Justin Romaniuk 4:14.90 over
Said Ahmed by less than a second
Said Ahmed
Third place is a winner too
by Walt Kingsbery as told to Conrad Haber
I was psyched going into the National Scholastics. After a
lackluster state meet I felt that I had a lot to prove and after seeing
the strong field on the heat sheets for the next day I knew I'd be in good
company and have a chance for a fast time on the blazing armory
track.
Like every other athlete who stepped on the track that day, I had
thoughts of All American honors; the most prestigious award offered for
high school runners and a perfect way to close out the indoor season.
Running from the inside lane of the unseeded section, however, meant that
I would be racing the clock for my bid as an All American. For the first
1200m the pack stayed together, making passing near impossible. The splits
were a little slow - 63, 2:11, and
3:17 before I challenged a charging Iatauro (NY) for the lead with a
quarter to go, hammering the closer home in 59.9 for my personal best of
4:16.99.
I didn't begin to get nervous until I watched the seeded section of the
mile, which turned out to be the Romaniuk (NY)-Ahmed (MA) showdown. For a
while it looked as though my time would hold up as the trio of Romaniuk,
Ahmed and McGovern (CT) ran through the quarter in 65 and the half in
2:12. However, in the greatest finish to a race I've ever witnessed,
Romaniuk outleaned Ahmed at the line after the two covered the last 800
meters in a fast 2:02. My third place landed All American honors, the
perfect way to close the year,
and NSI was the perfect meet to commemorate my last indoor race of senior
year.
- Walton Kingsbery
Event 10 Boys 1 Mile Run
* National: 4:02.70 Thom Hunt, Henry, San Diego, CA 02/21/76
FR Class: 4:23.90 Bobby Goss, Chelsea, MA 1975
SO Class: 4:09.82 Andy Powell Oliver Ames,North Easton MA 1997
JR Class: 4:07.34 Andy Powell Oliver Ames,North Easton MA 1998
SR Class: 4:02.70 Thom Hunt, Henry, San Diego, CA 02/21/76
# Meet: 4:07.12 Jonathon Riley, Brookline, MA 03/09/97
Finals Results - Sunday 03/12/00
PLACE ATHLETE NAME YR HOMETOWN TIME HT
===== ========================= == ========================= ========= ==
1 Romaniuk, Justin 11 SUFFERN, NY 4:14.09 3
2 Ahmed, Said 11 SOM BOSTON, MA 4:14.80 3
3 Kingsbery, Walton 12 Little Silver, NJ 4:16.99 2
4 Duffy, Sean 11 Holmes, PA 4:18.23 2
5 O'Keefe, Brendan 12 PROSPECT HARBOR, ME 4:19.22 3
6 Lantz, David 12 Topshaw, ME 4:20.55 2
7 McGovern, Brian 11 NEWTOWN, CT 4:20.66 3
8 Crosswell, Marc 12 LONG ISLAND, NY 4:20.91 2
9 Groothuis, Gerry 12 CAN Kitchener, ON 4:21.43 3
10 Iatauro, Joseph 12 GRAHAMSVILLE, NY 4:22.24 2
11 Mason, Greg 12 STATEN ISLAND, NY 4:22.56 2
12 Jones, Miguel 12 Somerville, NJ 4:23.50 1
13 Dwyer, Robert 12 WINSTED, CT 4:23.56 2
14 Brown, Colin 12 South Orange, NJ 4:23.57 1
15 Gilman, Jonathan 12 Winchendon, MA 4:24.19 1
16 Taverna, Matthew 11 Whitesboro, NY 4:27.27 3
17 Corley, John 12 S. Huntington, NY 4:27.58 1
18 Albertine, Jamie 12 Bethesda, MD 4:27.61 2
19 Brady, Shamus 12 ARLINGTON, MA 4:27.84 2
20 Webster, Danny 11 CAN Mississuaga, ON 4:29.96 2
21 Ickes, Scott 12 Rochester, NY 4:31.31 3
22 Sullivan, Brendan 10 Port Jefferson, NY 4:31.32 1
23 Muhammad, Jihad 12 Washington, DC 4:31.79 1
24 McConnell, Ryan 11 N. Kingston, RI 4:33.80 3
25 Brazunas, Eamon 11 Wayne, PA 4:34.80 1
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