Cinco Ranch’s Nielson wins Dream Mile in Boston – Chron.com

The Adidas Boost Boston Games gave high school runners from across the nation a chance to compete on the same track as elite adult runners.

Cinco Ranch junior Heidi Nielson proved to be the best of the female high school distance runners, winning the Dream Mile in a fast field of 10 runners.

Nielson completed the mile in four minutes, 46.4 seconds, setting a personal record for a full mile. The runner-up time was 4:48.6, with eight runners finishing at 4:56 or better.

Nielson was chasing the pack initially, running ninth after the first mile, but pulled into fourth heading into the final lap and finished strong.

The mile race is slightly longer than the 1,600-meter run in UIL competition. Despite that, Nielson was even faster than her silver-medal state 1,600 time this past spring of 4:48.71.

Katy ISD had two of its best distance runners in Boston, with Tompkins senior Cole Lindhorst competing in the boys Dream Mile.

Lindhorst finished sixth with a time of 4:14.7, with La Porte’s Ryan Schoppe posting the winning time of 4:09.2.

The state champion in the 1,600 this past spring with a 4:07.41, Lindhorst was again on Schoppe’s heels midway through the race, merely .2 seconds from the lead.

The second through seventh runners were separated by only 2.3 seconds in the boys mile.

Local standouts compete in North Carolina

The Katy area had several more track and field athletes testing their skills against national elite at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, June 13-16 in Greensboro, N.C.

Cinco Ranch’s Sophie Atkinson had the top finish, placing eighth in the mile run with a time of 4:53.99.

Tompkins’ Hayden Gold competed in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, finishing 22nd in 7:15.13.

Houston Christian’s William Vail, a Katy resident, took 31st in the long jump with a mark of 22 feet, 2.5 inches.

Tompkins’ Justin Duffy ran with the lead pack in the emerging elite two-mile race, placing fifth with a time of 9:26.66.

Seven Lakes’ Ruben Rojas-Betanzos had two top-20 finishes at the freshman level, placing 12th in the mile (4:33.66) and 16th in the two-mile run (9:56.72).