Manhattan NY - Last night's Millrose Trials was the precursor to the prestigious Millrose Games, hosted for the the first time at the New Balance Armory.   Home to the New Balance Track and Field Hall of Fame, the Armory boasts one of the fastest indoor tracks in the Nation, with times guaranteed to be much faster than those of its predecessor at Madison Square Garden.  Those times came earlier than expected, as the Trials produced some of the Nation's fastest last night.

Boys and Girls set the bar high, early on in the meet, as their time for the Boys 4x400 is nation leading.  The first time of the year to break 3:20, their 3:19.90 establishes them as the team to beat.  They've had impressive races at the Hispanic games the weekend before, so their longevity at the top can hardly be questioned.  We look forward to their next race, to see if they can lower that time any more.  Their understandable 50m gap on the rest of the teams makes you wonder what they may be capable of with competition right on their heels to push them

On the girls' side, the 4x400's paired two unlikely big names against eachother.  For Benjamin Cardozo, it was Alexis Panisse, who is best known for her cross country and mile speed.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Medger Evers had Kadecia Baird, who sits on the top spot for the National rankings with her 38.35 in the 300, on the line to battle Panisse.  Medger Evers would go on to get the win in 3:54.56, followed closely by Cardozo in 3:56.71

The signature event of the meet was the aptly named Millrose Mile Qualfiers, and the results for both took a turn for the uncanny.  Both races were won by pairs of runners who were no strangers to each other.  For the girls, Long Island took center stage, as Kelsey Margey of Friends Academy took the race in 4:49.03.  Margey was followed closely by fellow Long Islander Rachel Paul of Sachem East, an NXN qualifier, in 4:52.95.  Both runners are strong cross country athletes, and look to have that same momentum in their final Winter seasons.

The boys qualifiers knew each other even more so.  After a strong pace set by Connor Rog of Fairfield Prep (CT), it was Adam McIe of Brewster with a final kick to win the race in 4:17.10.  McIe wasn't alone crossing the line.  Mere inches behind him was Eric Holt of Carmel, crossing in 4:17.42.  Rog would pull in a 4:17.67 for third place.  The qualifiers' schools, Brewster and Carmel, both reside in upper Westchester, part of Section 1.  The pair know each other well, and have grown up running the same trails.  Also of note, Adam McIe won our inaugural Photo of the Week on facebook three weeks back.  Be sure to check out our facebook for more Photo of the Week winners at www.facebook.com/milesplitny .  Congratulations to all Qualifiers.

Not to be outdone by the Boys and Girls impressive boys 4x400 time, Neburgh Free Academy closed out the night with an equally impressive performance.  Finishing in 3:20.27, they are now the 2nd fastest time in the country this year, behind B&G.

All Photos will be uploaded later tonight, including the Youth events