4xMile: Sophomore Dan McManamon gave Shenendehowah ( Clifton Park, NY) a permanent lead at the start of the final lap as the New Yorkers went on to win in 17:25.32.
Oakton (VA) took the leg on the opening leg with Milford (MI), competing here as Red Tide TC, in second place.
At the first exchange, Shenendehowa’s Phil Roach handed off to Scott Mindel and by the third lap Mindel was out in front. York (PA) came from way back, replacing Shenendehowa as the leader. By the second exchange it was York, Red Tide, Shenendehowa, Mainland Regional ( Linwood, NJ) and Oakton in the lead pack.
During the third leg, York, Mainland Regional and Shenendehowa began pulling away from the rest of the field. On the final lap, Shenendehowa and Red Tide pulled away. Despite losing his left shoe, Mainland Regional’s Greg Hughes managed to stay in third place with a 4:21 split.
Red Tide moved into first place with a lap to go on the backstretch. But McManamon was more than equal to the challenge. He took off right at the bell, covering the final 400m in 58 seconds as Shenendehowa – sixth in this race a year ago – went on to win.
Second place went to Red Tide in 17:26.82 with Mainland Regional third in 18:28.84. Fourth was York in 17:35.42, followed by Red Bank (NJ) Regional in 17:35.86 and Oakton in 17:43.33.
2000m steeplechase: Running the 2K steeple for the first time, Charles Hampton ( Scottsdale, AZ) shocked defending champion Andres Urbina ( Albuquerque, NM).
Urbina moved out in front on the second lap and stayed there through most of the race. By the third lap he had pulled away from the pack, with Hampton and Ryan Gaedje ( Rexford, NY) following. Looking relaxed, Urbina lengthened his advantage on te fourth lap while Hampton began to leave Gaedje behind.
With about 300 meters left, Urbina stumbled over a barrier but appeared to recover quickly. “I thought it was over,” said Hampton, “even after Andres took that little fall. He got up and there was still a big gap.”
Trying to stay close, Hampton thought of the previous night’s 2-mile, where he’d faded badly and finished 18 th in 9:22. “I was content with second place, but then I remembered how I felt last night and how made it made me. I mustered whatever I could.
The 5-11, 130-pound Hampton summoned up enough for a withering kick with 40 meters to go. Urbina tried to match Hampton’s charge, but couldn’t. Hampton passed him with meters to spare. “I figured I’d give it one last go,” he said. “I was very surprised I got him”
Hampton, a Texas recruit, finished in 5:58.57. Urbina was second in 5:58.72, while third place went to Gaedje in 6:02.58.
800m sprint medley relay: Elzie Coleman’s 45.2 anchor leg propelled Newburgh (NY) Elite TC to victory in a meet-record time of 1:28.89.
In a race that goes 100-100-200-400, Lancaster (TX) took an early lead thanks to a fine opening leg by J.R. Thomas. The final 400 came down to Coleman versus Lancaster’s Rodney Mims, and Coleman found an extra gear.
Lancaster was second in 1:30.01 with Winslow Township (NJ) third in 1:32.23. Sam Stubbs, Jason Pearson and Justin Pearson ran the first three legs for Newburgh.
Lancaster was second in Friday’s 4x200 and is one of the favorites in today’s 4x100 relay. “They’re very good, I’ll give them their props,” the 5-11, 150-pound Coleman said of Lancaster.
Coleman, the indoor record holder and one of the favorites in the 400 meter final, said it was a hot day in Raleigh. “But I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do,” said the Mississippi State recruit, “and block out this heat.”
The 400 is due to start four-and-a-half hours later in the day
200 meters – preliminaries: With only the four heat winners guaranteed a berth in the final, finishing first was a priority
Lashawn Merritt ( Portsmouth, VA) cruised home first in the opening heat in 20.86, followed by Neksy Metelus ( Coral Springs) in 21.18.
The second heat went to Edino Steele ( Brooklyn, NY), who was seventh in Friday’s 100 meter final. Steele’s time was 21.37. Absent were Trell Kimmons ( Coldwater, MS) and Walter Dix ( Fort Lauderdale, FL). Kimmons was second in Friday’s 100 while Dix, the national leader in both sprints, qualified for the 100 final but scratched. Neither Kimmons nor Dix showed up for the 200 heats.
Ivory Williams ( Beaumont, TX) was first in the third prelim but was eventually disqualified for a lane violation. The winner of Friday’s 100 meter final, Williams had been timed in 21.23 Saturday.
