By Christopher Hunt
photos by Tim Fulton
Deajah Stevens isn’t a regular freshman. She walked in the door at Mount Vernon already one of the top sprinters in the state even before she put on a uniform.
It goes beyond talent. Stevens is raw speed with a smooth running style wrapped in veteran toughness. And she showed Saturday at the Section 1 state qualifier that she’s mature enough to handle a full work schedule. Stevens won two the Division 200 and 400 and ran a leg on Mount Vernon’s first-place 4x400.
With two rounds of the 200, Stevens logged four races, which is just a preview of the potentially six she may have to run at the state championships in Vestal in two weeks.
“Packed. Tired,” Stevens said at the thought of what her weekend could be like at states. “I think I’m going to do well though. I think I’m strong enough.”
Stevens cruised through the trials of the 200, won the 400 in personal best 56.18 seconds then set a season best in the 200 final in 24.29 before she led-off the relay. Mount Vernon dominated the sprint events. Tanya Yarde won the Division I 100 Friday night. She also anchored the Knights’ winning 4x100 and 4x400.
Mount Vernon also took the boys sprint relays. It won the 4x100 in 42.24 and the 4x400 in 3:22.20.
North Rockland had its breakthrough in the boys 4x800. Tim Mendez (1:57.3), Dylan Landry (1:57.0), Nick Bien-Aime (1:59.6) and Alex Andre (1:55.6) won the Division I race in 7:49.
“It’s a great experience running that kind of time,” Andre said. “We’ve never executed the times that we were capable of all on the same day.”
This time Mendez took the lead early and his teammates never surrendered it. The Red Raiders became the fourth team in the state to break 7:50.
“From the very beginning we were of that caliber,” Andre said. “We never put it together. It’s really beautiful running on a team that’s balanced like this. It takes work. We’re a machine. Each press is a factor.”
The state qualifier seemed to be the perfect place for breakthroughs. Fox Lane senior Chris Sacks set a personal best, winning the Division I 1,600 in 4:16.63. Sachs made a personal sacrifice to make sure he advanced to the state meet. He left his prom early to get home before 10 p.m. He needed the rest the way he planned to run.
Sacks blitzed the pace early and opened a 25-meter lead on the field after the first lap. He put enough room on trail pack that even Yorktown’s Manu Kumar’s dramatic effort to close the gap wasn’t enough. Sacks pulled away again before Kumar could make a serious threat. Kumar finished second in 4:19.40.
“I just felt a surge of energy before the race,” Sacks said. “I felt like if there was any time to make a statement then it was here at the state qualifier. You have to be bold, if you’re going to put yourself out there.”
Arlington’s Hayley McMahon didn’t consider her race a jump in progress but she posted a career-best, winning Division I 1,500 in 4:34.64. McMahon tacked on to Gina Talt of Mamaroneck nearly the entire race. Talt tried to break free at the bell but McMahon followed then took off down the backstretch. Talt was second in 4:36.65.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.