No. 7 - South Shore Runs Out of Its' Shoes to Win
New York is known to be competitive at every discipline. But it is only once in a while that our sprint squads match up with the best of Florida and Texas. South Shore made a splash onto the scene Indoors, challenging a freshly minted 4x200m State Record, set the year prior by Newburgh Free Academy. Many thought the record would come at Indoor Nationals, but a relaxed effort knocked them out of the final. Outdoors, they were out for redemption, and that they found. 4x200m anchor leg Ramone Newland set a state leading time as a junior, threatening the overall state record. The relay, dropping down to the 4x100m, obliterated the competition at the Outdoor State Meet, besting their own school record to go NY #2 All-Time, so close to sub-41secs. But even that couldn't match Moment Number 7, where they beat the odds at Indoor States. Not only did they break the State Meet Record on one of the most sprint-prohibitive tracks in the state, they literally ran out of their shoes to do so.
2016 would be the last year Cornell would host the New York State Meet. While the track is centrally located within New York State, the facilities have some limitations. In addition to limited seating, the tracks dimensions make the turns exceptionally sharp for the sprinters. The former record has stood since 2012, where Uniondale set the then-standing mark. South Shore exploded from the gun in lane five, and came across the first exchange first. Unsurprisingly, Binghamton was right on their tail, relying on their experience on the tight turns of Cornell as an advantage. Through legs 2 and 3, Binghamton held on, with South Shore leading.
That's when it happened. As Teddy Westcarr exchanged to anchor Newland, Westcarr caught Newland's left foot, slashing open the shoe, and puncturing the foot. The setback didn't slow Newland down. Pushing through the adrenaline, Newland exploded from the line. With 50m to go, his shoe began falling apart, toes sticking out the side. He pushed through the line, and captured the title. Focus shifting from the race, to the injury, South Shore tended to their anchor, not realizing what they had down. They set the State Meet Record for the last time possible at Cornell, what may stand as the High School venue record for quite some time.
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