Freshman sets Mountain West Conference women’s 800-meter record to elevate to national prominence entering regionals

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Avi’Tal Wilson-Perteete was on a familiar track, wearing recognizable colors Saturday during the women’s 800-meter final at the Mountain West Conference Championships.

But that’s where the similarities ended for the UNLV freshman from the athlete who last competed at Buchanan High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium 49 weeks ago for St. Mary’s Berkeley in her final California state meet in Clovis.

Wilson-Perteete, who never placed higher than ninth in the 800 state final during her prep career, not only captured the conference title, but did so by producing the all-time Mountain West record of 2 minutes, 2.87 seconds, eclipsing the 2009 standard of 2:03.01 set by BYU’s Lacey Cramer.

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“My freshman year I had no idea what I was capable of. My coach (Jebreh Harris) always said that he believed I could run 2:02 or even sub-2 around this time of the season, but I didn’t believe him,” said Wilson-Perteete, who became the first UNLV women’s 800 champion since Auzsane Crowe-Carter in 2015.

“We put in the work and I guess the time shows for itself. That was crazy.”

Wilson-Perteete, who boasted a personal-best 2:09.31 from her sophomore year at St. Mary’s in 2015 before arriving in Las Vegas, finished second to Boise State junior Sadi Henderson by a 2:03.95 to 2:04.71 margin at the conference indoor final Feb. 24 in Albuquerque, N.M.

She went on to place 15th in her debut at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas.

The experience of competing against Henderson was extremely valuable for Wilson-Perteete in learning what to expect in Saturday’s rematch. Henderson took second in 2:05.56.

“I felt like it was important for me to race her during indoor season, so that way I could kind of learn the way that she ran and that definitely helped me this outdoor season,” said Wilson-Perteete, who elevated to No. 2 in UNLV history behind the 2:00.65 of Trena Hull in 1987, before the Rebels joined the Mountain West in 2000.

“She made a move and I knew if I wanted to take the win, that I would have to make a move too. We put in the work through the season and I trusted in my training and that’s pretty much what the results gave me and I couldn’t be more happy.”

Henderson, who set the conference championship record last season by clocking 2:04.18, was impressed with Wilson-Perteete’s performance.

“Seeing her do that today, she unlocked something that was inside of her and that was really cool to see and I hope she brings that for every conference race because she’s a freshman and I’ve got another year,” Henderson said. “I knew she was capable of that time, so it was kind of cool to see it. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I wasn’t expecting a 2:02 and I wish I would have been able to go with her.

“It’s a good wake-up call because I always need to be ready for the unexpected and to be able to run my best race. It was a good learning experience.”

Wilson-Perteete had run 2:04.70 on April 20 at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University, her only 800 during the outdoor season prior to returning to the blue oval at Buchanan for the conference championships.

“I’m not going to lie, I was super nervous coming into this race. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I always kind of plan for the worst-case scenario in my head, so when the best-case scenario happens, then I’m like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t see this coming,’” Wilson-Perteete said. “It definitely gives me a different base to go into races, so that way I know what I’m capable of and what I can be capable of, and just to believe in myself more.”

Wilson-Perteete will carry that belief with her May 24 to the NCAA West Regionals in Sacramento, where she will have to navigate her way through qualifying races in consecutive days in order to become the first UNLV 800 runner to advance to the Division 1 outdoor championship meet since 2012.

Following her memorable run Saturday, the only four Division 1 athletes who have run faster this season than Wilson-Perteete are NCAA indoor record holder Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M, reigning indoor champion Sabrina Southerland of Oregon, along with Texas A&M freshman Sammy Watson and Baylor redshirt freshman Aaliyah Miller, the gold and silver medalists from the 2016 World U20 Championships in Poland.

“It gives me more incentive to win, not just for myself, but for my team,” Wilson-Perteete said. “I’m running for the school and for the whole program. It really helps to have that encouragement because I can’t let them down and I can’t let myself down.

“It just means a lot to be part of a program that was so good already and it’s such a new program and being able to be part of this legacy is all I can really be grateful for at this moment. I’m just really happy to be part of this team.”