 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eastern States Championships Previews
Boys - Girls
National record attempt in 4x800, hot DM, and several US #1 marks will be under siege - Eastern States Boys Preview
By Jim Lambert
Morris Hills NJ will try to make a run at the national record in the 4x800-meter relay, national 1,000-meter record holder Robby Andrews of Manalapan NJ will seek to crank out a fast mile, West Windsor-Plainsboro North could flirt with a sub 10:10 in the distance medley relay, and several US #1 marks will be under attack at the Eastern States Championships on Tuesday at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York.
Morris Hills already owns the top time in the nation this season in the 4x800 (7:46.54), but it wants to run faster. How much faster??
About 4.33 seconds faster to be exact (just over one second per runner), which it what Morris Hills needs to break the national indoor record of 7:42.22 set in 2005 by Syosett NY. That’s what senior’s Vinny Chiusano, Tyler Hendrickson, Lucas Clyne and Liam Tansey will be chasing.
When Morris Hils ran 7:46.54 at the Armory on Jan. 24, their splits were 1:55.5 for Chiusano, 1:57.9 for Hendrickson, 1:59.7 for an ill Clyne, and 1:53.2 for Tansey. Considering that Clyne just ran 1:55.45 to get third at the New Jersey Meet of Champions on Saturday, going under Syosett’s record time does seem reachable for Morris Hills.
The DM at Easterns always produces hot times as teams look to lock up Penn Relays qualifiers, and this year should be no different.
Arlington NY comes in with a US #3 10:18.7, but West Windsor-Plainsboro North NJ looks like the team to beat. The US #1 time of 10:17.5, run by Westerly RIm stands nearly no chance of remaining on top.
With sophomore twins Joe and Jim Rosa handling the long legs, senior Tyler Corkedale on the 800 and junior Sean Reed running the 400, West Windsor North has the potential to become just the seventh sub 10:10 team in US indoor history. The NJ state record, 10:12.1 set in 1983 by Bernards, should be history as well.
When West Windsor North ran 10:24.34 in the DM at the NJ Group 3 Relyas on Jan. 18, Jim Rosa led off in 3:10.4, Corkedale ran 1:57.7 and Joe Rosa 4:21.8. But the Rosa’s will switch spots, which should make a big difference considering that Jim just ran a NJ state sophomore record 4:13.12 in the 1,600 on Saturday when he was second to Tansey (4:11.95) at the NJ M of C. In addition to Arlington and West Windsor North, the race is also expected to feature Haddonfield NJ (10:24.0), Burnt Hills NY (10:24.23), Shenendehowa NY (10:24.41), and Christian Brothers NJ (10:25.2)
Here's is a list of the top 10 DM times ever run in U.S. indoor history
9:59.94 - Gloucester, Mass., 2000
10:03.70 - Atlanitc, Delray Beach, Fla., 2001
10:05.72 - South Lakes, Reston, Va., 2001
10:08.49 - Glastonbury, Conn., 2007
10:09.31 - Jay-East Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, N.Y, 2004
10:09.37 - Saratoga Springs, N.Y., 2006
10:10.30 - West Springfield, Springfield, Va., 1998
10:10.40 - Wachusett, Holden, Mass., 2004
10:10.80 - Cardinal O'Hara, Springfield, Pa., 2004
10:10.93 - Shenendehowa, Clifton Park, N.Y., 1999
The top individual headliners of the meet are Andrews, Morristown sophomore Nick Vena, and Terrance Livingston of Great Neck South N.Y. .
Clayton Parros of Seton Hall Prep NJ, who has run a US #2 47.58, has scratched from the meet due to the strained hamstring he suffered while running the 200 at the NJ State Prep Championships last Wednesday. Parros also missed the NJ Meet of Champions last Saturday with the injury. Parros is confident he'll be 100 percent for the Nike Nationals in Boston next month.