The final heat went to Cedric Goodman ( Newnan, GA), who powered down the homestretch to finish in 21.01.
Rounding out the final are Metelus, Imani Butler ( St. Louis, MO), Willie Perry ( Lenoir, NC), J-Mee Samuels ( Winston-Salem, NC) and Michael Grant ( Snellville, GA). Grant was the 100m fifth-placer while Samuels was fourth.
Michael Ray Garvin ( Upper Saddle River, NJ) benefitted from the Williams DQ. Originally, Garvin’s 21.83 time in the first heat wasn’t fast enough for the final.
Marcus Pugh (North Berger, NJ), third in Friday’s 100m final, failed to advance.
*400m hurdles: Winner Jason Richardson ( Cedar Hill, TX) blasted the meet record with a 49.79, despite a stumble near the finish that might have cost the South Carolina signee a national high school mark.
Richardson eclipsed the two-year-old meet standard of 50.55, becoming the first-ever sub-50 second performer in AOC history. A wobbly clearance of the final hurdle ended his chances at Kenneth Ferguson’s 2002 prep record of 49.38.
Richardson, also a top contender in the high hurdles, was runnerup in the intermediates last year ago. Last March at the Nike Indoor Championships in Landover, Md., he finished second in the 60m hurdles.
Second place went to Julius Jiles-Tindall (Kansas City, MO) in 52.51 with junior Justin Gaymon (Stewartsville, NJ), running in an earlier section, third in 52.87.
Richardson seemed unfazed by the sterling “I don’t even know know my time,” he said. “It was like all other races. I felt strong coming round the turn, I wasn’t even breathing that hard. I’m really excited. The national championship escaped me ytwice already, so I wanted this one.”
The 110m hurdles was scheduled to begin two hours and fifteen minutes after the intermediates. “I have to go sit down now,” said Richardson. “I have to get into recovery mode.”
4x100m relay: Glenville ( Cleveland, OH) continued to dominate the short sprints at the adidas Outdoor Championships. The foursome of Freddie Lenix, Daven Jones, Stephon Fuqua and Ted Ginn Jr. defeated Lancaster (TX) for the second time in less than 24 hours, 40.51 to 40.89.
“We knew our first two legs had to go out fast,” said Fuqua. “That’s Lancaster’s weakest legs. Then me and Teddy did our job.”
Third place went to Glenville’s ‘B’ team in 41.13.
Friday, the Cleveland crew defeated the Texans for the 4x200 title. Glenville is scheduled to run again Saturday in the 4x400.
*800 meters: Timothy Harris ( Miami, FL) withstood a furious challenge over the last 200 meters to win in 1:49.37, one of the fastest times in AOC history.
Harris led almost from the start, with Kyle Miller ( Katy, TX) not far behind through most of the race. Harris and Miller were side-by-side as the bell sounded. And on the final turn Miller made his move.
Harris was up to the challenge, unleashing a burst of speed as he reached the straightaway. Miller couldn’t stay with him, and lost ground to Michael Carmody ( Berkeley Heights, NJ) over the last 20 meters. Carmody’s hard-charging finish gave him second place in 1:49.87, with Miller holding on for third in 1:50.26.
“My plan was to win,” said the 6-1, 175-pound Harris. “I just came in and tried to win. I felt like I was able to sprint, and ran as fast as I had to. I wanted to finish strong. I know these guys, and I just wanted to hold them off. There was a lot of great competition here.”
Harris next heads to College Station, Texas, for the U.S. Junior Championships.
*400 meters: After a false start, North Carolina State officials delayed the fast section of the 400 due to dangerous weather conditions. After a slight rain during a one-hour delay the meet resumed. For the capacity crowd, who booed the announcement of the delay, the race turned out to be worth the wait.
LaShawn Merritt (Portsmouth, VA), an East Carolina signee, led the field through the first 200 in a super-fast 21.6 followed by indoor record holder Elzie Coleman (Newburgh, NY) and Cedric Goodman (Newnan, GA).
Coleman and Goodman challenged over the last 200 meters, but Merritt didn’t seem to mind. He finished in meet record time, 45.38, with Goodman second in 46.08 and Coleman third in 46.30. Fourth place went to Reuben McCoy ( Sicklerville, NJ) in 46.81.
“I had Goodman under me and Coleman on top (in lane assignments), and I knew they could run,” said Merritt. “So I took them out of their race and basically ran my race.”
