Paige Sheppard of Union Catholic wins the girls 1600 meter run at the 2025 NJSIAA Meet of Champions, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Pennsauken, N.J. Thompson’s winning time was 4:37.65, a new state record.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

PHILADELPHIA— Facing her stiffest competition yet, Paige Sheppard met the moment head on and cemented herself as one of the nation’s greatest sophomore track athletes.

Sheppard took down the New Jersey state record & U.S. sophomore record in the one mile run at New Balance Nationals (4:33.67), staving off a tough challenge from reigning national champion Sadie Engelhardt (California), who finished in 4:34.46.

The national sophomore record was previously held by Katelyn Tuohy (North Rockland, N.Y.), who ran 4:33.87 in 2018.

Sheppard also shattered the U15 world record, taking down the mark that Engelhardt set as a freshman at the 2022 Arcadia Invitational (4:35.16).

Her time also rewrites Engelhardt’s NBN record of 4:37.04 from last year.

Sitting in sixth place after the first two laps, Sheppard burned a jaw-dropping 63.04 in final lap to secure the win.

And it was the kind of lap necessary to take down a runner like Englehardt, who previously held the national record in the mile (4:28.46) before Jane Hedengren shattered it earlier this month.

And after Saturday’s race — and her entire spring season, really — Sheppard has more than proven she belongs among runners of that caliber.

“When she made her kick with (roughly) 500 meters to go, I knew that was when I kind of had to go and kind of attach myself on her if I was gonna have any chance to win,” Sheppard said. (Engelhardt) is an incredible runner.

Obviously, everyone deserves to be here. She deserves to be here. But so do I.”

“If I want to do these kinds of things and break records, I have to put myself in that position.

No matter where I am, it doesn’t really matter how you start, it’s how you finish it.”

And the final seconds of the race were certainly unforgettable.

Sheppard made a few surges in the final lap, but Engelhardt responded, maintaining her grip onto the lead until the last 100 meters.

From that point forward though, it was all Sheppard.

“I feel like time completely went out the window through that last lap,” Sheppard admitted. “I really just dug deep and toughed it out.

If I wanted to win it, and I really had to, I had to give it everything I had and fight for that finish line.”

Being a sophomore on a national stage can be daunting, but both Sheppard and her fellow UC teammate Sophia Thompson — who finished eighth in the nation with a time of 4:41.84 — have shown the kind of composure and confidence needed to line up against anyone in the country, even one of the greatest distance runners in U.S. history.

For Sheppard, it seems like the shift in making running feel less stressful and more enjoyable has made her even tougher to beat.

“I’ve really tried to make running more fun this year, just going into races seeing the other girls as competitors but also as friends,” Sheppard said.

Like laughing with Clemmie Lilley before racing against her in the 800, or just chatting with Engelhardt before the race, it just makes it so much more fun. It kind of takes that stress away.

At the end of the day, they’re my competitors, but they’re also people that I am excited to race and excited to see.”

“I think she’s really coming into her own,” Union Catholic head coach Mike McCabe said.

“She’s confident and healthy, and honestly just having fun out there.

We talk all the time (as a team) that we want the kids to have fun, and she’s really having fun.

She’s kind of figured out high school running, and she’s enjoying the process.”

Corey Annan can be reached at cannan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him or send him a message on Twitter/X @coreyannan360.

The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week.