Photo by John Herzog
Two Virginians will be competing in Friday's junior 1000 meter races at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational held at the New York Armory. David Gunnerson of Grafton, one of the top ranked runners in Group AA in the event, will be competing at the Armory for the first time in a field which includes the current national leader at 800 meters (Sadiki White NJ), the Millrose mile champion (Robbie Andrews NJ), and a 2:28 1000 runner (Chris Carrington NY). Gunnerson will be aiming to be pulled along in the strong field to a time around 2:30 to 2:31.
Event 16 Boys 1000 Meter Run Junior
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Friday 2/6/2009 - 5:55 PM
Name Year School
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Section 1 Timed Finals
1 2538 White, Sadiki Unattached
2 2539 Andrews, Robbie Unattached
3 2544 Carrington, Chris Unattached
4 2540 Halpin, Sean Unattached
5 2541 Ledder, Bill Unattached
6 2542 Tansey, Liam Unattached
7 2543 Gunnerson, David Unattached
8 2545 Bajulaiye, Aki Unattached
9 2546 Brown, Zavior Unattached
10 2722 Barnes, Ronald Unattached
This weekend will be Paige Johnston's second trip to New York for the New Balance Collegiate Invite 1000 race. The Midlothian senior had a stellar performance in last year's race to take runner-up to Pennsylvania's Chanelle Price in a personal best time of 2:51.05, which ranks her #3 all-time in Virginia high school history. Johnston, currently ranked #4 in the US with a 2:54 performance at the Virginia Tech Invite, will be in a race which will include 3 of the top four ranked 1000 runners in the country with Claudia Francis (US #1 2:53.16) of New York andAmirah Johnson (US #3 2:54.39) of Maryland. Also in the race is New Jersey's Jillian Smith, who recently won her second straight Millrose mile.
Event 14 Girls 1000 Meter Run Junior
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Friday 2/6/2009 - 5:35 PM
Name Year School
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Section 1 Timed Finals
1 2528 Francis, Claudia Unattached
2 2530 Smith, Jillian Unattached
3 2532 Cox, Chelsea Unattached
4 2533 Johnson, Amirah Unattached
5 2535 Johnston, Paige Unattached
6 2534 Anselmini, Mary Kate Unattached
7 2536 Walsh, Dana Unattached
8 2537 McNamara, Molly Unattached
9 2531 Pontecorvo, Victoia Unattached
ArmoryTrack, a MileSplit US affiliate, will be providing a live webcast of the New Balance Collegiate Invite, which will also include many past Virginia high school stars competing in the college events.