Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura is about to break the tape at left at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational. At right, Engelhardt is running at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Photos: Ken Martinez / DyeStat.com & Chuck Utash / DyeStat.com.
Still with a year to go at Ventura High, she’s become a state and national sensation with her record-breaking running in cross country and track. Engelhardt now becomes only the fourth highest honored girls athlete in California from Ventura County in 100 years. The last one just won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
For a look at all of the other girls from the 2023-24 school year to be selected as a winner from each category plus lists of other top overall athletes, CLICK HERE.
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For a student-athlete who spends a significant amount of time outside of the traditional California Interscholastic Federation fall and spring schedules competing unattached against college and professional distance runners, state championships and national records still remain among the biggest motivating factors in the career of Ventura High junior Sadie Engelhardt.
There were plenty of both for Engelhardt to celebrate during the past year, including the fastest girls outdoor mile in U.S. prep history, two national championships, state titles in three events across multiple seasons – plus another as a cross country team – and being the overall high school leader across four distances on the track.
And those achievements didn’t even include running the anchor leg on the No. 2 all-time outdoor prep distance medley relay, or contributing to the third-fastest 4×800-meter relay in California high school history.
Engelhardt also joined fellow track star and North Hills L.A. Baptist graduate Allyson Felix (2002-03), along with former Long Beach Wilson volleyball standout Cynthia Barboza (2004-05) in becoming just the third girls competitor from California to be chosen as the nation’s top overall female athlete by Gatorade. She got to experience being on the red carpet at the ESPYs award shaw as a result of that selection.
There’s still another year to go before the sun sets on the high school career of Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt. She has committed to North Carolina State for college. Photo: runnerspace / YouTube.com.
There also is now a continuance of her impressive run of recognition by Cal-Hi Sports, with Engelhardt earning the Girls State Athlete of the Year nod for the 2023-24 school year, which followed being selected as the best competitor in her class as both a freshman and a sophomore. This year’s honors were planned to be announced during the 2024 Olympics in Paris and are technically out on the same day as former Girls State Athlete of the Year Tara Davis-Woodhall won the gold medal in the long jump. The Agoura High grad was the winner for the 2016-17 school year.
When Engelhardt was recognized as the top ninth-grader in 2021-22, her friend and fellow distance runner Dalia Frias from Manhattan Beach Mira Costa was the Girls State Athlete of the Year recipient.
“Being among those girls, I think it’s definitely an accomplishment in itself, and I’m incredibly honored,” said Engelhardt, who was also chosen by Gatorade as the National Girls Track and Field Player of the Year.
“Ever since my first California state meet, I’ve been thinking about these awards. It’s definitely something that has been on my mind for a while.”
Engelhardt, a North Carolina State commit, is the first female athlete from Ventura to receive the state’s top honor since tennis player Nancy Chaffee received recognition in 1944-45. Chafee has been listed as from Ventura High, but attended Academy of St. Catherine in the city.
“I’m very proud to be representing Ventura,” Engelhardt said. “I think the athletes here kind of have everything they need to be great. The weather, especially during track, the trails, the beach, you have everything.”
Chaffee, who went on to play in college as a member of the USC men’s team, won 14 national titles as an amateur and professional competitor, along with reaching the 1951 U.S. Open women’s doubles final with Patricia Todd.
Engelhardt, 17, concluded her junior year as the only prep athlete racing in the women’s 1,500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June at Hayward Field in Oregon.
The experience capped an exceptional final six weeks for Engelhardt that was highlighted by running 4:28.46 on May 30 at the HOKA Festival of Miles in Missouri to regain her status as the fastest outdoor mile competitor in U.S. prep history less than 10 minutes after Allie Zealand from Pacers Homeschool in Virginia clocked 4:30.38 in the prior race.
Zealand had eclipsed the previous national mark of 4:31.72 achieved April 19 by Engelhardt at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.
“I see Allie coming down and they’re like, ‘She’s going to break the meet record,’ and then I kept looking and she’s literally running 4:30, so it was just crazy,” Engelhardt said. “It definitely made me a little nervous, but I also think it motivated me, so I’m very happy for her.”