Merritt said he set out to prove his 45.88 earlier this season was for real. “Most people think it was a fluke,” he said. “I came here to prove it wasn’t.”
*Mile: Bulling into the lead in the final 20 meters, North Carolina State recruit Gavin Coombs ( Griswold, CT) stole the race from Victor Gras ( Belmont, MA). Coombs strode into the lead on the inside, finishing in 4:05.72 to 4:06.39 for Gras.
Third placer Craig Miller ( Lancaster, PA) fell just short of the sophomore class record (4:06.07) with a 4:06.76 performance.
Gras, a Michigan signee, moved into the lead early. On the second lap, 2-mile champ Shadrack Kiptoo ( Albuquerque, NM) moved into second place followed by Coombs and Miller.
Gras began putting daylight between Kiptoo and himself on the third lap. By the fourth lap, Gras was looking strong and Coombs moved into second. Gras began pulling away from the field on the backstretch, and heading toward the finish line it looked like his race. Then Coombs went into overdrive, bringing the crowd to its feet for the finish.
Tommy Wyatt ( Tacoma, WA) moved up to fourth in 4:08.53 with Kiptoo settling for fifth in 4:09.86.
*110m hurdles: Showing fine form, Ted Ginn Jr. ( Cleveland, OH) took control midway through the race and was never challenged. Ginn, a member of two victorious Glenville relay teams this meet, finished in 13.46 with a headwind of 0.2 meters per second.
Julius Jiles-Tindall (Kansas City, MO) was well back in second place with a 13.84 time, with David Whitehurst (Tinton Falls, NJ) third in 13.94.
Jason Richardson ( Cedar Hill, TX), hoping for a hurdles double at this meet, failed to finish.
Ginn, an blue-chip track and football prospect who’s headed for Ohio State, wanted to clear the air. “Coming into the hurdles race, there was a lot of talk about stuff I didn’t say,” he told NSSF. “People were saying I was arrogant.”
Ginn mentioned Richardson, his chief rival in the hurdles, and said he tried to set the record straight. “I came to talk to him man-to-man,” he says. “I’m not arrogant. I’m not a track star, I’m a football player. I’ve used track to get in shape for football. I don’t talk. I just go out there and do it.”
*200 meters – final: A little more than an hour after his 200 meter win, LaShawn Merritt repeated his indoor heroics with a 400 meter triumph. The recent graduate of Portsmouth, Va., High School trailed heading into the straightway, but reached back for a blistering kick that gave him the lead.
Merritt’s time was just a few clicks of the meet record of 20.77. Second was Cedric Goodman ( Newnan, GA) in 20.92, with Neksy Metelus ( Fort Lauderdale, FL) third in 21.31.
There was no wind, and the race took place under a slight rainfall that drove away some of the humidity.
*4x400m relay: Running his third 400 of the day, Elzie Coleman anchored Newburgh (NY) Elite to victory in a hard-fought race. Coleman’s 46.0 final split propelled Newburgh to a time of 3:12.81.
Newburgh and their top rival, Glenville ( Cleveland, OH), got off to excellent starts. Lancaster (TX), looking for its first win of the meet, took over the lead on the second leg with Trotwood ( Dayton, OH) moving into second.
The Texans began to open up a slight lead on the third leg, with Camden (NJ) taking over second place. Heading to the final exchange, it was Lancaster, Camden and Newburgh.
Coleman moved Newburgh into second almost immediately after getting the stick. On the backstretch, disaster struck Lancaster as their anchor man, Rodney Mims, dropped to the track with a pulled right hamstring.
Ted Ginn’s 45.4 split pulled Glenville along for second place in 3:13.44 with Camden holding on for third place in 3:13.58.
The Newburgh squad consisted of Jason Pearson, Justin Pearson, Ed Jackson and Coleman.
Newburgh coach Malcolm Burks cited Coleman’s performance in the 800m medley relay, where he anchored the New Yorkers to victory, and the open 400, in which Coleman took second . “I don’t know of any other athlete out here who ran three 400s today,” beamed Burks.
“I was very, very focusd on the 4x4,” said Coleman. “I ran a very bad time in the open 400, so I tried to redeem myself in this race. We knew they were all good teams, but we were well prepared.”
*Distance medley relay: Indoor DMR champ Spirit of Pre, already the winners of the AOC 4x800 title, came though again with another victory.
In a 1200-400-800-1600 race, Spirit of Pre – the nom de guerre of Saline, Mich., High School at this meet – sent Neil Atzinger, Paul Dapkus, junior Carter Bishop and Dustin Voss on the track.
