Ryen Frazier ran with her sister Wesley close to her heart in Friday’s girls’ 3200 meter run in the Raleigh Relays at N.C. State’s Paul Derr Track. Ryen, a Ravenscroft junior, wore number “4” – equivalent to how many times Wesley, who is now at Duke, won the distance event.
Friday night, with the track lights on, not even misty rain slowed Ryen, who claimed the Fraziers’ fifth consecutive event championship in 10 minutes, 26.01 seconds.
“It turned into a management race,” Ryen Frazier said. “I just focused on staying right next to the top three or so.
“I knew that I had something. I felt fine. I just wasn’t sure where to go.”
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Frazier moved from second to first place right before the final lap, which she completed in 68 seconds. Her event time marked a new personal record and the fifth fastest effort ever by a N.C. high school girl.
“If there was someone behind me kicking, I had to lose them,” Frazier said. “It was like running out of fear, more or less.”
Among the 23-runner field, the top eight finishers recorded new personal bests. Runner up Malia Ellington (Community School Of Davidson), sixth in 2013, improved from 10:46.77 last year to 10:30.07. Cardinal Gibbons’ Mary Grace Doggett – who has committed verbally to N.C. State – placed fifth (10:35.39).
Fourteen N.C. girls completed the race in less than 11 minutes, one year after 11 accomplished the milestone.
Carrboro’s Maysa Araba (10:38.60) and Green Hope Elly Henes (10:40.85) placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
“It’s hard for any meet director to simulate this,” Cardinal Gibbons coach Nick Mangum said of the event’s caliber. “We’re lucky to have it in our backyard.”
In the boys’ 3200, Ian Milder (Winston-Salem Mount Tabor), also bound for N.C. State, set a new meet record with at 8:53.99 – the event’s fourth fastest ever among N.C. boys. Broughton’s William Roberson earned second place in 8:58.88.
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