New Jersey's Paige Sheppard and Sean Dolan each qualified for finals in the 800-meter run at the U.S Track and Field Championships, which begin on Friday night at Icahn Stadium in New York.
The 16 year-old Sheppard, a rising senior at Union Catholic, more than held her own vs. the pros by finishing fifth in the first heat of the women's 800-meter run in 2:00.99 to advance to Sunday's 9-runner final on time.
The top 2 finishers in each heat, plus the next three fastest runners in the 3 heats combined qualified for the final. Sheppard's 2:00.99 was the third fastest time among all runners who didn't finish in the top 2, was the fifth fastest overall, and the second fastest time of her career.
Sheppard, who won the 800 at the U.S. Under-20 Championships earlier this month, finished strong by blasting past two runners in the final 100 meters to secure the final time qualifier for the final, which is scheduled for Sunday at 4:25 p.m.
To make a final as a high school athlete at the U.S. Championships is a rare and amazing accomplishment. The last NJ high schooler to make the final at this meet is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, also from Union Catholic. McLaughlin-Levrone advanced to the final of the 2016 Olympic Trials at the age of 16, where she finished third to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team.
NJ stars Ajee' Wilson (Neptune High grad), a 2-time Olympian and a World Indoor Champion in the 800, Allie Wilson, a 2024 Olympian in the 800 and a graduate of Monmouth University, and Olivia Baker (Columbia High grad) all came up short in their attempt to advance in the women's 800. In the second heat, Ajee' Wilson ran 2:02.45 to finish third, Baker was fifth (2:03.99), and Allie Wilson was sixth (2:05.96).
Sean Dolan, a 2019 graduate of Hopewell Valley High and a graduate of Villanova University, advanced to the final of the men's 800 by winning in 1:46.11.
Dolan, a member of the U.S. Team that competed at the World Indoor Championships this past March in Poland, will run in the final on Sunday that is scheduled for 4:33 p.m.
