By Christopher Hunt
All photos by Don Rich and Tim Fulton
There was a point in the race, just off the last curve in the 200 meters, where Ashton Purvis showed that no matter what happened she refused to relent. It was when Whitney Fountain came barreling off the turn and into Purvis’s vision.
It looked like Purvis had topped out, that Fountain gained enough momentum to snatch the lead this time. The Purvis pushed again, arms flailing, to win the second of her two national titles Sunday. Purvis won the 200 in 23.22, the third-fastest time in nation history and tying a meet record set by Sanya Richards in 2002. Fountain set an indoor best 23.48, sixth-best all-time, finishing second.
“I was trying to smash the record,” said Purvis, who committed to the University of Miami. “I didn’t want to tie it. I didn’t want to share a plate. I want to have my own plate.”
The record Purvis tied is also the New Balance Track and Field Center record, which means her name will share a plate with Richards on the records wall just outside the track.
The senior was just as stingy in the 60 meters. She withstood Fountain’s lightening start, taking the lead midway through and winning in 7.36, the 18th fastest ever and ties her personal best. Fountain was second in a personal best 7.39. She also clocked an en route 55-meter time of 6.84. Both are PSAL records.
“I didn’t have a bad start,” Purvis said. “I have a pretty good start. Whitney’s start was just amazing. I knew that I just had to be patient. I know I’m stronger at the end of races.”
Shelby Ashe won’t have share a place with anyone. The St. Pious X junior from Stone Mountain, Ga., broke the national record in the weight throw, discharging a 65 foot, 4.25-inch effort to claim her first national title. Ashe pushed five throws beyond 60 feet and originally broke the national mark on her last throw in the trials, tossing 62-3 on her third attempt. She topped a record set by Victoria Flowers of 62-2 in 2008. Melissa Kurzdorfer of Lancaster, who set the state record Saturday
“At the risk of sounding cheesy, it was a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Ashe said. “I knew after that throw (the third attempt) I would be about to really let them rip after that.”
Ashe said she had never screamed during or after a throw in competition. Not until after she launched a bomb on her first throw in the final.
“I had so much adrenaline going,” Ashe said. “I think I had to scream just to let some of it out.”
When the weight landed, Ashe originally thought it fell around 60 feet until she saw the reactions from her coach and the crowd.
“I first got the record by an inch so it was really nice to put something out there that hopefully no one will touch for a while,” she said.”
Untouchable is a word that could describe Kendall Baisden’s effort to win the 400 meters. Baisden, of Detroit’s Motor City Track Club, rocketed pass Cardozo’s Chamique Francis in the first 100 meters then held Francis off when it seemed both had run out of gas in the last 50. She won in 53.23, the fastest time in the country this season and a freshman class national record. Her time crushed a class record of 54.06 set by Elan Hilaire of Park School (Baltimore, Md.) in 2005.
“I’m just overjoyed,” she said. “I’m just have I could run that time and hopefully go faster. I knew those girls are really fast so it was crucial for me to be aggressive.”
Baisden covered the first 200 in 24.5 with only Francis on her heels. The two had already blown away the field. Francis stuck close until 60 meters left when Francis challenged and Baisden gave another small surge.
“I knew she was going to do that,” Francis said of Baisden. “I knew that when she passed me, she was going to pass me flying. That’s what she’s known for.”
Francis said she tripped herself coming off the turn but Baisden said she felt Francis clip her heel, which killed her momentum and helped Baisden pull away. The freshman also finished third in the 200 in 23.89.
“She’s a banger,” Francis said. “She’s going to break a lot of records. People better keep their eyes open with her.”
Catherine McAuley’s Phyllis Francis helped prove that the fastest half-milers in the country all live under the same roof. The Oregon-bound senior won 800 in 2:07.54, the fastest time in the country, on the same day her younger sister, Claudia Francis, won the 800 at the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston in 2:08.06. Both sisters won by two seconds.
Phyllis Francis led nearly the entire way but Megan Tiernan of Washington Township (N.J.) tried to explode by her at the bell lap. Francis reacted instantly, never let Tiernan in front and dropped the sophomore on the back straightaway.
“I was alone,” she said. “I wasn’t really paying attention. She definitely surprised me. I knew I had to go after that.”
It was the first time Francis has been challenge all season and resulted in her second consecutive national title at NSIC.
Haddonfield’s Marielle Hall claimed her second national championship as comfortably as she earned the first. Hall simply sat in second most of the race, stalking Samantha George (Raleigh, N.C.) for the last lap and a half, then torched the last 150 to win in 4:59.16, two days after winning the 5,000.
“Ideally, I would have liked to run a fast time,” she said. “But I came out here to win. The pace was really slow at first but I wanted to stay patient. I just want to try some things and see what I can do heading into the outdoor season.”
Cardozo also repeated as 4x400 champions two days removed from a disastrous disqualification for a zone violation in the 4x200. Lateisha Philson (56.9), Ahytana Johnson (55.9), Sabrina Southerland (59.1) and Chamique Francis (54.4) won in 3:46.45. 
All the girls said that more than anything, they wanted to make sure they left with a championship ring.
“Everyone was already tired, just really fatigued,” Francis said. “We knew we weren’t going to run out best time but we wanted to make sure that we won and stayed undefeated.”
Philson also finished second in the 60 hurdles in 8.58. Trinity Wilson (St. Mary’s, Calif.) won in 8.37.
“Lateisha beat me over the first two hurdles,” Wilson said. “I just needed to catch up. We work a lot on working the third hurdle on, so I knew that was the strong part of my race. It feels good because when I come here all I want to do is win.”
Lindsay Crevoiserat of Glastonbury, Conn., won the girls 2 mile in 10:30.60. Canada’s Caroline Ehrhardt won the triple jump in 40-11.50.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.