Maggie Vessey the No. 2 American at adidas Grand Prix

Soquel High alumna Maggie Vessey, in black, finishes fourth behind winner Fantu Magiso of Ethiopia in the women’s 800 meters at the Adidas Grand Prix track and field meet Saturday in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Maggie Vessey finished fourth and as the No. 2 American in the 800-meter run at the adidas Grand Prix in New York City on Saturday.
The Soquel High alumna and Olympic hopeful finished in 2 minutes, 0.48 seconds, not quite matching her season best of 2:00.19 set in May. Breakout Ethiopian runner Fantu Magiso won the race in 1:57.48, shattering the meet record. The former meet record was 1:59.07, set by Hazel Clark in 2007. Magiso also set the Ethiopian national record with the time.
Meanwhile, the Dream Mile wasn’t quite a nightmare for Aptos High junior Nikki Hiltz, but it definitely didn’t go to plan. She placed last of the 14 girls invited to the event to challenge the national youth record, running 5:00.72.
“The first two laps of race I was in it, I was in third place. Then just hit a wall,” Hiltz said. “I’m happy with my season and I’m also racing next weekend, so I’m just going to try to turn it around and see what happens.”
Harvard-Westlake senior Cami Chapus defended her Dream Mile title by running 4:39.64, the No. 2 time in the nation this year and No. 8 all-time. Angel Piccirillo of Homer-Center, Pa., who holds the top time in the nation this season, finished second in 4:39.94.

Two future Santa Cruz Olympians on the track?

Aptos’ Nikki Hiltz (1) crosses the finish line while competing in the Girls 1600 Meter Run during the finals of the 2012 CIF State Track & Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif. on Saturday, June 2, 2012. Hiltz would place first with a time of 4:42.45. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff)

Nikki Hiltz dominated the California state track meet last week; today she may do the same against an international field in the Dream Mile at the adidas Grand Prix in New York City.
The Aptos High junior last week won just the fifth state track title in Santa Cruz County history when she cruised through the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 41.93 seconds — the third fastest time in the nation this season. That gives her the fastest personal-best of any of the 14 girls on the start list for today’s 11:30 a.m. race. The second-fastest is the 4:42.71 held by Harvard-Westlake senior Cami Chapus, who placed fifth at state.
Hiltz won’t be the only county runner competing at the Grand Prix. Olympic hopeful Maggie Vessey of Soquel is scheduled to run the 800 at 12:23 p.m. Vessey holds the fourth-fastest time this season [2:00.19] and second-best PR time [1:57.84] in the eight-woman field behind Ethiopia’s Fantu Magiso [1:57.56].