The 2013 Big River Festival of Miles presented by Under Armour is almost here and the MoMileSplit High School Mile and the Saint Louis Injury and Rehab 100 fields are stacked! We will release the full list of accepted entries on Sunday May 26th at 2pm Central Time right here on MoMileSplit. In the meantime, we'll give you a sneak peek at just a few of the top entries in the mile.
Girls Mile
Hannah Long
Eurkea, SO
Personal Best: 4:49.95
The defending Festival of Miles champ has had a great year – placing tenth at Foot Locker Nationals before hitting the track. She won the Kansas Relays 1600m in her best of 4:49.95. She also has added solid times of 2:11.79 and 10:27.49 this season.
Regan Ward
Beggs (OK), SR
Personal Best: 4:54.77
Ward makes her way up from Oklahoma coming in with a full mile PR of 4:56.29 set in the indoor season. The outdoor season saw her sweep the 3A distance events as well as running 4:56.11 in early April.
Stephanie Jenks
Linn-Mar (IA), FR
Personal Best: 4:31.14 for 1500m
Jenks is truly one of the best freshmen in the nation, having run 9:46.02 for 3000m, 2:13.30 for 800m, and 4:31.14 for 1500m. She is coming off two state titles at the Iowa State meet, winning both the 3000m and 1500m. She also won both of these events at the Drake Relays.
Lucy May
St. Joseph’s, SR
Personal Best: 4:56.45
May has had a breakout season, going from 5:13 in 2011 to 4:56.45 this season. She is currently ranked second in Missouri in the mile, only behind Hannah Long.
Jill Whitman
Cor Jesu, JR
Personal Best: 4:56.95
Whitman finished just behind May at a tough Sectional 1 meet, recording the third fastest time in Missouri. She finished second in the 3200m and third in the 1600m at last year’s Missouri Class 4 State Meet.
Boys Mile
Jason Thomas
Dowling Catholic (IA), SR
Personal Best: 4:10.14
The future Iowa State Cyclone is coming off winning the Iowa State Track Meet in the 1600m, running the top time of anyone in our field with a quick 4:10.14. He was second at the Drake Relays in the 1600m but did win the 800m in his best of 1:55.18. Back in the cross country season he won the Nike Cross Heartland Regional.
Alex Riba
O’Fallon (IL), SR
Personal Best: 4:10.41
Another NXN Regional Camp, Riba stormed to the front at the Nike Midwest Regional to win against a tough field. He was hurt early in the season but in just his second race of the year he ran 4:10.41 at the Collinsville Invite. He has qualified to the Illinois State Meet in both the 1600m and 3200m, giving him a good chance to run even faster than that before the Festival of Miles.
Amos Bartelsmeyer
MICDS, SR
Personal Best: 4:11.97 (Full Mile)
The defending Festival of Miles champ has his work cut out for him to defend his title. He has had a strong senior year though, running 4:12.56 at the Kansas Relays to place second.
Noah Kauppila
Marquette, JR
Personal Best: 4:13.22
After running 8:54 for 3200m at Arcadia the junior has shifted his focus to the quicker races. Having running 1:55 for 800 and 4:13.22 for 1600m, Kauppila can do it all. He returns to FOM after a fifth place finish in 2012.
Patrick Perrier
O’Fallon (IL), JR
Personal Best: 4:13.36
Perrier, teammates with Alex Riba, comes in having run 4:13 and 9:13 this season. In the fall he qualified for Foot Locker Nationals, finishing 19th as a junior. Missouri fans saw him a couple times, at Forest Park, Marion Freeman (2012), and Festival of Miles.a