Forgoing her Sectional Race, Sammy Watson (Rush-Henrietta) took to Oregon, to compete at the storied Prefontaine Classic. Running in the "B" heat on Friday night, Watson took third place among a field of Professional Athletes. Watson recently signed with Texas A&M, forgoing the option of going Pro, at least for the time being.
Watson was in the hunt for a Personal Record at the half, splitting 58-low. She hung on for 300m, before trying to fight through the crowd to kick to the line. She finished as the third American, hitting 2:01.47. The race was won by Hempstead Alum Charlene Lipsey, at 1:59.87. That mark surpasses her lifetime best of 2:01.78 set Indoors this year, the Overall Indoor National Record.This mark breaks Mary Cain's Senior Class Record as a Senior, when she ran 2:01.67 at Icahn Stadium. She was competing as a professional at the time, so some consider Diana Richburg's Section 2 Record to be the Senior Class Record at 2:03.7. That's now gone too.
Watson will return home to presumably compete at the Seciton 5 State Qualifer. Last year, she contested the 400m and 1500m as Individual events, and with a fast 800m out of the way, she may enter the same events. Beyond that, the decision on whether to compete at the World's Trials is up in the air. The other option would be to shut down and prepare for College. Watson has until late August to continue setting HS Records, so Cain's State and National Record of 1:59.51 is still up for grabs.
