NBH runner, Bartlow continues record-breaking season

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – North Bay Haven junior, Margaret Bartlow is on pace to become the fastest female long-distance runner in Bay County history.

One week after breaking a Bay County record, Bartlow followed it up with a dominant performance at the Class 2A District 1 meet on Thursday, taking first place in the 1600M and 3200M dash.

Bartlow finished the 1600M nearly 30 seconds faster than the second-place runner and just under a minute and a half faster than second place in the 3200M.

“A couple of years ago, I would have never expected to be anywhere near this,” Bartlow said. “I wasn’t expecting to be that much faster than I was freshman year. I certainly wasn’t expecting to be as fast as I am now.”

Bartlow has taken first place in every individual race she has competed in this spring but her crowning achievement has been breaking the Bay County record in the girls 1600M dash, with a blazing 5:04.12 time.

“I was running down the home stretch and like, I can do it, I can do it!” Bartlow said. “It was a great feeling.”

Bartlow said her new record will not be safe for long, as her younger Buccaneer teammates coming up behind her are on track to quickly surpass her in speed.

North Bay Haven’s Mary Pickford took second place at the county meet and third place at districts in the 1600M as a seventh grader.

“My records aren’t going to stand for very long because we have a whole generation of fast runners that are ready to come out and show up and run really fast,” Bartlow said.

As a sophomore, Bartlow qualified for State in three separate events but said she was far from the runner at that time than she is now. At her current pace, Bartlow is on track to earn a state medal.

“I’m really, really excited for Regionals and State to just go out there, run against the other girls and do the best I can,” Bartlow said. “The goal is mostly to focus on placement and then just try to keep on getting faster.”

Bartlow will have a chance to earn first place at Regionals on Tuesday, May 7, in Jacksonville.

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