Camryn Wennersten, a Furman-bound senior at Ridgewood High in New Jersey representing Garden State Track Club, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss returning Jan. 29 to The Armory in New York for the 114th Millrose Games to compete in the New Balance Girls Mile. Wennersten placed eighth in the mile as a sophomore in 2020 in 4:51.60 and is one of only two athletes from that race, along with runner-up and Stanford commit Juliette Whittaker of Mount de Sales High in Maryland (4:43.89), expected to be part of the field again. Roisin Willis of Stevens Point High in Wisconsin, a Stanford-bound senior who finished fifth in the mile two years ago in 4:49.63, is entered in the Jack and Lewis Rudin women's 800 meters to compete against professional athletes. Wennersten, the only New Jersey prep female athlete to run under 2:08 in the 800 and 4:45 in the mile during her career, analyzes the depth of the field scheduled to compete at The Armory, including five athletes representing New Jersey. She reflects on the 2020 mile race, won by Northern High of Pennsylvania graduate Marlee Starliper in 4:37.76, and examines the potential for how fast the pace could be this year. Wennersten revisits her fall season, which included both road racing and cross country events, and recaps her track preparation in January in advance of the Millrose Games, including a strong 1,200-meter effort Jan. 20 at Ocean Breeze. She expresses gratitude for the coaches and athletes at Garden State Track Club and explains how the collaboration with both male and female competitors ranging in age and experience has helped Wennersten become more versatile. Wennersten reveals why she chose Furman and her excitement for being part of a recruiting class that also includes Jenna Mulhern of Pennsylvania, Carly Wilkes of Virginia and Emma Jones of North Carolina, in addition to the potential as a 5-foot-10 athlete to possibly explore the 3,000-meter steeplechase in college. She also speaks about how much inspiration and motivation was gained from watching Mulhern and many of her peers and friends in the sport earn All-America honors and lead the Northeast lineup to victory Dec. 11 at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships in San Diego. Wennersten shares her desire to study health sciences at Furman and her focus on nutrition and being purposeful in her food choices and how she is grateful for her mom's cooking. She looks forward to the opportunity to compete in national indoor meets in March, as well as finding more elite competitions during the spring outdoor season representing Garden State Track Club.

114TH MILLROSE GAMES WEBCAST INFO | ARMORYTRACK | MILLROSEGAMES.ORG