually be fastest by a South Jersey college runner since Haddonfield’s Greta Feldman ran 4:41.62 for Princeton at the 2013 Ivy League Championships in Cambridge, Mass.
Kylie Anicic from Kingsway ran 4:54.93 unpressed and probably could have run faster but focused on the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 at Edinboro. Rider’s Kristin Siegle from Buena ran a 4:22.45 1,500, which is the equivalent of a 4:43.45 mile, but her fastest actual mile was a 4:55.34.
Briana Gess ran 4:51.44 at 2015 Nationals while she was at Haddonfield but never ran a mile during her time at Virginia. Amanda Eller of Millville ran a 4:27.91 for 1,500 meters at Monmouth when she won the 2012 Northeast Conference title but her fastest mile was a 4:58.57.
Anybody else?
In any case, Leak had a high school PR of 5:11.28 from 2020 indoor sectionals, so a 4:53.52 by her junior year of college is one heck of a progression.
Leak races at the CAA Championships are Feb. 22-23 at the Armory.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 