Engelhardt prevailed in a head-to-head matchup June 15 with Zealand by a 4:37.04 to 4:39.16 margin at New Balance Nationals Outdoor at Franklin Field in Pennsylvania, helping her sweep both indoor and outdoor high school mile championships for the second year in a row.
In between her performances in St. Louis and Philadelphia, Engelhardt also elevated to the No. 5 all-time prep competitor in the 1,500 by clocking 4:08.86 in the Portland Track Festival High Performance race June 9 in Oregon.
She also added an 800-meter victory June 12 at the Brooks PR Invitational in Washington, clocking 2:03.99, just off her national-leading 2:03.48 from the Meet of Champions Distance Classic in March at Azusa Pacific University.
“Going into the season, my main goal was to get to the Trials,” Engelhardt said. “What I was trying to do with all the postseason races was to try to get as close as I could to the (1,500) auto qualifier and gain as much experience as possible.”
Although the demanding travel and racing schedule eventually caught up to Engelhardt, who ran 4:19.66 in her opening-round 1,500 race at the Olympic Trials, it didn’t overshadow all of her other exceptional efforts along the way.
“I think probably just the culmination of a very long season and then being a little bit intimidated by the other girls and women, obviously, that’s probably what contributed to the performance, but I was still so excited just to make it and very grateful for the experience,” Engelhardt said. “I feel like it’s just a different era of high school running right now, especially with nine athletes making it to the Trials, and I’m very happy to be a part of it, for sure.”
Engelhardt’s impact on the track wasn’t just limited to her individual events, including a third consecutive 1,600-meter state title May 25 in 4:32.06 at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis.
She also teamed with Melanie True, Tiffany Sax and Aelo Curtis to help Ventura win the state championship in the 4×800 relay in 8:57.21, the No. 8 outdoor performance in the country this year.
Engelhardt also ran the anchor leg of Ventura’s distance medley relay April 20 at the Mt. SAC Relays, joining Valentina Fakrogha, Curtis and True to run 11:21.85, which, at the time, eclipsed the national high school outdoor record of 11:22.23 established in 2011 by Studio City Harvard-Westlake.
Ventura went on to place second June 16 at New Balance Nationals Outdoor behind Cuthbertson High of North Carolina, which lowered the all-time prep mark to 11:20.44.
“The DMR, first of all, we had no idea that the national record was in danger before the (Mt. SAC) race. I think we all just had a great day and it’s definitely rare to have all four girls have a day like that,” Engelhardt said. “So even if it is broken already, I think during this period in high school running, every record is getting broken left and right. So yeah, I’m just happy that we could be on that top five list of DMRs. And then the 4×800 was also so exciting, switching out Val for Tiffany. I think it’s great that we have the girls to do that and it’s a very deep team.”
Engelhardt also led Ventura to the Division II state cross country championship with an 85-114 victory against Rocklin Whitney in November at Woodward Park in Fresno, the first girls team title for the Cougars since winning back-to-back Division I crowns in 2003-04. She covered the 5-kilometer layout in 16:40.7, giving her two of the four fastest performances on the course in California prep history, along with a 16:39.3 effort in October at the ASICS Clovis Invitational.
Engelhardt also placed 26th out of 204 athletes in December at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland.
“It definitely made the season go by a lot faster doing it with those girls and yeah, some days you really just don’t want to run. But I think all those girls are like, partly the reason why I got to practice and had fun and really didn’t even feel like I was putting in the work. It was just like I was hanging out with my friends,” Engelhardt said. “I think we’re going to be good for quite a while, getting a couple of eighth-graders in as freshmen. So yeah, I’m very happy to not only do individual events, and pro meets like I did, but also just compete with my girls and my best friends. So yeah, I got the best of both worlds this season, for sure.”
ALL-TIME CAL-HI SPORTS
GIRLS STATE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
(Selected by Cal-Hi Sports)
Juju Watkins collected a lot of championship hardware during her high school years at Sierra Canyon. Photo: Mark Tennis.
