Chaminade 4x800 make their own highlights video with US #2 all-time run

Thomas Slattery and the rest of his teammates knew what was at stake. If the talented foursome from Chaminade, N.Y., wanted to pull out a win in the 4x800-meter relay at the New Balance Nationals they couldn’t back down from top-seeded Blacksburg.

Early last month, the Virginia school had posted the nation’s fastest time of 7 minutes, 44 seconds to win the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the same Armory facility as the NBN.

“Our coach had us watch the Blacksburg video when they ran 7:44,” Slattery said. “We knew what we were up against and we knew what we had to do.”

Chaminade faced a tall order on Saturday afternoon. And like champions do, they responded. Big time!

Sparked by a thrilling anchor from senior Sean Kelly, Chaminade captured team glory at the nationals with a meet and facility record of 7:40.80. Blacksburg was second at 7:41.95 (US #2). Chaminade’s time is not only a new nation No. 1 but is the second fastest clocking of all time and a catholic high school national record.

“It’s great to know that we ran faster than any other high school team that has ever competed here,” junior Gunner Nolan said.

Running the third leg, Nolan gave Chaminade a slight cushion over Blacksburg with a 1:54.44 split. Kelly solidified the crown by holding off Blacksburg’s Kenneth Hagen with a lightning-fast time of. 1:51.03. Hagen was timed in 1:50.86.  

“I have never raced against him but I have seen footage of him racing. It’s ridiculous what he runs, especially the 1,000,” said Kelly, referring to Hagen’s 2:26 speed for the 1K. “Thank God I had the lead. Thanks to Gunner, I could be a little conservative at the beginning because I knew (Fagan) had a good kick.”

Hagen passed Kelly with about 300m left. The Chaminade runner regained the top spot with less than a lap remaining.

“I just waited for him to catch up to me,” he said. “I didn’t know he was going to pass me. It worked in my favor. I just knew on the last lap I had to move.”

“I owe him a lot for that. I don’t know if I would be able to do that on my own,” he added. “There was so many great runners on the other teams. They were able to help me push myself and I was able to finish the way I did.”

Senior Andrew Dorritie ran a leadoff leg of 1:59.46 and Slattery kept Chaminade in contention with a quick 1:55.87 effort.

“We just had to set everybody up,” Dorrite said. ”That’s the point of a relay. We set everybody up for it. Our coach is Kevin Byrne. He worked with us a lot. We all wanted it. We really did. There is not much else to say.”

No falling short again for Freehold Township girls

At last year’s New Balance Nationals, Freehold Township just missed All-American status in the 4x800-meter relay by taking seventh overall.

It was a little different this time around for the New Jersey-based school.

With solid legs by all four members of its squad, Freehold Township copped the overall title on Saturday with a nation-best clocking of 9 minutes, 0.62 seconds. Benjamin Cardozo of N.Y., was second with a time of 9:06.35 (US #3).

“We knew that we had a chance to get All-American and hopefully place because last year we finished seventh,” said junior Emily Bracher, who along with senior Adrian Vitello, was on the 2013 squad. “We never expected to win. We knew we had the opportunity. We are just really excited and grateful for the opportunity.”

Except briefly in the early stages, Freehold Township led for nearly all of the race.  Junior Adrian Vitello led off the relay with a 2:15.75 leg. Junior Caitlyn Poss maintained the top position with 2:13.59 effort. Sophomore Ciana Ross, a long-distance specialists with a best of 10:47 for 3,200 meters, was timed in 2:17.29 for her crucial third leg.

“I am not really an 800 runner,” Poss said. “I have never even ran sub 2:20. To run 2:17 today was just like amazing.  To run nine minutes (for the relay), is just like amazing.”

“I am very proud that she stepped up, especially being an underclassman,” said Bracher, who anchored the winning quartet with a time of 2:13.99. “She really stepped it up.

 

Championship Boys 4x800m (View Official Results)

M 4x800 Meter Relay - Finals
Place Overall Team Result Heat  
1 1 Chaminade 7:40.80 2  
2 2 Blacksburg High School 7:41.95 2  
3 3 Osbourn Park 7:44.55 2  
4 4 State College Area High School 7:46.81 2  
5 5 Warwick Valley 7:49.30 2  
6 6 Syosset 7:49.32 2  
7 7 Ridgewood HS 7:51.90 2  
8 8 St. Benedict's Prep 7:52.97 1  
9 9 Burlington High School 7:53.20 1  
10 10 St. Peter's Prep 7:53.92 1  
11 11 Cardinal O'Hara 7:54.69 2  
12 12 Pope John XXIII HS 7:56.31 1  
13 13 Shenendehowa 7:56.53 1  
14 14 South Brunswick HS 7:57.04 2  
15 15 Arlington 7:57.21 2  
16 16 Xavier 7:57.88 1  
17 17 Deep Run 7:58.36 1  
18 18 Mansfield High School 7:58.95 1  
19 19 Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 8:02.11 1  
20 20 Staples High School 8:02.45 1  
21 21 Downingtown East 8:02.60 1  
22 22 Kingsway HS 8:02.89 1  
23 23 Bergen Catholic HS 8:04.58 2  
24 24 Western Branch High School 8:27.35 1

 

Championship Girls 4x800m (View Official Results)

F 4x800 Meter Relay - Finals
Place Overall Team Result Heat  
1 1 Freehold Twp HS 9:00.62 2  
2 2 Benjamin Cardozo 9:06.35 2  
3 3 West Springfield 9:07.06 2  
4 4 Central Bucks South 9:07.08 2  
5 5 Blacksburg High School 9:12.82 1  
6 6 State College Area High School 9:14.61 1  
7 7 Greencastle-Antrim 9:14.64 2  
8 8 Canton 9:16.39 2  
9 9 La Salle Academy 9:18.14 2  
10 10 New Milford High School 9:19.74 1  
11 11 Leesville Road 9:19.93 1  
12 12 Warwick Valley 9:21.72 1  
13 13 Miller Place 9:24.32 2  
14 14 Great Valley 9:24.80 2  
15 15 Mills Godwin 9:25.36 1  
16 16 Bronxville 9:26.20 2  
17 17 Suffern 9:26.93 2  
18 18 Villa Maria Academy 9:27.54 1  
19 19 Red Bank Catholic HS 9:29.94 1  
20 20 Hoover 9:30.47 1  
21 21 Randolph HS 9:36.40 2  
22 22 Cary 9:38.31 2  
23 23 Saline 9:40.12 1  
24 24 Mount De Sales Academy 9:45.69 1  
25 25 McDonogh School 9:51.83 1