Hispanic Games Race Previews
By Christopher Hunt
When the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory starts to overflow tomorrow with athletes, it’ll be a little different than it’s been so far this season. The 14th Annual Hispanic Games is as much a track meet as it is a showcase which promises some of the top performances of the young season from some of the best runners in the country. The invitational boys and girls mile offer an opportunity for an automatic bid to the line up for the prestigious high school mile at the 101st Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden Feb. 1.
And the way some of the fields match up, looks like they’ll be some shuffling on national leaderboards by Sunday morning. Here’s a look at some of the highlighted competitions:
Boys Invitational Mile: The top seed in the race is Scarsdale senior Julian Sheinbaum, leading a field that has six runners seeded under- 4:20. Sheinbaum, who is also entered in the 2 mile, will be making his season debut after a successful cross country season in which he finished third in Class AA at the New York State cross country championships. Willie Ahern of Danbury is also in the race. He won the mile at the Bishop Loughlin Games Dec. 15 in 4:23.46. Half Hollow Hills West senior Kyle Merber, the Class A cross country state champ, also finished sixth at the indoor state meet last year in the 1,600 (4:21.53).
Girls Invitational Mile: The race features Carmel senior Kristin Reese, who committed to Stanford at the start of the season. Reese is the defending champion, winning last year’s race in 4:55.66. Reese suffered a stress fracture in her foot that shelved her for most of the summer and cross country season but still managed to finish second in Class AA at the Section 1 championships. She is healthy and looking to make her third appearance at the Millrose Games. Suejin Ahn of Ward Melville finished second behind Reese last year (4:56.22). Ahn also has the fastest personal best in the field, having run 4:52.89 while placing fifth at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships last year. A healthy Reese has most versatility and and best leg speed in the field. She ran 2:09.24 for 800 meters last spring.
Emily Lipari of Roslyn has also entered the race. The Foot Locker all-American had an outstanding breakthrough in cross country and this will be the first time she’s been pressed to show speed in this winter.
Boys Invitational 400 meters: The spotlighted sprint race will include the hottest quarter-miler in the country. Bernard Goodwyn of Glasglow won the AAU Junior Olympics (46.89) and the USA Youth Outdoor Championships (46.48) in July. Khaliff Featherstone of Simon Gratz will line up to his inside. Featherstone is no stranger to the Armory. He won a pedestrian invitational 800 meters last weekend at the Marine Corps Classic. He was third at the Youth Championships (47.15) where Goodwyn won gold.
Girls Invitational 400 meters: This race has the makings to be one of the most exciting of the day. Cardozo’s Dalilah Muhammad is the returning champ and top seed. She won the 400 national championship last year at NSIC in 54.23. Megan Gillespie, an integral part of Boys & Girls stellar 4x400 relay is in the race as well as Elizabeth Mott of New Rochelle, who finished sixth at the Nike Indoor Nationals last year in Maryland (56.76). Maryland 3A outdoor state champ Kellie Christian of Catonsville will also be in the race as one of the favorites. The junior won her title in 54.95 last spring.
Hispanic Games Race Previews
By Christopher Hunt
When the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory starts to overflow tomorrow with athletes, it’ll be a little different than it’s been so far this season. The 14th Annual Hispanic Games is as much a track meet as it is a showcase which promises some of the top performances of the young season from some of the best runners in the country. The invitational boys and girls mile offer an opportunity for an automatic bid to the line up for the prestigious high school mile at the 101st Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden Feb. 1.
And the way some of the fields match up, looks like they’ll be some shuffling on national leaderboards by Sunday morning. Here’s a look at some of the highlighted competitions:
Boys Invitational Mile: The top seed in the race is Scarsdale senior Julian Sheinbaum, leading a field that has six runners seeded under- 4:20. Sheinbaum, who is also entered in the 2 mile, will be making his season debut after a successful cross country season in which he finished third in Class AA at the New York State cross country championships. Willie Ahern of Danbury is also in the race. He won the mile at the Bishop Loughlin Games Dec. 15 in 4:23.46. Half Hollow Hills West senior Kyle Merber, the Class A cross country state champ, also finished sixth at the indoor state meet last year in the 1,600 (4:21.53).