Mountain View’s Halladay hit the track for her first official race in nearly 7 months
Lexy Halladay, a 2020 graduate of Mountain View High, finished third in the elite girls 1,600 meters at the Desert Dream-Last Hurrah Track & Field Invitational on Friday night at Poston Butte High School in San Tan Valley, Arizona.
It was the BYU signee’s first race since the cross country season ended last November.
Halladay clocked a time of 4 minutes, 49.27 seconds in a field loaded with many of the top prep runners in the country. Although she was boxed in toward the back of the pack on the first lap, she fought her way back to the front. Halladay took the lead going into the bell lap, but winner Brooke Rauber from Tully, New York, passed her with about 250 meters to go to win in 4:48.05.
The top six runners in Friday’s race ran a time that bested the top prep time in the nation this season, according to Athletic.net. Brynn Brown of Denton Guyer High in Texas held the previous best at 4:50.77.
The majority of the Idaho spring sports season was wiped out because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Halladay continued to do workouts on her own as she prepares to make the transition to the college ranks this fall.
Over the course of her high school cross country and track career, Halladay won state championships in 10 events and three team titles. She is a three-time winner of the 5A state cross country meet and the 3,200 meters. She’s also won the 1,600 twice, the 800 once and ran a leg on the Mavericks’ winning 4x400 relay team in 2018.
She holds overall individual state meet records in the 1,600 (4:43.74) and 3,200 (10:30.80). She set cross country course records at Eagle Island State Park, Portneuf Wellness Complex and Lewiston Orchards.
Halladay took home Idaho’s Gatorade girls cross country runner of the year award twice and Idaho’s Gatorade girls track athlete of the year two times.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 11:18 PM.
