Yale Interscholastic T&F Classic Coxe Cage, Yale U., New Haven CT Friday-Saturday, January 19-20, 2007 DyeStat on-site with John Nepolitan

Murdock and Davidson run to US#1 marks

Photos, stories, by John Nepolitan

At left, Hannah Davidson (right) outleans Callie Hogan by 0.01 to win the girls 3k. At right, mighty Walter Henning lets out a yell after unleashing another shot put.

While Friday’s portion of the Yale Invitational involved purely running, highlighted by a nation-leading time in the girls distance medley relay, early Saturday morning has a great mix of championship field events (limited field size) and, for the distance running junkies, close to 20 heats of the boys and girls 3000m.

The main draw of the morning field events was Walter Henning (St Anthony’s HS, NY), the HS national record holder in the weight throw. Every time the University of North Carolina-bound thrower stepped into the ring, all eyes turned to see the speed through the circle that has enabled Henning to set record after record in the weight throw indoors and hammer throw outdoors. Taking the lead on the first throw, Henning tried to increase his intensity as each round went by, and finally reached 59’11-3/4” for the win.

Girls 3000 meters
New York Feds cross country champ and Foot Locker finalist Hannah Davidson (Saratoga) made her intentions clear, going to the front and pounding out a fast pace. Splits of 37-74.5-1:53.0-2:31.8 gave her a 4 second lead on the pack, which included Callie Hogan (Bay Shore) and Kristin Reese (Carmel, NY). Up front, Davidson continued to pound out the pace, but she could not build on the 4 second cushion:

Davidson The pack

1000 m 3:11.4 3:15

1200m 3:51 3:55

1400m 4:31.9 4:35

1500m 4:50.5

1600m 5:11.6 5:16

1800m 5:52 5:56.7

Following the 1800m mark, Davidson began to surge and was able to extend her lead out to 6 seconds, before it went back down to 5 seconds through 2600 meters. Just past 2000 meters Hogan had enough and was starting to make an effort to cut into the lead.

2000m 6:32 6:38

2200m 7:14 7:20

2400m 7:55 8:00

2600m 8:36 8:41

2800m 9:16 9:20

With just 1 lap to go, Davidson still held a 4 second lead, but Hogan now sniffed blood and was making an all-out attempt to reel in the leader. With just 50 meters to go, Hogan came up on Davidson’s shoulder only to be held off. For her hard front running, Davidson not only got the win, but a nation-leading performance, edging Hogan by .01. In all, 5 runners dipped under 10:10, with Davidson, Hogan and Meaghan Gregory (Burnt Hills) recording the first, second and third times in the USA for 2007.

Girls 3000 Meter Run

Name Yr School Finals

1 Hannah Davidson JR Saratoga, NY 9:52.82

2 Callie Hogan SR Bay Shore, NY 9:52.83

3 Meaghan Gregory FR Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, NY 9:56.24

4 Jean Christensen SO La Salle Academy,RI 10:02.71

5 Mary Kate Champagne JR Seton Catholic, NY 10:05.71

Boys 3000 meters
In contrast to the girls race, the boys championship 3000 meter competitors went out as a pack with Zach Predmore (Shenendehowa, NY) doing most of the pace work through 800 meters. Then Andrew Hanko (Trinity Christian, NJ) took over and stayed at the front until the field reached the 1600 meter point – when Predmore would once again go to the front.

Over the next four laps Predomre would lead Hanko, but as soon as the duo passed 2200 meters Hanko went to the lead and began to draw away. Hanko started to look like a runaway winner with a 3 second lead with 3 laps to go, but Matt Bogdan (Shaker, NY) was not done yet. While the boys race did not start the same as the girls race, the end would almost be a replay as with 1 lap to go Hanko still held onto a 3 second lead, but Bogdan started to charge and would come up just short.

