Northern Burlington junior Liliah Gordon ran the 6th-fastest indoor 5,000-meter time in state history Saturday night at Armory Nationals in New York.
Gordon ran 17:02.44 – fastest by any New Jersey runner in six years – in an insanely paced race that saw Gordon go through 1,600 meters in 5:07 and 3,200 meters in 10:43 – a time that only five New Jersey girls ran this year and only 23 South Jersey girls have ever run. Gordon’s two-mile PR was 10:41 until two weeks ago and she came through the 32 only two seconds slower!
Gordon ran 17:26.55 last year and placed 3rd. She ran 24 seconds faster this year and placed 7th.
Gordon became the first New Jersey girl ever to run 10:26, 4:57 and 17:02 indoors. Cherokee’s Megan Lacy, Sarah DiSanza of High Point and Charlotte Bednar of Lawrenceville School did it either outdoors or a combination of indoors and outdoors.
Elizabeth Leachman, a sophomore at Champion High in Boerne, Texas, won the race in 15:28.90 and broke the national high school record of 15:37.12 set in 2018 by Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland High in Thiells, N.Y., in a meet in Lynchburg, Va. Leachman’s time makes her the No. 18 U.S. woman this year – of any age – and No. 3 under-20 runner in the world.
Gordon’s time is No. 3 in South Jersey history, behind Cherokee’s Megan Lacy, who ran 16:49.00 at 2012 Armory Nationals, and Olympian Marielle Hall of Haddonfield, who ran 16:55.69 at 2010 Armory Nationals.
She’s New Jersey’s fastest in an indoor 5,000 since Monica Hebner of Northern Highlands ran 16:53.91 at 2018 Armory Nationals.
The South Jersey outdoor 5,000 record is 16:50.75 by Lacy at the 2011 Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton and nobody else has run under 17:07, so Gordon’s time makes her the 3rd-fastest South Jersey girl indoors or outdoors.
This winter, Gordon ran 10:26.49 for 3,200 meters and placed 2nd in the Meet of Champions and also 4:57.28 for a full mile, 9th-fastest in South Jersey history.
Including indoor and outdoor times, Gordon’s time is 11th-fastest in state history. The combined list is below.
All-Time New Jersey Sub-18 5,000-Meter List
16:43.02 … Briana Jackucewicz [Colts Neck], 2009
16:49.00 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012
16:53.91 … Monica Hebner [Northern Highlands], 2018
16:55.69 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
16:57.99 … Mackenzie Barry [Mendham], 2013
17:02.44 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2024
17:02.78 … Sarah DiSanza [High Point Reg.], 2013
17:03.79 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2008
17:09.31 … Isabel Hebner [Northern Highlands], 2018
17:12.38 … Holly Bischof [Bishop Eustace], 2012
17:18.03 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
17:20.33 … Emily O’Day [Boonton], 2023
17:22.84 … Megan Venables [Highland], 2010
17:24.43 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2016
17:24.89 … Amy Van Alstine [Midland Park], 2003
17:26.55 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2023
17:31.96 … Lara Shegoski [Montgomery], 2014
17:34.69 … Lindsay Van Alstine [Hawthorne], 2003
17:43.27 … Laura Vigilante [Mendham], 2009
17:45.45 … Kerry Dyke [Mount St. Mary], 2013
17:47.78 … Devon Grisbaum [Ocean City], 2015
17:51.73 … Brennan Sharkey [West Morris Central], 2014
17:53.77 … Jillian Prentice [Montgomery], 2009
17:56.13 … Samantha Ragenklint [Monmouth Reg.], 2019
New Jersey Indoor-Outdoor Combined 5,000 List
15:52.10 … Charlotte Bednar [The Lawrenceville School [o]
16:34.66 … Alexa Westley [Warren Hills], 2019 [o]
16:38.51 … Ashley Higginson [Colts Neck], 2007 [o]
16:43.02 … Briana Jackucewicz [Colts Neck], 2009 [i]
16:45.86 … Megan Curham [Villa Walsh], 2013 [o]
16:49.00 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012 [i]
16:53.91 … Monica Hebner [Northern Highlands], 2018 [i]
16:55.69 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010 [i]
16:57.99 … Mackenzie Barry [Mendham], 2013 [i]
16:58.19 … Carleen Jeffers [Ridgewood], 2015 [o]
17:02.44 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2024 [i]
17:02.78 … Sarah DiSanza [High Point Reg.], 2013 [i]
17:03.13 … Grace Dwyer [Nottingham], 2013 [o]
17:03.79 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2008 [i]