Bartlett and Lee break more distance records
Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville) breaks the tape in the 2 Mile at the CIRCUIT NYC on February 14, 2026. | John Nepolitan for RunnerSpace
Blair Bartlett runs US #4 all-time 2 Mile, plus a 2:09 in the 800m
We already talked about Lawrenceville’s Blair Bartlett breaking two New Jersey state records this winter, but the star junior kept right on rolling last week. At Prep States on February 11, she jumped in the open 800m — a rare occurrence for the long-distance ace — and demonstrated her amazing range by blasting a 2:09.05. That’s #2 all-time in Mercer County. Given that she ran that time almost entirely on XC training and with limited experience in 800m pacing tactics, she could definitely lower that mark if she chooses to give it another go.
Three days later, Bartlett returned to an event firmly established in her wheelhouse: the two mile. After crushing a 9:42.38 3200m the week before, Bartlett trimmed a few more seconds off that already unbelievable time by running a 9:44.34 to win the full two mile at The CIRCUIT - NYC on February 14. (That converts roughly to a 3200m time of 9:40.9.) Unlike her prior solo effort on her home track at MAPLs, this time she had a pacer for her first seven trips around the Armory’s track — but it was actually once the pacer stepped off that Bartlett really began to ramp up the pace. She closed her last 1600m in 4:47 for an incredible negative split.
Allison Lee breaks CVC record for the 1600m
Mercer County’s other distance phenom has been on fire this winter, too — WWP South’s Allison Lee shattered the CVC record in the 1600m by over 2 seconds with a 4:48.58!
Lee accomplished that feat to win the varsity 1600m race at the NJ JV-Novice Invitational at Ocean Breeze on February 18. She came into the race with personal bests of 4:54 indoors and 4:51 outdoors, but she attacked the 4:50 target straight from the gun by throwing down an opening 400m of 1:10.9 and coming through the 800m in 2:23.3. She held on well through the second half and blitzed a bell lap of 34.8 to rewrite history.
The Penn-bound senior became the first CVC girl to ever go sub-4:50 indoors, bettering the old record of 4:50.85 by WWP South’s Christina Rancan from the Meet of Champions in 2016. In fact, Lee’s time came within 0.3 seconds of Rancan’s outdoor CVC record of 4:48.23 from groups that same year. Impressively, Lee set this record with an entirely solo effort — she won here by almost 30 seconds.