Provo teen runs 4:38 mile to break middle school world record

PROVO — Thirteen-year-old Angelina Alder of Provo broke yet another age group world record in the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational in Renton, Washington, on Sunday, coming in at an astounding 4:38.25. Not only did she win her own race, but she also ran the fastest mile across all female age groups at the meet.

"I am so happy I was able to get the record for my age group, and I hope to improve my time as I grow older," Angelina told KSL on Monday.

The young athlete isn't new to breaking records. In February, she set the record for the fastest 1,600 meters ever run by a middle school girl in U.S. history at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, running 4:47.93. She was 12 years old at the time and was targeting the sub-4:50 mark. A couple of months later, she knocked nearly 10 seconds off that goal, lowering the bar to 4:40.98 at the Carolina Distance Carnival in North Carolina in April.

"Coming into this race, I had a lot of preparation," she said. "I did workouts to replicate the race and the paces I need to hit. I also did more easier runs and workouts closer to the race."

Angelina is a student at Centennial Middle School and runs for the Roadrunner Track Club in Provo. She said the race this past weekend started out slow, but when she saw the lights up ahead on the track indicating where she needed to be to beat the world record, she decided it was time to get going.

"The third lap, I was still behind the 4:40 pace lights," she said. "At that point, I decided to try to compete and not worry about time. When I heard the bell for the last lap, I knew it was time for me to go. I gave it my all the last lap and was happy with my effort and my time I was able to hit. ... The whole experience was so amazing."

She said that one of the things that made the experience amazing was having her teammates race with her.

"Being able to experience that with teammates is incredible," she said. "Being able to not only have teammates, but also two of my best friends beside me is so amazing."

Her teammates who were in the race with her were Oaklie Rohatinsky and Sydney Eraso, who both came in under the five-minute mark. Sydney is a nationally ranked tennis player who recently started running and finished in 4:56.85. Oaklie came in at a blazing 4:58.84.

"I am so grateful to have my loving parents, coach and teammates to support me through my running journey," she said. "I also want to give a shoutout to Sydney Eraso and Oaklie Rohatinsky, who traveled with me to Brooks PR and competed with me," she said. "I'm so glad to have them. They have helped me so much along my running journey."

Angelina will be competing in the mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals on June 22 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Related topics