Marlee Starliper Drops US No. 1 5K At Princeton


Few high schoolers can run with Marlee Starliper, so the Northern sophomore went up against college runners on Friday to chase a quick time.

And Starliper got just that, running a time of 16:39.68 for 5,000 meters at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton University in New Jersey. That's a US No. 1 time this season so far, topping London Culbreath's previous nation-leading time of 16:44.83 from the Texas Distance Festival.

It's also the second-fastest outdoor track time by a Pennsylvania high schooler all-time and third when including indoor (Tessa Barrett ran 16:11 at indoor nationals in 2014 and Madeleine Davison ran 16:34.86 outdoors in 2016).

Starliper took second in the "seeded" section of the 5K, behind only Princeton University junior Allie Klimkiewicz, who closed hard to take the win in 16:38.97. Starliper was the lone non-collegian in the field. She spent the entire race near the front of the pack, alternating the lead. She ran fairly even splits and got slightly quicker in the final 2K of the race.

It's the first we've seen Starliper since her fourth-place finish in the mile at indoor nationals. Before she won the AA XC state title in the fall, Starliper ran 16:50 in the XC 5K at the Carlisle Invitational.

Full seeded girls 5K results are below:

Women 5000 Meter Run Seeded
================================================================
 Meet Record: # 16:05.52  2006        Cack Ferrell, Princeton                  
    Name                    Year School                  Finals 
================================================================
  1 Allie Klimkiewicz         JR Princeton             16:38.97  
  2 Marlee Starliper             Unattached            16:39.68  
  3 Melia Chittenden          FR Princeton             16:45.87  
  4 Lillian Anderson          JR Dartmouth             16:50.85  
  5 Brianna O'Brien           FR Connecticut           16:57.09  
  6 Olivia Lantz              JR Dartmouth             16:57.94  
  7 Clare Schoen              SO Misericordia          16:58.84  
  8 Katie Leisher             JR Temple                17:01.36  
  9 Melissa Reed              SR Princeton             17:02.66  
 10 Leigh Moffett             SR Dartmouth             17:10.61  
 11 Mary Visca                JR Stevens Inst          17:17.78  
 12 Sarah Forman              JR Siena                 17:18.87  
 13 Rebecca Ley               SO Monmouth              17:20.82  
 14 Rachel Granovsky          SO Princeton             17:26.62  
 15 Kristina Schwartz            Red Newt              17:28.59  
 16 Nicole Giannetti          SR Haverford             17:32.80  
 17 Carole Harsch             JR Penn                  17:34.56  
 18 Michelle Joyce            FR Temple                17:35.02  
 19 Lindsey Lucas             SR Sacred Heart          17:38.78  
 20 Tara Connelly             SR Sacred Heart          17:42.30  
 21 Marin Warner              JR Penn                  17:44.71  
 22 Michelle Myland           SR La Salle              17:47.29  
 23 Alyssa Condell            FR Penn                  18:10.50  
 24 Teghan Henderson             Unattached            18:19.28  
 25 Shannon Bauer             SR Siena                 18:26.38  
 26 Ally Rome                 FR Princeton             18:27.80