Eugene, Oregon is becoming a second home for Ellie Barada this summer.
The now-former Bloomington South track standout met a big goal by representing the United States on the world stage and had some extra fun by winning a couple of other races as well to finish off her stay at the USATF U20 Championships.
Barada ran a lifetime best in the finals of the 800 in the USTAF U20 meet, taking second in 2:02.72 to Stanford commit Paige Sheppard, a rising senior at Union Catholic in New Jersey, who won in 2:01.76.
As such, the North Carolina commit earned a spot on Team USA for the U20 World Championships in the first week of August, back in Eugene, at Oregon’s Hayward Field. She joins former Panther teammate Violet Hall, who ran at the Para World Championships in India last fall, in repping the US in international competition.
“It’s crazy,” Barada said. “This was the kind of big thing I’ve been working for all year. It’s always been in the back of my mind. One of my end goals was to make that U20 team. Just to get to go back to Eugene, it’s so awesome there.
“I’m grateful for every opportunity to run there. It is such a cool environment.”
And for the first time in a while, an environment in which she had some serious competition nipping at her heels. Heading into the prelims two days earlier, she was confident she would make the team.
“I thought it was the top three,” Barada said. “Then someone told me it was only two. I didn’t know that. I was feeling good, ‘I can be in the top three.’ Then I found out it was two, and that made it a little more difficult. But I also knew I was in a good spot now. I felt really good about my fitness and tried not to think too much about the other racers.
“But it was probably the best field I had ever raced against. That was a little nerve-wracking. I’ve raced against a few of them, never against them together in one race.”
There were few occasions during the high school season where she was challenged in any length of race, so having bodies around her was a different experience in the prelims. She was able to make the switch, but wasn’t pleased with how it unfolded. Still, she managed to make it around mostly in Lane 2 well enough to make the finals.
“Not my smartest race,” she said.
That would have to change in the final, and it worked itself out as well as it possibly could have.
“I really want to make smart racing decisions, so I was nervous about that,” Barada said. “We were bunched up, so I was nervous about my position, but it ended up perfect. I was in Lane 5 and until the cut-in I waited to see where everyone else went and I was in second or third, exactly where I wanted to be.
“59 (seconds) was the fastest ever gone through (the first lap), but I felt good about it. I hoped it wouldn’t cost me, but I think I’m ready. The only thing was not making my move a little bit earlier knowing others were responding. I started kicking with 200 to go. Paige was in front of me and I was hoping nobody was on my heels. I don’t like looking back so I had no idea if someone was coming up.”
They were not. They couldn’t catch her in the same way she couldn’t catch her breath afterward.
“I was exhausted, but I was excited about the holding flag, super excited,” Barada said.
Two more to go
Barada had signed up for the 1,600 two days later, Sunday, but immediately after the 800, was ready to back out.
“I was talking to my parents a half-hour after the race, and said, ‘I’m not doing the mile,'” Barada said. “I can’t do it. My parents said I didn’t need to, that it was just an extra thing. I had a day off on Saturday, a full day. So after that, I said, ‘Why not?’
“I thought I could put myself in a position to hang on and be in position to win. I was confident I could do that. A mile is not something I’ve explored as much and I wanted to stay curious about it and helped me be in good position to the end.”
She was not only in position, opening with a 2:15 at the halfway point; she came out on top in another career-best 4:34.25.
“In the past, I’ve avoided the pain of the mile,” Barada said. “Embracing that hurt. My brain and body want to stop after two laps and 2:15 is pretty quick, but I felt good and made a move in a perfect spot.
“I could tell on screen, they have a huge screen there, it was only us two. And when I saw that, it just gave me more adrenaline. If I’m in a position to a win race, I get a boost. But I was not expecting that time at all.”
She finished up by getting with teammate Lexi Kollbaum to bookend Indiana’s win in the Distance Medley Relay for state teams, running with 300 hurdles state runner-up Chloe Senefeld and state 400 champ Anissa Lammie of Hamilton Southeastern. They ran an 11:36.99 to beat Kansas by two seconds, wearing bibs printed up like the state’s license plates.
“That was a very last-minute thing,” Barada said. “(Kollbaum) texted the day before the deadline to enter the state DMR. Originally, I said no because I thought it was before the mile. But she told me it was at the very end of the meet and said she had Annisa and Chloe signed up.
“So why not? It wouldn’t hurt anything, and I’m glad we did it because it was really fun. It was cool to win and run one more time with Lexi. That was really special. I’m glad she pushed for that.”
Barada, on the advice of her coaches at North Carolina and Nike, plans to run a couple more times to fill the nine-week gap, just to stay in racing shape.
Track nationals round up
Kollbaum also took 36th in the 800 (2:11.79) and went 4:55.10 for 40th in the mile at the Nike meet.
All went well for North’s Caleb Winders in the men’s 800 in the first round as he cruised to second in 1:50. But he couldn’t finish the final the following day as his hamstring injury flared up again.
South’s Noah Field, a Purdue signee, was at the Nike Nationals, taking 13th in the Emerging Elite shot put (53-3½) and 20th in the boys hammer throw at 193-8, top mark for an Indiana thrower this year.
North’s Quinn Walters competed in three events at Nike, taking 16th in the Emerging Elite boys shot put (52-11), 20th in the Emerging Elite discus (160-5) and 33rd in the boys hammer throw at 175-8.
North had two other boys compete as Landon McAllister had an 11.88 in the freshman 100 at the adidas Track Nationals and Griffin Stogsdill went 15.91 in the freshman 1110 hurdles at New Balance.
South’s Simon Barnes went 22.16 for 24th in the boys 200 and 11.32 for 74th in the 100 at the adidas meet in Greensboro, N.C.
Bloomington swimmers take on best in US
Bloomington South and Indiana University grad Kristina Paegle, current Hoosier David Kovacs and younger brother and South junior Peter Kovacs took on some of the nation’s best at the TYR Pro Swim Series event at the IU Natatorium last week.
All events were long-course meters.
Paegle had the best finish, taking eighth in the women’s 50 freestyle in 24.74, 11th in the 100 free in 54.73 (had a 54.67 prelim), 26th in the 100 butterfly (1:01.84) and 48th in the 200 free (2:04.94). She qualified 17th in the 50 fly (27.34) but skipped the finals.
David Kovacs had a pair of 11th-place showings, going 2:00.32 in the finals of the men’s 200 backstroke and 4:22.26 in the 400 individual medley. H was 25th in the 100 back (56.11) and 30th in the 100 fly (54.50) after qualifying 26th. He DQ’d in the 200 IM.
Peter Kovacs, at 16, was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, in each of his five events. He made the finals of the 50 fly, taking 29th in 24.81. He was also 42nd in the 200 free (1:53.97) as the only 16-year-old in the top 50, 28th in the 100 fly (55.26), tied for 50th in the 100 free (51.51) and 59th in the 50 free (23.73).
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington South’s Ellie Barada makes U20 World Championship track team
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times | USA TODAY Network
