Caitlin Collier's previous personal best of 2:03.32 was last June against a professional field at the Festival of Miles. On Friday, she sent shockwaves through the crowd at the University of North Florida, conquering the two-lap distance in a time of 2:02.77 and winning her fifth title in the event and 10th individual state championship overall.
The Bolles senior and Stanford signee's time breaks her previous PR and state record, and is also the third-fastest time in the world for an under-20 female. She trails only Sammy Watson, who ran 2:02.49 at LSU, and Keely Small of Australia, who ran 2:00.81 at the Commonwealth Games. Out of every runner in the world, her time is just outside the top 50 at 51st.
The high school national record is 1:59.51 set by Mary Cain of NY in 2013, while the senior class record is 2:00.07 set by Kim Gallagher from Pennsylvania in 1982.
Collier opted out of the 3,200m this championship meet, but she did her part on the team's 4x400m relay running the anchor leg and giving the Bulldogs the fastest qualifying time heading into Saturday. She will also compete in the 1,600m where she is going for her fourth straight title and will also be on the team's 4x800m relay.
