PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Blair Bartlett and Leah Starkey produced a race for the ages as the New Jersey all-time greats waged an epic duel in the girls' 3,000-meter run on Friday night at the 130th Penn Relays at historic Franklin Field.
In a NJ showdown between national champions, Bartlett, a junior at Lawrenceville, and Starkey, a sophomore at Ocean Township, traded shots multiple times before Bartlett slammed on the gas and cranked it up at the start of the bell lap and overtook Starkey with 200 to go before charging across the line first for the second straight year, stopping the clock at a jaw-dropping 9:04.92!!!! Starkey was second in an eye-popping 9:08.61!
You read that right!!
Those times are simply mind-boggling!!!
Bartlett and Starkey both broke national class records, they ran the two fastest in NJ history, the two fastest times in meet history, and two of the fastest times run in U.S. history. They both destroyed the meet and NJ record of 9:13.60 set last year by Bartlett.
Bartlett's 9:04.92 is No. 4 in U.S. history and is the fastest time ever run by a junior in U.S. history. The former national junior class record of 9:05.78 was set in 2024 by Ellie Shea of Massachusetts.
Starkey's 9:08.61 is No. 7 on the U.S. all-time high school list and the fastest time ever by a sophomore in U.S. history. She broke the national sophomore record of 9:09.71 set in 2020 by the great Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland, N.Y.
Bartlett grabbed the lead at the 600 mark and Starkey stayed on her heels until there were two laps remaining when Starkey made a bold move to the front and pushed hard to try to open a gap on Bartlett. But Bartlett stayed within 5 meters before dropping the hammer with 200 to go as she completed a 1:07.59 final quarter to secure the win.
"I knew I'd gave to run a time like this to win because of how great Leah is,'' said Bartlett. "I'm glad she made that move when she did. It forced me to pick it up and made us run as fast as we did. Leah is such a great runner and I have so much respect for her.''
Starkey said she knew her best chance to win was to not wait for the race to come to a kick.
"Blair is such a great finisher, so I knew I couldn't let it come down to end, so I made that move with 800 to go,'' said Starkey. "But Blair is so strong and so talented that she had a little more left at the end. It was such a great race and I give a lot to credit to Blair for running such a great race.''
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Blair Bartlett and Leah Starkey produced a race for the ages as the New Jersey all-time greats waged an epic duel in the girls' 3,000-meter run on Friday night at the 130th Penn Relays at historic Franklin Field.
In a NJ showdown between national champions, Bartlett, a junior at Lawrenceville, and Starkey, a sophomore at Ocean Township, traded shots multiple times before Bartlett slammed on the gas and cranked it up at the start of the bell lap and overtook Starkey with 200 to go before charging across the line first for the second straight year, stopping the clock at a jaw-dropping 9:04.92!!!! Starkey was second in an eye-popping 9:08.61!
