Saint Anthony's 1-2 Sweep Of New York Relays Could Be Start Of Something Significant

Apr 24, 2017

Watch the race above

At last weekend's New York Relays, something happened that track fans may only get to see once every few years. In a major invitational, a distance race was swept up top by two members from the same team, both of them underclassmen. In the past seven years, we've seen this become an indicator of big things to come. Northport boys did so with the McGowan twins, adding in Mikey Brannigan as only a sophomore. The Affolder brothers routinely did so last year, before going on the break the DMR national record this indoors. But the athletes need not be related. The trio from La Salle Academy of Rhode Island put on a show at Loucks in 2015. Noah Carey and Noah Tindale of Guilderland have been sweeping events as well.

Well, we can add two new names to the list. Saint Anthony's Mason Gatewood and Matthew Payamps went 1-2 at New York Relays in the Invitational Mile, breaking away from the field with 250m to go. They both outkicked the Indoor 1600m runner-up, who was doubling back from an impressive 3200m win the night before. What's significant, is that both athletes are underclassmen.

Race winner Mason Gatewood is a junior., taking the title in 4:17.72 for the full mile. He came in with a personal best of 4:25, and dropped nearly a full ten seconds. Right behind him was Matthew Payamps, only a sophomore. Payamps had recently run a 4:19.46 for the mile, and dropped a second to run 4:18.32. When converted, that drops Payamps down to a 4:16.82. Not bad for a sophomore in a breakout race. But what could that mean historically?

We took a look at some of the top sophomores over the last 20 years, and what they went on to do. The criteria was simple; take every athlete under 4:19 for the 1600m their sophomore year, and see where they ended up. Some had moderate drops, some a little more severe. Lopez Lomong (Tully), Mikey Brannigan (Northport), and Nick Ryan (Fayetteville-Manlius) had some of those more significant drops in times. But one thing was clear. If you were under 4:20, as a sophomore, you will most likely break 4:11 by the time you graduate.

When we averaged the marks together, removing some of the outliers, we found the average athlete drops about 7.8 seconds off their Sophomore best in the 1600m. That would put Payamps right about 4:09.02 his senior year. Not a bad goal.

Those wondering how the trend continued past High School? Aidan Tooker (Saratoga), the most recent grad, ran a 4:02.11 his freshman year of College, continuing to trend downward. Others went even further. Brannigan went 3:57.58 this past Summer, doing so in North Carolina. Alex Hatz (Manlius) ran a 3:58.68 while running for Wisconsin, while Chad Noelle (Greene) has a 3:57.78. And then there is Lomong, who holds the New York State Alumni Record, clocking a best of 3:51.20, showing that anything is possible. Check out the full graph below.

Payamps isn't the only one to watch out for at Saint Anthony's. With both himself and Gatewood looking strong for the fall, they have plenty of talent to pull up as well. St. Anthony's won the emerging elite 4x800m at Indoor Nationals this year. The relay two sophomores, Hunter Vierling and Mike Barbaro-Burnett, both of which splitting 2:05 or better. Add in Amani Morrell, a junior who has already run 9:44.26 this spring for the 3200m, and you should have a very strong Cross Country team. With Corning and Fayetteville-Manlius being scouted as top teams next fall, Saint Anthony's has to be considered in the conversation.