Brie Oakley’s decision to give up soccer for running is sound.
Not that the Grandview junior needed any more confirmation after she finished second in the state in cross country, but it came Thursday at Jefferson County Stadium, where she opened the Class 5A state track meet with a bang.
In the first final of the three-day meet — her state track debut — Oakley laid down a time of 10 minutes, 33.14 seconds in the 3,200 meter run to set the 5A state meet record and take down the mark of former Boulder star Melody Fairchild.
“I’m definitely in the right place,” Oakley said with a smile.
It’s been a short trip to the right place for Oakley, who played soccer for more than decade growing up and came into the school year continuing on her path on the pitch. Soccer friends on the cross country team urged her to try it out and she became an instant star with a bright future ahead.
While she was a solid soccer player on the club and high school level — she played a reserve role for coach Tari Wood on Grandview’s Class 5A state championship team last season — Oakley has become Aurora (and the state’s) next great distance runner. With an elite level of fitness and built-in competitive streak, she has earned a big reputation in the sport in just a short time.
Oakley set Grandview cross country records all over the place, won the Centennial League championship and finished second at the Class 5A state meet in the fall, where she challenged three-time state champion Lauren Gregory of Fort Collins the entire way. Oakley also qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals and finished 26th in a nationwide field of 197 elite runners and was one of five cross country runners honored by the Colorado Running Hall of Fame last month.
The success convinced her to drop soccer and give herself fully over to running.
“I played soccer for 12 years and I think I was getting a little burned out,” Oakley told the Sentinel in April. “I really started to fall in love with running, so I definitely think it was the right choice to quit soccer. I feel like I get a lot more out of running than I ever did out of soccer.”
Since Oakley has dedicated herself to running, she’s been talking with Division I coaches about scholarships. She’s heard from the University of Arizona and the University of Colorado so far and could generate interest from a variety of other programs around the Pac-12.
The interest should only continue to grow given her performance on the first day of her very first track meet.
Coming into the 3,200 meter race with the best time by more than 30 seconds, Oakley was a good bet to win the state championship, but it was the way she did it that stood out and drew the roaring approval of the crowd.
Oakley set out for a fast first mile — which she finished in around 5:10 — and got the lead she wanted, then just built on it the rest of the way. She crossed the finish line with the record at the same time as the last placed runner in the event started her final lap.
“I just thought I had to go out and if somebody did try to hang with me, hopefully I could gas them and they’d fall off,” she said. “It was awesome.”
Boosted by the crowd that encouraged her on the straightaway on every lap and using the video scoreboard with running clock to track her progress, Oakley pushed herself to do something even past Aurora distance greats such as the dominating Megan and Katelyn Kaltenbach of Smoky Hill couldn’t do in the early 2000s, knock Fairchild out of the record book.
“I came in knowing of it (the record) and I thought I could do it,” Oakley said. “I ran a 10:27 two weeks ago, so I thought I could it.”
With a few hours to recover, Oakley anchored Grandview’s 4×800 meter relay team that set the school record and finished fifth.
Oakley teamed with senior Kayla Vallin, junior Caroline Robbins and freshman Kaitlyn Mercer to get the Wolves on the medal podium for the first time in the event with a time of 9:32.21.
On Friday, Oakley takes part in the 800 meter prelims, where she is seeded No. 12, but believes that the elite competition could help her move up into a placing spot.
She’s also the top seed in Saturday morning’s 1,600 meter run, though her top time of 4:57.91 is only 2 1/2 seconds faster than Horizon’s Megan Mooney, who Oakley expected to challenge her more in the 3,200.
The existing 5A state meet record in the 1,600 came from Cherry Creek’s Jordyn Polter at last season’s state meet, a 4:46.22.
“The 1,600 definitely will be a lot closer,” Oakley said. “I’m definitely hoping to PR. I’m just going to go out fast and not freak out if somebody is following me.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