Andrews will be returning to the Armory for the first time since his remarkable 2:22.28 national record run in the 1,000 on Feb. 7. But this time, he’ll be running the mile. Andrews didn't say how fast he'd like to run, but he's certainly talented enough and fit enough to become just the fourth runner from New Jersey to go under 4:10 indoors.
The top time in the nation this season in the mile is 4:09.06 by Mac Fleet of California City, California, and the NJ indoor record for the mile of 4:06.6, the national record for four years, has stood since Vince Cartier of Scotch Plains-Fanwood ran it to win the 1972 Meet of Champions at Jadwin Gym in Princeton.
Vena, the 2008 National Scholastic champion in the shot put, has been unchallenged this season, but he is pushing himself to try to get to 68 feet. He’s hit 67-0 or better in three straight meets and has a season best and US #3 of 67-8 ¼. Stephen Saenz of Rio Grande City, Texas is the national leader at 69-7 ¾.
Parros, who has run a US #2 47.58, is probable to run the 400 after suffering a mild hamstring strain last Wednesday at the NJ Prep Championships. Parros sat out the NJ M of C on Saturday, but said he’ll warm up at the meet and run if the hamstring feels good. Livingston is entered in both the 400 and 800. He’s run a US #2 in both the 600 (1:18.70) and 800 (1:53.36), and a US #7 48.66 in the 400.
Rolston Braithwaite could be in for a big night. The senior at Trenton is the top seed in both the 55 hurdles and triple jump.
Braithwaite ran a US #4 7.41 to place second to Josh Evans of Irvington in the hurdles at the NJ M of C on Saturday. Evans, who won in a US #3 7.40, isn't entered at Easterns.
When Braithaite isn't hurdling, he'll be busy trying to break the NJ state record in the triple jump of 49-6 ½, set in 1989 by Craig Halyard of Ridgwood. Braithwaite has gone a US #7 48-1 this year.
In the high jump, Sean Reilly of Arlington NY is the only one that’s made 6-10, but New Jersey’s Alex Smith of Rumson, the M of C winner, and Glenn Scheideler of Randolph, have cleared 6-8.
Darwin Gibbons of Caravel Academy in Delaware is the favorite based on the 15-6 he cleared to finish first at his state meet. But New Jersey’s Greg Kelley of Toms River North, Greg Hoffman of Park Ridge, and Chris Wyckoff of Toms River East have all made 15-0 in their career. Kelley won the NJ M of C over Hoffman in a jump off after both cleared 15-0 Wyckoff made 15-0 to win the NJ M of C last spring.
The 4x200 should be clash between three sub 1:30 squads from New York, US #2 Middle College (1:28.51), US #6 Ramapo (1:29.66) and US #7 Newburgh (1:29.79).
In the 4x400, Newburgh comes into the race with a US #2 3:18.65. NJ M of C winner Rahway is the best of the rest having gone a US #7 3;21.76.
Southern targets US #1 in DM; US #1 sprinters Dominique Booker and Nijgia Snapp headline individual events - Eastern States Girls Preview
BY JIM LAMBERT
Southern Regional NJ coach Brian Zatorski knows he has a lineup capable of burning a fast time in the distance medley relay. The question is, how low can they go?
The answer will come on Tuesday night at the Eastern States Championships at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York. ``Our No. 1 concern is to qualify for Penn and hopefully win the race, but I do think we can run a pretty fast time,’’ said Zatorski. ``I’d like to think we could run around 11:55, but if everyone is clicking, we could go even faster.’’ Southern’s lineup, consisting of junior Chelsea Cox (1,200), junior Michelle Simmons (400), junior Erin Horleman (800) and All-World senior anchor Jill Smith, is expected to wipe out the US #1 time this season of 11:59.71 that Burnt Hills NY ran last month at Yale. The top teams looking to push Southern include Voorhees NJ (US #3 12:05.9) , and Immaculate Heart NJ (12:18.7), So far this season, Cox has run 3:46.1 for 1,200 Simmons 61.3 for 400, Horelman 2:21.79 in the 800, and Smith has run a US #1 4:48.23 for 1,600. That comes to 11:57.5, But Cox, who has only run the 1,200 once, can go much faster considering that she’s run 2:50.69 for 1,000, and the indefatigable Smith is capable of just about anything. If everything goes right, Southern certainly has a chance to become just the 14th team in US history to ever break 11:50. The NJ record of 11:48.02, set in 2006 by Roxbury, is within Southern’s grasp.
