No. 3 - In The Hunt for the 4x4
Could there possibly be a relay moment more significant than the Robeson girls cracking US Top 5 All-Time Indoors? Talk to us at Outdoor States, and I would have said that somebody would have to break a World Record to get our attention. Well, one week later, Huntington of Long Island may as well have done so. While we may have called North Rockland the Dream Team of 2016 earlier in our list, one name in the history of Track and Field in the Empire State truly fits the bill.
The 1966 White Plains Boys Team may have been the single greatest top-end team in the Nation's history. In that year, the relays set National Records of 1:25.4 for the 4x220y, then came back the following week to run 3:12.7 in yards (equal to about 3:11.6 in meters) for the 4x440y relay. The quartet was made up of Otis Hill, David Jackson, Carl Reed, and Larry James, with Cedric Thomas as alternate. Between the five of them, there would be future World Record Holders, Olympic Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medalists, and coaches widely acclaimed across the world. Each individual could win a state title on their own (and did so), then come back a destroy the relays. They truly were the Dream Team, and their 4x400m State Record lasted 50 years to the day, until Huntington stepped on the track at New Balance Nationals Outdoors.
Huntington had been a very good team all season. Much like White Plains, their individual athletes made an impact at the State Meet. Infinite Tucker was State Champ in the 110m/400m Hurdles, Kyree Johnson had won the 400m, Lawrence Leake was runner up Indoors over 300m, and Shane McQuire was 8th overall in the 800m. With a lineup like that, it was no surprise their 4x400m had won a State and National Title indoors. They improved their season best of 3:17, down to 3:16.09 to win. Outdoors, they showed that this was not some chance encounter, as they consistently put down similar times outdoors, culminating with a 3:15.00 to win the State Meet, after a long weekend. The mark indicated they were good. But 3:15 was only that, when talking historically, not even within the Top 20 All-Time. Nothing could have predicted what happened one week later.
At New Balance Nationals, the event load would be limited. On Friday, Kyree Johnson won the Emerging Elite 400m dash. Flash forward to Sunday, and Huntington's star anchor, Infinite Tucker, would be taking on the most grueling event in Track and Field - the 400m Hurdles - less than an hour away from the 4x400m final. As expected, Tucker blasted away from the field, winning in a Nation's best of 50.70, good for NY #3 All-Time. After such an exhausting performance, a fast time for Huntington wasn't even on anyone's radar.
Through the first two legs, Archbishop Carroll had dominated the race. They had already won the 4x100m National Title, and the 4x400m was the next on their radar. Huntington was fifth heading into the final straightaway at the midpoint, not from a lack of trying (a 49.0 and 48.6 on the opening legs). But if Huntington wanted to be in the race, it was time to get serious. Johnson got the baton, and immediately put himself into position. With 200m to go, he maneuvered to second place, just trailing East Orange of NJ. He knew very well if Tucker was in position, the race could be there's. But that safety net wasn't enough, as Johnson pushed to the lead, and broke the field. Tucker got the baton in first by 4m, and bolted from the exchange. His last race of his career was on the line, as he planned to move on to strictly football next year, up in Massachusetts. Tucker pushed through 200m, hearing that Carroll was closing once again in the final straight. Tucker broke the competition, then broke the finishing tape, a new US #1 for the year.
And then the clock rolled around. Tucker had anchored his team in 46.06. But more important was the overall time. Their 3:10.93 took down the second oldest Track and Field State Record in New York State, one deemed near impossible by prior teams. The mark ranks as US #15 All-Time, only one of four marks not run by a team from Texas and California, whose training conditions are better suited. Huntington had done it - they had surpassed the Dream Team.
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