(Pictured: Rocky Mountain senior, and BYU commit, Hallie Heemeyer.  Photo Courtesy of Michael Najera)

A week after running 10:13.81 in the girls invitational 3,200 at the 58th annual Arcadia Invitational to surpass future BYU teammate and 2024 Skyline graduate Nelah Roberts as Idaho No. 1 all-time on record, Rocky Mountain senior Hallie Heemeyer reached another historic milestone Saturday at the Pasco Invitational in Washington.

The BYU commit won the varsity girls 1,600 in a personal best 4:46.99, which puts her at No. 12 in the U.S. in the event on athletic.net as of Sunday. This also moves her to No. 3 all-time on record in Idaho behind 2020 Mountain View graduate Lexy Halladay-Lowry (4:43.74) and 2019 Boise graduate Maggie Liebich (4:46.87). Heemeyer joins Halladay-Lowry and Liebich as the lone Idaho girls on record to break 4:47 for the 1,600. Halladay-Lowry, four-time BYU school record holder and 2025 World Athletics Outdoor Championships Team USA member running professionally for Nike Swoosh TC under BYU head coach Diljeet Taylor, met Heemeyer at Nike Cross Nationals last December. Liebich competed at Princeton before continuing her career at the University of Washington, representing Team USA last July at the FISU World University Games in Germany.

“I’ve always looked up to those women,” Heemeyer said Tuesday by phone. “It was cool to see that comparison and see where they’re at, collegiately and professionally.”

Heemeyer is No. 21 in the U.S. on athletic.net as of Sunday in the 3,200 for her personal best from Arcadia Invitational on April 11 in Arcadia, Calif. This was her first season competing at Arcadia, a meet known for national records set by the likes of eventual Olympians Allyson Felix, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Noah Lyles, Michael Norman, Will Claye and Sydney McLaughin-Levrone, and she described the atmosphere as unlike any other meet she had been to before.

“You can’t really picture it until you actually go,” Heemeyer said. “I feel like, especially the 2-mile, there were so many people lining the stands. Everyone was on their feet cheering so loud. It also helps you race better because it’s so loud and there’s so many people cheering for you. It was also cool to be surrounded by so many high level athletes. It felt like a national meet. It was so cool seeing (2024 Olympian) Quincy Wilson run, a lot of those big names.”

Heemeyer said those thresholds of sub-10:20 and sub-4:48 have been on her mind for a while. Arcadia was an opportunity to make her goal of a massive 3,200 personal best a reality, and she is not done yet.

“These past couple weeks have been really exciting for sure,” Heemeyer said. “I feel like every year, people are getting faster. I wanted to chase some of those big goals. I was so excited to go to Arcadia because that race is super fast. I really wanted to go low 10s. The huge goal is sub-10. I didn’t quite reach that goal but a couple girls did, which was amazing. That was super fun to be able to chase that barrier as close as I could. I want to keep chasing that (mile). I definitely have 4:30s in mind.”

Heemeyer and her Rocky Mountain teammates swept varsity team titles in Pasco, winning the boys title with 51 points and the girls title with 77.5 points. Heemeyer also won the 800 in a personal best 2:12.46 (No. 11 all-time in Idaho), senior Lily Munson placed fourth in the 400 in 57.45, junior Brooke Thompson placed second in the 3,200 in 10:59.89, junior Emma Shearing placed seventh in discus (personal best 120-6), junior Olivia Sangsland placed fifth in high jump (5-0), junior Lauren Rynhart placed second in pole vault (11-6), sophomore Margaret Hartman placed third in pole vault (personal best 11-0) and sophomore Emma Price placed third in triple jump (34-1). The girls DMR 4,000 team of Eden Fails, Olivia Weatherford, Makelle Carlson and Eve Archibald placed second in 13:13.05, the 4x100 team of Brianna Avalos, Alexa Duvalis, Madelyn Jakobson and Samantha Jenne placed fourth in 49.59 and the 4x400 team of Munson, Hartman, Solana Lucas and Heemeyer placed third in 4:02.44.

“It was our first time winning Pasco as a girls team,” Heemeyer said. “I feel like our whole track team—sprinters, field events, distance—the camaraderie of the team this year has been extra great. Everyone’s super close and cheering each other on. It definitely helps our performance. Everyone’s hyping us up. I truly feel like it’s a special team this year. I think we're gonna do some good things at districts and state.”

In addition to the 3,200 and 1,600 and being Rocky Mountain's (and Idaho's) fastest girls cross country runner on record, Heemeyer owns school records in the 1,500 (4:30.91), 3,000 (9:35.57), 1-mile (4:49.96) and as part of Idaho’s all-time No. 1 fastest 4x800 team from the 2024 5A state championships with Emme Hamm, Belle Draney and Brighton Heywood. She will next compete in the girls elite mile at the 26th annual Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays with Rocky Mountain on Thursday and Friday in Portland, Ore.

She said her high school career has gone by quickly and she is thankful she has the opportunity to continue competing at BYU.

“It actually blows my mind,” Heemeyer said. “I remember as a freshman and a sophomore, I get eight, six seasons left of running. Now it’s my last high school season. It just has me thinking over the past years of how many good memories we have, all the friends and relationships that have come from track, how much I love the sport, all the good that has come from running. I’m so grateful that I get to keep running in college. I think I’d be super sad if this was the end of my running career.”

