Malia Ellington, Community School of Davidson, 1000 Meter Run
Ellington is also a force at 1600 and 3200, where her indoor bests are 4:48 and 10:38, respectively, but her most impressive work was actually in the 800 last winter. She ran 2:11.93 at New Balance Nationals Indoors, putting her second in state history behind only Blake Dodge; the time also ranks her as the 6th-fastest returner in the nation. Ellington's actual 1000 time ranks second to Nevada Mareno (Leesville Road) among returning runners, but that comes with an asterisk: Malia only ran once against a fellow sub-3 minute runner, and that was in mid-January. Could she have challenged the all-time record of 2:53.85 with someone in front of her to push the pace? Let's hope we get to find out this winter! Also in the category of things I hope to see - I would love to watch Cary's Lakeisha Warner (who ran 2:10 a few years ago) mix it up in a competitive 1000. Don't be surprised if Blair Ramsey (Grimsley) and Grace Sullivan (Providence) are the next NC runners to break 3 minutes, and watch out for Anna Passannante (Chapel Hill) after her 2:13 last spring. Finally, despite an 800 resume that peaks with a 2:12, Eliza Dekker (Durham Academy) has never run the 1000, which seems like something she would enjoy correcting this winter.