But the DM isn’t the only time that Southern will be on the track. A little over an hour later, Smith, Cox and Horleman are expected to return to the track with Kate Bergin to run the 4x800, a race in which Southern owns a US #1 time of 9:07.67. Four of the five fastest teams in the nation are entered in the 4x800, including Southern. The other three are Bronxville NY (9:19.46) Voorhees NJ (US #4 9:19.47), and Garden City NY (US #9:20.87). But there’s a good chance Voorhees may scratch after running the DM.
The 4x200 will be clash between five of the top 14 teams in the nation, headed by US #7 Middle College NY (1:42.61), US #8 Camden (1:42.61), US #12 Mount Vernon NY (1:42.79) and US #14 Canarise NY (1:43.00). Middle College is led by Clemson-bound Janice Jackson, who is also favored to win the 55 hurdles. Jackson has run a US #2 8.01 this season.
In the 4x400, Newburgh NY (3:54.24), Camden NJ (3:55.08), Mount Vernon NY (3:55.64) and Hopewell Valley NJ (3:56.69) are the three fastest teams.
US #1 sprinter Dominique Booker of Montclair Immaculate NJ, who took over the US lead in the 55 dash when she won that race in 6.92 at the NJ Meet of Champions, will look to remain undefeated in that race and is also the No. 2 seed in the 200. In the 200, Booker (US #14 24.92) and US #1 300 runner Whitney Fountain of Pelham Prep NY, will square off.
The 400 brings lots of heat as five of the seven fastest quarter milers in the nation will blast off. Nijgia Snapp of Oakcrest, the NJ M of C winner, is the one to beat, coming on to the track with a US #1 55.33. She’ll be up against Michelle Brown of Seneca NJ (55.88), Amber Allen of Passaic Tech (55.95) and freshman Kyle Plante of Colonie NY (56.0).
In the distance races, junior Brianna Welch of North Shore NY, FL finalists Shelby Greany of Suffern NY and Lanie Thompson of Voorhees are also entered in both the 800 and 1,600. The 3,200 looks like a battle between freshman Samantha Nadel of North Shore NY (US #4 9:51.96 for 3,000), and Briana Jackucewicz of Colts Neck NJ (US #4 10:41.35).
Ajee’ Wilson of Neptune NJ is entered in both the 800 and 1,600, but the freshman phenom, who has run a US #3 2:10.45 in the 800, and a NJ state freshman record of 4:58.70 in the 1,600, is not competing. .
The Clayton family of Suffern NY has a good chance at a jumping double. Jen is the top seed in the long jump with a US #6 19-5 ¼, and her sister Janelle is the second seed in the high jump with a US #8 5-7. NJ champion Emily Kianka (US #7 5-7 ½) is the favorite.
The pole vault is wide open with Sydnie Leroy of Port Jervis NY (12-1), Nicole Pompei of Hanover Park N J (12-1), and Mandissa Marshall of Crestwood Pa (12-0) all having an even chance at victory,
Vanessa Stewart, a junior at North Babylon NY is the clear choice to win the shot put based on her US #4 46-11 ¾. Shannon Watt of Jackson, the NJ M of C winner and ranked No. 9 in the US (44-2 ½), will not compete. Watt has valiantly competing with a sore groin the past few weeks and has decided to fully heal before throwing at the Nike Nationals next month.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