The Rocky Mountain boys had numerous top-8 placers at Pasco as well. Senior Matthew Stevens placed fourth in the boys 400 in a personal best 49.35, junior Michael Majors placed fifth in the 800 in a personal best 1:56.52, senior Hyrum Tuft won the 3,200 in a personal best 9:13.90, junior Tatteham Burnham placed fifth in discus (163-9), senior Joseph Hunter placed third in high jump (6-2), senior Brady Pratt placed eighth in high jump (6-0) and senior Jack O’Very placed third in pole vault (personal best 14-9). The boys 4x400 team of Tyke Harper, Aiden Lowry, Majors and Stevens won in 3:21.24 and the DMR 4,000 team of Tuft, Thomas Kurtz, Lowry and Dylan Anson placed third in 10:35.16.

Also at the Pasco Invite, Prairie senior Sage Elven won girls discus with a personal best 145-8 to remain undefeated in the event going back to districts her sophomore season. That winning mark also puts her at No. 8 all-time on record in Idaho. Additionally, Coeur d’Alene Charter senior Reagan Meine won 100 hurdles there in a personal best 43.11, moving her to No. 3 all-time on record in Idaho.

Closer to home, Vallivue junior Jakobe Davis, who already broke 48 seconds earlier this month at Oregon Relays, ran a personal best 47.03 to win the 400 at the Knight Invite last Friday at Bishop Kelly and remain undefeated in the event this season. That is No. 1 all-time on record in Idaho, putting him past 2022 Boise graduate Liam Murray (47.50).

Up north at the Rasmussen Invite, Moscow senior Caleb Heywood remained undefeated this season in the 200 with a win in a personal best 21.43, which puts him in a tie for No. 5 all-time on record in Idaho. His teammate, Moscow junior Mattea Nuhn, won 100 hurdles in a personal best 14.23 to join Marsh Valley senior Lydia Townsend and Kimberly junior Karlie Bair as the third Idaho girl this season to break 14.3 in the event. Nuhn, whose only losses in 100 hurdles her entire high school career have been at Nike Outdoor Nationals, is now No. 7 all-time on record in Idaho in the event.

Mountain View junior Lilly Stebbins became the first Idaho girl this season to clear 5-6 in high jump with her win at a tri-meet at Centennial last Friday, keeping her undefeated this spring.

Capital senior and Indiana commit Christine Huckins became the first girl to break 11.7 in the 100 this spring in Idaho with her 11.69 win last Friday at the Thunder Invite at Eagle. She also won the 200 there in 24.23, Idaho’s first sub-24.3 time this season. On the same day at the Allstate Open in Twin Falls, Kimberly junior Karlie Bair won the 200 in a personal best 24.50 to move her to No. 3 all-time on record in Idaho.

Idaho has a new all-time record holder in boys javelin as of this month: Troy senior Evan Kirkham, whose personal best mark of 177-7 won him the title at the Leah Swanson Memorial – Deary Invite on April 11. He is undefeated this season in the event. Javelin became a fully sanctioned, state meet qualifying event last season after making its debut as an exhibition event in 2024.

Idahoans In National Rankings

As of Sunday on athletic.net.:

-Coeur d’Alene sophomore Rowan Henry (9:04.37) is No. 6 and Boise sophomore Austin Johnston (9:11.99) is No. 14 in the U.S. in the boys 2-mile.

-Highland senior Spencer Van Orden (13.44) is No. 7 in boys 110 hurdles.

-Boise sophomore Luke Bruce (6:13.59) is No. 6 and Canyon Ridge senior Daxin Holtzen is No. 21 in the boys 2k steeplechase.

-Eagle senior Ambrose Brainard (7-0) is No. 9 in boys high jump. One of four Idaho boys on record to clear seven feet in high jump in outdoor track, and one of 14 boys in the U.S. to clear 7-0 or better thus far this season.

-Marsh Valley senior Lydia Townsend (13-8) is No. 2 in girls pole vault, and one of four girls in the U.S. to clear 13-6 or better thus far this season. She was No. 1 in the U.S. for six days.

-Boise’s Lucy Spiess, Olivia McNeley, Reese Kindig and Audrey Orme (12:04.75) are No. 20 in the girls DMR 4000.

-Mountain View senior Clara Lowry (7:25.39) is No. 20 in girls 2k steeplechase.

-Coeur d’Alene Charter senior Annabelle Carr (2:08.67) is No. 17 in the girls 800.

On The Horizon

The 56th Tiger-Grizz Invitational co-hosted by Idaho Falls and Skyline takes place Friday and Saturday at Ravsten Stadium in Idaho Falls. As of Monday, 42 teams are registered.

The annual Bandanna Invite takes place Friday and Saturday at Mountain View. As of Monday, 26 teams are registered.

Boise, Caldwell, Coeur d’Alene, Coeur d’Alene Charter and Rocky Mountain are registered for the 26th annual Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays scheduled for Thursday through Friday at Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore. As of Monday, 149 teams are registered, including Niwot (Colo.), Southlake Carroll (Tex.) and Herriman (Utah).