Watch Race Video of Alexa Efraimson's 9:00.16 3K (Fastest HS Girls Time Ever At Distance)


Photo by Paul Merca (http://paulmerca.blogspot.com/)

Watch below the Flotrack race video in its entirely of the 9:00.16 3000 meter performance by Camas High School (WA) junior Alexa Efraimson from this past weekend's University of Washington Invitational, which is the fastest time ever run by a US high school female distance runner indoor or outdoor in the event. While the performance occurred on an oversized track at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle, Washington and thus cannot officially count towards an official high school indoor or US junior record with the high school 3K record still remaining with Melody Fairchild 17 seconds slower at 9:17.4 on a 200 meter track from 1991, the 2013 Nike Cross Nationals champion Efraimson did move ahead of another high school phenom in Mary Cain as the fastest high school runner ever at the 3K distance regardless of venue or conditions, who posted a 9:02.10 time last year as a junior at the University of Washington. Efraimson's race was a 31 second improvement from her time in the same meet last year when she clocked a time of 9:31.18 in the 2013 UW Invitational. 

The two once in a generation runners, who are now making the saying become twice in a generation runners will get the opportunity to race head to head in 11 days at the Millrose Games mile against top professional runners. Cain just missed the World Junior mile record a few weeks ago in Boston at 4:24.11, but now by running and being paid to run professional for Nike has deemed Cain to be ineligible to set US high school national records according to the sport's most respected source in keeping high school records in Track & Field News. Meanwhile, Efraimson despite running several races against pro and collegiate competition including her 3K this past weekend is still eligible (according to T&F News criteria) to break the high school girls indoor mile record of 4:28.25 which was set in last year's Millrose Games mile by Cain when she still had amateur athletic status as a high school senior. Efraimson has run under 4:40 for 1600 meters and posted a 4:16 for 1500 meters as bronze medalist in the finals of the World Youth Championships last summer in Ukraine, which would appear to be a reach for her to run under 4:30 and challenge Cain's high school mile record. However, based off the 31 second drop in her 3K time, Efraimson appears not only ready to challenge Cain's high school indoor mile record, but potentially ready to challenge Cain herself.