2023-24 – Sadie Engelhardt, Ventura
(track, cross country)
2022-23 – Juju Watkins, Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (basketball)
2021-22 – Dalia Frias, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (track, cross country)
2020-21 – Paige Sommers, Westlake Village Westlake (track, pole vault)
2019-20 – Sarah Willis, Norco (basketball, softball)
2018-19 – Haley Jones, San Jose Archbishop Mitty (basketball)
2017-18 – Gracie Figueroa, Selma (wrestling)
2016-17 – Tara Davis, Agoura Hills Agoura (track)
2015-16 – Elena Bruckner, San Jose Valley Christian (track, volleyball)
2014-15 – Abbey Weitzeil, Saugus (swimming)
2013-14 – Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo Aliso Niguel (gymnastics)
2012-13 – Chelsea Chenault, Concord Carondelet (swimming)
2011-12 – Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo Aliso Niguel (gymnastics)
2010-11 – Maggie Steffens, Danville Monte Vista (water polo)
2009-10 – Ashton Purvis, Oakland St. Elizabeth (track)
2008-09 – Jordan Hasay, San Luis Obispo Mission Prep (track)
2007-08 – Jordan Hasay, San Luis Obispo Mission Prep (track) Jr.
2006-07 – Alix Klineman, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (volleyball)
2005-06 – Jayne Appel, Concord Carondelet (water polo, basketball)
2004-05 – Jessica Hardy, Long Beach Wilson (swimming)
2003-04 – Candice Wiggins, La Jolla Country Day (volleyball, basketball)
2002-03 – Alyson Felix, North Hills L.A. Baptist (track)
2001-02 – Julia Pitts, Torrance North (volleyball, basketball, track)
2000-01 – Lashinda Demus, Long Beach Wilson (track)
1999-00 – Monique Henderson, San Diego Morse (track) Jr.
1998-99 – Rometra Craig, San Jose Mitty (basketball, tae kwon do, track) Jr.
1997-98 – Amanda Freed, Garden Grove Pacifica (volleyball, soccer, baseball)
1996-97 – Tayyiba Haneef, Laguna Hills (volleyball, basketball, track)
1995-96 – Kerri Walsh, San Jose Mitty (volleyball, basketball)
1994-95 – Marcy Crouch, Huntington Beach Marina (soccer, softball)
1993-94 – Suzy Powell, Modesto Downey (basketball, track)
1992-93 – Marion Jones, Thousand Oaks (basketball, track)
1991-92 – Marion Jones, Thousand Oaks (basketball, track) Jr.
1990-91 – Marion Jones, Oxnard Rio Mesa (basketball, track) Soph.
1989-90 – Lisa Leslie, Inglewood Morningside (basketball, track)
1988-89 – Janet Evans, Placentia El Dorado (swimming)
1987-88 – Janet Evans, Placentia El Dorado (swimming) Jr.
1986-87 – Michele Granger, Placentia Valencia (softball)
1985-86 – Terri Mann, San Diego Point Loma (basketball, track)
1984-85 – Elaina Oden, Irvine (volleyball, track)
1983-84 – Wendy Brown, Woodside (basketball, track)
1982-83 – Wendy Wyland, Mission Viejo (diving)
1981-82 – Denean Howard, Granada Hills Kennedy (track)
1980-81 – Cheryl Miller, Riverside Polytechnic (basketball)
1979-80 – Sherri Howard, Granada Hills Kennedy (track)
1978-79 – Cynthia Woodhead, Riverside Polytechnic (swimming)
1977-78 – Tracy Austin, Rolling Hills (tennis)
1976-77 – Linda Fratianne, Van Nuys Valley Professional (figure skating)
1975-76 – Jill Sterkel, Hacienda Heights Wilson (swimming)
1974-75 – Barbara Reinalda, Cerritos Valley Christian (basketball, softball)
1973-74 – Mary Decker, Orange (track)
1972-73 – Keena Rothhammer, Santa Clara (swimming)
