Provo 7th grader runs fastest 1,600 meters in U.S. middle school history

KEARNS — The average time a 12-year-old girl takes to run a mile hovers right around 9 to 11 minutes.

But not 12-year-old Angelina Alder.

Last weekend, Angelina ran the distance in 4:47.93, setting the fastest time ever by a middle school girl in U.S. history.

The race took place at the Olympic Oval in Kearns and was part of the 2026 Utah Indoor State Championships. The 1,600-meter time smashed her personal indoor best time by 9 seconds, which just so happened to be a meet record set at Nike Indoor Nationals last year. She even managed to improve on her all-time best of 4:50, which she ran during last year's outdoor season.

Angelina, who lives in Provo, said the race started well, despite being called back after an athlete fell.

"I felt controlled and smooth and confident in my times going into the race," the Centennial Middle School student told KSL. "I feel like the race went pretty well."

One of Angelina's coaches, McGyver Clark, put the young athlete's performance in perspective, calling it "absolutely incredible."

"I want to put into context what an incredible accomplishment Angelina's time was: Running a 4:47 in the 1,600 meters at 4,675 feet above sea level," Clark said. "Adjusting for altitude, it would be 4:40, which is the fastest time a middle school girl has ever run in U.S. history. This would place her at No. 2 for the girls' high school indoor 1,600 meters this year. To run a time like that at her age is absolutely incredible."

John Hedengren, who also coaches Angelina on the Provo-based Roadrunner club, said her performance last weekend is just one of many stand-out races in recent months.

"Angelina's 4:47 in the 1,600 meters at the Olympic Oval was a special performance, especially for a seventh grader," Hedengren said. "She's continued to show her dominance by winning a national cross-country championship in Knoxville by nearly 50 seconds, and she's building a strong foundation for high school and beyond."

While many factors contribute to Angelina's running prowess — including coming from a strong family line of elite runners, healthy eating, sleeping and training habits —her coaches were quick to say that visualization has been key for the young athlete.

"What I love most about working with Angie is how visual she is about the sport," Clark said. "More than any athlete I have personally worked with, she visualizes every part of her workouts and races and often draws her race plans visually instead of writing them down verbally. She sees herself running her times and winning races.

"Last year, when she won the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June 2025 in the middle school girls' mile, she showed me her race plan before the race. It was a picture drawn with crayon with her on the corner of the track and she was going to make a move with 150 meters to go and pass the leader on the outside in the homestretch to win the race," Clark said. "And that is exactly what came to fruition and she became the middle school National Champion in the mile."

Angelina said visualization was a big part of the race last weekend, adding that a little tip from a teammate also helped her.

"My friend told me to think of it as '5 minutes of pain,'" Angelina said. "I just try to think about things I can control. You can't really control the result, but you can control the effort. So I just try to control and be calm and just try to like stay focused."

Angelina will be competing at Nike Indoor Nationals the second week in March at the Nike Track and Field Center in New York City.

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