Leader splits

200m 33

400m 68

600m 1:42

800m 2:18

1000m 2:52

1200m 3:26

1400m 4:01

1600m 4:36

1800m 5:12

2000m 5:48

2200m 6:24

2400m 6:59

2600m 7:35

2800m 8:08

Boys 3000 Meter Run

Name Yr School Finals

1 Andrew Hanko SR Trinity Christian, NJ 8:40.27

2 Matt Bogdan SR Shaker, NY 8:41.82

3 Zach Predmore SR Shenendehowa Central, NY 8:46.26

4 John Reilly SR Msgr. McClancy, NY 8:47.23

5 Brendan Martin SR Smithtown, NY 8:49.70

At left, Steve Murdock grits it out to win the boys mile. At right, it's Caroline King over Erin Hays and Jeanne Mack in the girls mile.

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Girls Mile
Doing just as she had done the night before in leading off Bay Shore’s national leading DMR, Sarah McCurdy jumped to the lead and take the field through splits of 34-70.8-1:48.1-2:26.1 and 3:06.0 before giving up the lead to Caroline King (Scotia-Glenville, NY). King passed the 1200 meter point in 3:46.5, followed closely by her sister, Jillian King, and Jeanne Mack of LaSalle, RI and Erin Hays of Shoreham Wading River, NY. Through the final lap, Caroline King kept pushing and would hold off a late charge by Mack and Hays to win in 4:57.46. Early leader McCurdy would fade over the last two laps to finish 6^th in 5:02.22.

Girls 1 Mile Run

Name Yr School Finals

1 Caroline King SR Scotia-Gelnville, NY 4:57.46

2 Erin Hays SR Shoreham-Wading River, NY 4:58.04

3 Jeanne Mack JR La Salle Academy,RI 4:58.20

4 Suejin Ahn JR Ward Melville, NY 4:59.09

5 Jillian King JR Scotia-Gelnville, NY 5:01.79

6 Sarah McCurdy JR Bay Shore, NY 5:02.22

Boys Mile
After an outstanding cross country season that included a win at the Nike Team Nationals and a 3^rd-place finish at the Foot Locker Nationals, many expected Steve Murdock (Shenendehowa, NY) to be a dominant force when track season rolled around. In a few early season races Murdock did not seem to have the same zip he did in the fall, but it was just a matter of time before the magic was back.

Sitting on the bubble coming into the weekend, Murdock knew he needed to post a fast time if he was to earn a berth in the Millrose High School mile in two weeks. Jumping right to the front, the Syracuse University-bound Murdock threw down splits of 30-61.9-1:33-2:06.4-2:36-3:10 to build up a safe cushion over the field. Suffering a little over the last 300 from his early pace, Murdock yielded some of the margin he had built up to the field. But he was not going to be caught as he stormed to a 4:15.21 win over Adam Vess (Xavier, Ct) 4:18.12 and Brandon Burns (North Kingston, RI) 4:19.77.

Boys 1 Mile Run

Name Yr School Finals

1 Steve Murdock SR Shenendehowa Central, NY 4:15.21

2 Adam Vess SR Xavier, Ct. 4:18.12

3 Brandon Burns SR North Kingston, RI 4:19.77

4 Robert Gibson JR Brookline, MA 4:20.37

5 Brian Skldowski SR Tatnall School, DE 4:20.95

6 John Badolado SR West Islip, NY 4:20.97

Girls 400 meters
Christie Verdier (Baldwin, NY) turned this event into a simple time trial, blasting through the opening 200 meters in 26, leading wire to wire, and stopping the clock in a swift 55.94. That give her a 1.56 margine over Dana Jamieson of Lincoln Sudbury, MA (57.48).

Boys 400 meters
Running in the second section, Tyler O'Brien (Rocky Hill, Ct) caught and passed Sean Troop (South Shore, NY) in the last step to take the title, 50.04 to 50.26. First section winner David Kennedy (Lamoille Union, Vt.) would end up 3^rd with a 50.46.

Girls 800 meters
Lauren Recchia ( Academy of the Holy Name, NY) led through laps of 31, 66 and 1:39 while Siobhan Breagy (North Kingston, RI) stayed off the hot early pace. Over the last lap, Breagy slowly closed in on Recchia and went past and into the lead to stay with 100 meters to go, pulling away for a 2:17.14 win. Running alone in the 2^nd section, Gina Perno (St. Anthony's, NY) was almost able to steal the title, but came up just short with a 2:17.81 to claim 2^nd place overall.