The Michiganders faced a field that included Shenendehowa (NY), winner of the 4xmile relay earlier Saturday.
Westfield ( Chantilly, VA) took an early lead and stayed in front until the third leg when Shenendehowa tookover the lead. By the final exchange, it was Shenendehowa, Spirit of Pre and Westfield well ahead of the rest of the field. By the eighth lap, Spirit of Pre’s Voss had moved into first.
On the next-to-last lap, Spirit of Pre and Westfield began to separate themselves from Shenendehowa’s Jacob Gurzler. James Scheiner briefly gave the Virginians a lead. On the bell lap, Voss overtook Scheiner on the backstretch. Then he pulled away for a clear victory. Spirit of Pre won in 10:03.15, with Westfield second in 10:05.68. Shenendehowa was third in 10:07.77. A swift 4:08.6 anchor leg by Hakon DeVries gave John Hay ( Fishkill, NY) fourth place in 10:08.73.
“It was a tough race for me, and I’m sure it was for everyone else, too,” said an exhausted Voss. I tried to pick it up on the third lap, but he (Scheiner) started going with me. Then right before the gun lap, he passed me.
“But,” Voss continued, thumping his heart with his left fist, “I was thnking about my team . . . and I prevailed.”
Hammer throw: Big Nate Rolfe matched his weight throw triumph from the Nike Indoor Championships in March, posting a mark of 221-1 on his first attempt.
But the 6-3, 230-pounder from Inglemoor High School in Bothell, Wash., isn’t happy. “It was a good day,” said Rolfe. “I liked the competition and I liked the officials. But I just wasn’t up for the hammer. I wasn’t happy with the distance.”
Rolfe, who will enter the University of California this fall, was well off his nation-leading best of 237-1. “Hopefully,” he said, “I’ll feel better for the discus.”
At the awards stand, 1956 Olympic champion Harold Connolly handed Rolfe his gold medal. “He’s a friend of mine and my dad,” said Rolfe. “He coaches me through videos we send him.”
Connolly sees Rolfe as a potential Olympian. “He’s coming along,” says Connolly. “He’s a hot prospect for the 2012 Olympics, but he’s got a way to go.”
Connolly hopes Rolfe will make this summer’s U.S. team for the World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy. “I want him to train in Hungary this summer,” Connolly says. “It hasn’t been easy raising the money, but if he makes the team, it’ll help.”
Second place went to Mathew DiBuono ( New Rochelle, NY) with a 188-8 throw. Third place with a best of 187-0 was Walter Henning ( Kings Park, NY), who earlier this year set a freshman record for the hammer.
Javelin throw: Mark Taylor ( Ruston. LA) defeated a strong field, but missed the elusive 215-0 mark. Taylor needs a 215-footer if he’s to realize his goal of competing in the IAAF World Junior Championships next month in Italy.
Taylor’s best was 213-4, with Preston Chatham ( Covington, LA) second at 201-4. Third place went to James Roy ( West Simsbury, CT), who threw 193-1. Fourth place went to Chad Radgowski ( South Park, PA) at 192-3 with Chad Brown fifth at 191-0. Brown’s 218-6 earlier this season is the national prep leader.
“I guess I had a good day,” drawled Taylor, who stands 6-1 and weighs a solid 215 pounds. “I had three throws over 200-feet (actually two – 213-4 on his initial attempt, and 207-9 in the fifth round).
“I still need that 215-foot mark,” he added. “I know I’ve got in me.
Taylor’s next stop is the U.S. Junior Championships in College Station, Texas later next month. The top two finishers qualify for Grosseto, provided they meet the 215-foot World Junior standard.
Discus throw: Chris Rohr (Lees Summit, MO) is a hulking 6-5, 225-pounder, topped off by a mop of unruly blond hair. And after a 209-8 throw on his third attempt, the future University of Missouri student is the adidas outdoor champion for 2004.
Rohr eclipsed Westley Stockbarger ( Port Charlotte, FL), who led after two throws courtesy of a 202-8 first-round effort. Third place went to hammer winner Nate Rolfe ( Kirkland, WA) with a best of 190-10.
In fourth place was Ryan Whiting ( Harrisburg, PA) at 187-11. Chase Madison ( Newton, IA), the shot put winner, was fifth with 185-0.
“I just had to respond to Wes’s throw,” the soft-spoken Rohr said afterwards. “I knew I could do it, I just had to connect – to pull it all together. My first couple of throws, there were some things that were off.”
