Shaker NY 7:38.97, Colts Neck NJ 7:39.54 -
US#1 and US#2 4x800 times this year

High school runners had a little niche on the schedule among the Olympic athletes and they made the most of it. Shaker NY and Colts Neck NJ ran a torrid 4x800 with balanced splits and finished a half step apart for the fastest two times of the year in the country. Shaker anchor Joe Belokopitsky neared the finish with the same half-second lead he inherited over Colts Neck anchor Craig Forys.

Ed Grant adds this note:

Colts Neck tied the New Jersey record which had been held since 1979 by the famous Trenton High team that doubled the 3200R and 1600R that year at Penn with less than 15 minutes rest and with only one lineup change. Their hand-time was 7:39.5.

Also, this race could have been even faster had the anchor men not gone out in 58 seconds, running negative splits. It was the fastest 1-2 finish in the Northeast since the legendary Boys High-Jackson 2MR duel of 1967.

This race adds to the drama for next Friday's 4x800 at Nike Team Nationals in Greensboro NC. Waiting there and rested will be Syosset NY, which owns two narrow victories over Shaker -- the Penn Relays in April and the Armory Collegiate Games in February (with a national indoor record by Syosset at 7:42.22). If all or most of the national leaders appear, could they push each other toward the national record (7:32.89 by Chris Lukezic's Auburn Riverside WA crew at the same meet in 2002)?

National leaders in the 4x800