DiCola (left) and Cieslak (right) pose together after their Historic Races.
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St. LOUIS, Mo. - Four Athletes ran four standout miles on Thursday night at the HOKA Festival of Miles. Rowan Carr (Delco United), Sophia Rodriguez (Dallastown Area Middle School), Olivia Cieslak (Haverford Township), and Brian DiCola (Hatboro Horsham) all dropped some of the fastest times we've ever seen for their respective age groups.
DiCola Drops PA No. 2 All-Time
DiCola used a 2:03 opening 800 and a 2:01 close to run the second-fastest Mile time in PA History. DiCola positioned himself towards the back of the pack early before picking off boys left and right. As expected, he closed quickly and finished with a 4:04.14.
This is less than a week removed from running one of the fastest 3200m races in state history to claim a 3A title.
DiCola's mark is second to only Gary Martin, who ran 3:57.89 at this same meet a year ago.
Cieslak Runs PA No. 7 All-Time
Olivia Cieslak looked brilliant in her first race since winning the 1600m and 800m double at the PIAA Championship.
Cieslak went to the front early and ran with the front of the pack, splitting even 2:22's through the first half and second half for a stellar 4:45.62. She placed 8th in the loaded field but notched a PA No. 7 All-Time in the effort.
Kim Gallagher still holds the state record of 4:36.94, but Cieslak is still a sophomore and has time to narrow in on that mark.
Sophia Rodriguez notches Historic 4:50
The Middle School Phenom ran an absurd 4:50.20 to finish fourth in the HS Girls Elite Development field.
Rodriguez ran nearly perfect splits en route to her PA No. 1 All-Time (unofficial) and US No. 2 All-Time Middle School mark (according to our database). She set a U14 2 Mile World Record this past Indoor Season and continued to add to her outrageous resume tonight.
Notably, previously mentioned Olivia Cieslak also sits inside the US Top 10 for the Middle School Girls Mile.
Rowan Carr posts Unofficial State Record
Middle School star Rowan Carr posted an Unofficial State Best of 4:40.54, besting our database's previous best of 4:49.70.
Though limited Middle School Records have been historically kept, we recognize the time as one of the best Miles in PA Middle School history. When we include 1600m time (converted), Carr ranks amongst the Top-6.
The Rising Freshman has his sights set on becoming a contender at the high school ranks in the next four years to come.