1971-72 – Mable Fergerson, Pomona Ganesha (track)
1970-71 – Laura Baugh, Long Beach Wilson (golf)
1969-70 – Cathy Rigby, Los Alamitos (gymnastics)
1968-69 – Debbie Meyer, Sacramento Rio Americano (swimming)
1967-68 – Debbie Meyer, Sacramento Rio Americano (swimming)
1966-67 – Debbie Meyer, Sacramento Rio Americano (swimming)
1965-66 – Charlotte Cooke, Compton (track)
1964-65 – Peggy Fleming, Pasadena (figure skating)
1963-64 – Sharon Stouder, Glendora (swimming)
1962-63 – Donna de Varona, Santa Clara (swimming)
1961-62 – Carolyn House, Los Angeles Marshall (swimming)
1960-61 – Billie Jean King, Long Beach Poly (tennis)*
1959-60 – Chris von Saltza, Los Gatos (swimming)
1958-59 – Karen Hantze, San Diego Mission Bay (tennis)
1957-58 – Sylvia Ruuska, Berkeley (swimming)
1956-57 – Barbara Ann Roles, Arcadia (figure skating)
1955-56 – Mimi Arnold, Redwood City Sequoia (tennis)
1954-55 – Mimi Arnold, Redwood City Sequoia (tennis)
1953-54 – Carol Tait, Atherton Menlo-Atherton (swimming)
1952-53 – Barbara Stark, Lafayette Acalanes (swimming)
1951-52 – Paula Jean Myers, Covina (diving)
1950-51 – Maureen Connolly, San Diego Cathedral (tennis)
1949-50 – Maureen Connolly, San Diego Cathedral (tennis)
1948-49 – Marlene Bauer, L.A. unknown (golf)
1947-48 – Zoe Ann Olsen, Oakland (diving)
1946-47 – Zoe Ann Olsen, Oakland (diving)
1945-46 – Zoe Ann Olsen, Oakland (diving)
1944-45 – Nancy Chaffee, Ventura Academy of St. Catherine (tennis)
1943-44 – Jean Doyle, San Diego Point Loma (tennis)
1942-43 – Ann Curtis, S.F. Washington (swimming)
1941-42 – Ann Curtis, S.F. Washington (swimming)
1940-41 – Ann Curtis, S.F. Washington (swimming)
1939-40 – Margorie Gestring, Los Angeles (diving)
1938-39 – Esther Williams, L.A. Washington (swimming)
1937-38 – Margorie Gestring, Los Angeles (diving)
1936-37 – Margorie Gestring, Los Angeles (diving)
1935-36 – Peggy Graham, Beverly Hills (golf)
1934-35 – Margaret Osborne, S.F. Commerce (tennis)
1933-34 – Florence Chadwick, San Diego Hoover (rough water swimming)
1932-33 – Dorothy Poynton, L.A. Fairfax (diving)
1931-32 – Evelyn Furtsch, Tustin (track)
1930-31 – Alice Marble, S.F. Polytechnic (tennis)
1929-30 – Georgia Coleman, L.A. Polytechnic (diving)
1928-29 – Gloria Russell, Berkeley (track)
1927-28 – Georgia Coleman, L.A. Polytechnic (diving)
1926-27 – Georgia Coleman, L.A. Polytechnic (diving)
1925-26 – Helen Jacobs, Berkeley Miss Anna Head’s School (tennis)
1924-25 – Eleanor Garatti, San Rafael (swimming)
1923-24 – Helen Jacobs, Berkeley (tennis)
1922-23 – Helen Wills, Berkeley Miss Anna Head’s School (tennis)
1921-22 – Helen Wills, Berkeley unknown (tennis)
1920-21 – Helen Wills, Berkeley unknown (tennis)
1919-20 – Helen Wills, Berkeley unknown (tennis)
*Known as Billie Jean Moffitt while in high school.
Note: All selections prior to 1978-79 done retroactively through research by our founder, the late Nelson Tennis.
Erik Boal has covered high school sports in California for nearly 30 years, formerly serving as editor at the Glendale News-Press and Los Angeles Daily News. He is currently the editor for DyeStat.com and RunnerSpace.com, which focus on track and field, cross country and road racing, but has been a regular attendee at major Southern California high school sports events since the early 2000s.