Boys 800 meters
A slow opening 200 meters of 29 saw the entire pack together. Shortly after the opening lap, Zac Suriano (Shenendehowa, NY) moved to the front and lead through the next two laps in 58 and 1:28. His strong middle two laps would draw Suriano away from the field, but with 200 to go Matthew Stewart (Brookline, Ma) would make a strong move and start to close in on the leader. Just as he had done the night before in the DMR, Suriano would hold on for the win and cross the line with a 1:57.43 to 1:57.82 over Stewart.

Sprints
Blasting from the blocks and dominating the field was the common thread for the sprint finals. All four winners grabbed the lead on the first step from the blocks and never looked back in posting convincing wins.

Girls 55m Shaniqua Burgess(Hillhouse, Ct.) 7.26

Boys 55m Kevin MorganHope, RI) 6.52

Girls 55m HH Madalayne Smith(Saratoga, NY) 8.35

Boys 55m HH Kemar Clarke(South Shore, NY) 7.57

Championship Relays
Connecticut sprint powers Weaver and Hillhouse would run neck and neck throughout the girls 4 x 200 with Weaver pulling away for a 2 second win over their instate rivals.

Through 2 legs of the 4x400, Colonie, NY and St Anthony’s, NY ran neck and neck, but a strong 3^rd leg by Colonie drew the upstate school away from the field and they went on to record a 6 second win over Downingtown West, PA with a 3:58.86.

The girls’ championship 4 x 800 only saw three teams go to the starting line. Distance powerhouse Saratoga, NY found itself trailing Westerly, RI through much of the race, but the depth of the New York school would win out and they drew away to a 9:35.26 victory.

In the boys championship 4x200, Hope, RI grabbed the lead after a strong leadoff leg and ran free and clear to a 1:30.91 to 1:32.69 win over St John the Baptist (NY).

While the 4 x 200 was a run away, South Shore (NY), the national leader, needed all its talent to hold on for the victory. Well on their way to an easy victory, the 3rd South Shore runner almost ran into a meet official and his own team’s 2^nd lag crossing the track. The break in stride was enough to allow the chasing teams to get back in the race. Refusing to give up the lead, though, South Shore would hold on for a 3:29.60 to 3:29.90 win over Westbury, NY and a fast-closing Bishop Hendricken, RI 3:30.71.

Wilton, Ct would lead the 4 x 800 relay for lap after lap, but would have Burnt Hills, NY always close by. As the two teams entered the last lap, Burnt Hills would inch closer and finally off the last turn swung wide and just nudged ahead as the finish line closed in, grabbing an 8:06.27 to 8:06.69 win.

Field events
Amity (Ct) sophomore Allison Barwise claimed top honors with a jump of 5’6” as 9 jumpers would clear 5’2”. Nick Frimpong (East Hartford, CT) completed a Connecticut sweep of the high jump events with a 6’4” clearance.

In the girls pole vault, 5 jumpers would make attempts at 10’6” with only Jessica Sullivan (Norwich Free Academy, CT) being able to clear. In the boys vault, Greg Craft (John F. Kennedy, NY) and Owen Wiseman (Weston, CT) would each clear 13’ 6”, with Craft getting the win having cleared the winning height on an earlier attempt.

Six boy long jumpers would have a performance within 3-3/4” of each other with Daniel Pierre (Westbury, NY) earning the win with a 21-04” leap. The girls version of the long jump was not nearly as close as Christen Arnold ( Downingtown West, PA) 17’09-1/2” won by almost a foot over Christine Jones (Weaver, CT) 16-09.75.

While the boys shot put was won in the first round, Kaitlyn Staulters (Ballston Spa, NY) would be trailing Ashley Clasen (Shoreham-Wading River, NY) entering the finals. During her last three throws Staulters would claim the win with a 35’ 7-1/2” to 35’ 6” win over Clasen.

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