Rio Rico senior Allie Schadler will have another chance to try to catch Brie Oakley in a race.

Schadler finished fourth on Sunday in the 2-mile run, as Oakley, an Aurora, Colo., senior phenom who gave up soccer less than two years ago to start up competitive running for the first time, won the New Balance Nationals Indoor track and field meet in New York.

It was the first time Schadler ran indoors, finishing in 10 minutes, 13.74 seconds. Oakley ran a meet-record 9:56.06.

They will next meet on March 25 in what will be a loaded 1 mile field at the Chandler Rotary Classic at Chandler High.

Oakley, of Grandview High, was the Gatorade National Cross Country Runner of the Year. She won the Nike national cross country championship in December in Portland. Schadler, the Arizona Cross Country Runner of the Year, was seventh, finishing about 38 seconds behind Oakley.

“She has kind of come out fast and strong,” Schadler said of Oakley. “She got the national record in the 5K. It’s always going to be a tough race.”

Schadler said she was pleased with her first indoor competition.

“It was only my second race of the (track) season,” she said. “I’ve not raced indoors. I was very nervous. There were a lot of good girls. I was happy. I wish I had finished higher.

“The banks were kind of hard, and you’re running 16 laps instead of eight. The curves were tighter. It was a different experience.”

Lee’s big leap

Chandler senior Imani Lee finished eighth in the triple jump at the New Balance national indoors with a leap of 47 feet, 4 1/4 inches.

Record relay

Chandler girls broke a state record last week at Phoenix Brophy Prep’s AMDG Invitational in the 4×400-meter relay in 3:48.48. Armani Harris, Anna Foreman, Anaya Bailey and LaMeya Charlton combined for the record.

Throws goals

This is a phenomenal year year for throws in Arizona for boys.

Already, Goodyear Desert Edge junior Tyson Jones is ranked third nationally in the shot put at 64 feet, 11 1/2 inches. Phoenix Desert Vista senior Elijah Mason is eighth nationally at 61-10 1/2.

That state record Dallas Long set while at Phoenix North in 1958 at 69-3 finally looks like it could come down. It has long been considered the most difficult track record to break in Arizona preps history.

Suggest human interest stories to Richard Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.