Rohr said he was hoping for a meet record, but was satisfied with the victory. “I’m very happy with my performance,” he said. “Not a bad way to end your season.”
*High jump: Indoor champ Scott Sellers ( Cinco Ranch, TX) was the only athlete over seven-feet, winning with a 7-2.25 clearance. Sellers, a junior and one of handful of prep athletes to qualify for this summer’s Olympic Trials, was well below his season outdoor best of 7-5.
Sellers needed just one jump to clear 6-6.75, 6-8.75 and 6-10.75. When he made 7-0.25 on his initial try, the victory was his. It took him two tries to make 7-2.25 and he missed all three tries at 7-3.
Sellers’ 7-5.25 at the Nike Indoor Championships last March was a national indoor high school record.
Second at 6-10.75 was Norris Frederick ( Seattle, WA) with Ivan Diggs ( Richardson, TX) producing a 6-8.75 on his third attempt to wrap up the bronze medal.
*Triple jump: Andre Tillman ( Salisbury, NC), who won this event two years ago as a sophomore, mustered a 50-9.25 on his first attempt to notch a second AOC title.
Tillman gave North Rowan ( Spencer, NC) coach Bob Steele his final AOC champion. Steele, one of the nation’s top prep triple jump coaches, will retire after this season.
Second place went to Ronald Bias ( Baltimore, MD) with a 48-10 effort, while Frankie Gatson ( Shreveport, LA) wound up third at 47-11.
Two races in one night for Syosset’s relay team: Syosset (NY) had two races Saturday night. They finished second in the 4x800 meter relay. But before that, the Long Island crew won a race from New York’s LaGuardia airport to North Carolina State’s Paul Derr Track.
Syosset’s odyssey began with a 4:30 p.m. flight out of LaGuardia. “We had to take a later flight,” says Syosset coach Bart Sessa, “because three of our team members are juniors and they had to take the New York State Regents exams.”
But as luck would have it, the flight was delayed. “We were just sitting in the airplane waiting to take off,” said Sessa, whose father Hank is the financial operations and concessions director for National Scholastic Sports Foundation. “It was a weather-related delay, and we were in a long waiting line.”
The flight, due to land in Raleigh at 6:15 p.m., didn’t take off until 7:35. Syosset’s race was scheduled for 9:30.
The flight touched down at 8:48 p.m. Leaving assistant coach Rich Cafiero in charge of the main group, Sessa and the four relay team members hopped into a waiting car. Sessa had been in touch via cell phone with Bob Neundorf, the father of a Syosset runner. “By 9:12, we were on the way to the track,” said Sessa. “I kept looking at the clock.
By now Sessa was convinced the team wouldn’t make it. “As we pulled up, I told them not to run so they could stay fresh for Saturday’s distance medley relay,” he said.
But Sessa’s charges wouldn’t hear of it. Dan Tully was the first to speak up. “We’re here to run,” Tully told Sessa. “We’re not worried about results.”
People were waiting at the track with Syosset’s bib numbers. “We called a number of other coaches, and meet officials knew we were trying to make it in time for the race.”
Syosset made it in the nick of time, and moved into the lead with about two and a half laps to go. But Saline TC, competing as Spirit of Pre TC, won the race in 7:40.68. Despite the stomach-churning experience, Syosset took second in 7:42.85.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Syosset team commandeered two cabs and made it to the track in time to see the race. All four relay team members set or tied their personal bests.
“Adam Lampert had a PR 1:56.7,” sais Sessa. “Danny (Tully) ran 1:55.0, a PR, Brandon Hill (the team’s lone senior) had a PR 1:57.7 and Sean Tully (Dan’s twin) tied his PR at 1:53.8.”
Given the phenomenal performance, would Sessa recommend late arrivals as a motivational technique?
“No!” he answers emphatically. “Not at all. They were just four kids who wanted to race. We were hoping to win at the state championships last week in Syracuse, but got outkicked by Hakon DeVries of John Jay ( Fishkill, NY). Today, they were determined just to run.”
Sean Tully will compete in the 800 later this month at the U.S. Junior Championships in College Station, Texas. “Hopefully, the flight will work out better,” quips Sessa.”
The Syosset runners weren’t the only ones affected by the late flight. According to Sessa, Warwick Valley, N.Y., was also on board. Warwick Valley’s Aislinn Ryan made it in time for her race, the 2-mile, with a little more breathing room and finished third.
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