Delaware junior Kadence Dumas from Eastern, Villanova freshman Maeve Smith from Ocean City and La Salle sophomore Gillian Lovett Mainland Regional all ran 1,500 PRs, finishing a couple seconds from each other in the Penn Challenge Saturday at Franklin Field. Smith doubled back and PR’d in the 800 as well.
Dumas placed 3rd in the 1,500 in 4:30.50, Smith ran 4th in 4:32.65 and Lovett was 6th in 4:33.52.
Dumas’s previous 1,500 PR was a 4:39.95 in Richmond a year ago this week. She ran a 4:56.28 mile across the railroad tracks at the Ott Center in January. Her 1,500 Saturday is 7th-fastest in Delaware history and converts to a 4:52.14 full mile.
Smith’s 1,500 converts to a 4:54.46 full mile, which is well below her college mile best of 4:59.59 also from the Ott Center in January in the same race Dumas ran her 4:56.28. She ran a 4:53.27 outdoors at West Philly Nationals this past June.
Lovett’s 4:33.52 drops her PR from 4:33.69 in Chester this past April. She ran her full mile PR 4:55.59 in that same January race at the Ott. This 1,500 converts to 4:55.40.
Smith’s 2:17.06 is a giant PR. At Ocean City her fastest 800 was a 2:21.18 in the 2023 Cape-Atlantic meet at Bridgeton, and this was her first collegiate 800.
Dumas doubled back to run a leg on Delaware’s winning 4-by-4, which ran 3:47.07. The results don’t list who ran which leg, so can’t tell you her split.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 