Manhattan NY - The Stanner Games this past Saturday produced some excellent performances for both in-state and out-of-state athletes. We look back at some of the action. Be sure to check out our facebook page, where the "Photo of the Week" came from the Stanner Games Invitational Mile.
Running Down The Competition
Kingston's Taariq Jones won the boys 300m dash in a very quick 34.89 FAT. Coming off the backstretch, Jones pulled away from St. Anthony's Adekola Adegbite to take the win. The time now stands as the current NY #4 for the event.
A Pair of High Flying Friends
The entire stadium was rooting for St. Anthony's Mike Brunoforte, as he attempted as season best of 15-3. The attention he demanded was well rewarded, as he cleared the height to take the win. Brunoforte's height stands as NY #2 for this year, as well as currently US #7. That name just ahead of him at 15-4 is Greg Gallagher of Iona Prep.
"Me and Greg are close friends when we are not in competition," Brunoforte told MileSplit NY. "It is nice to have some one to talk with about what your doing, and having them know exactly what you are going through. Last year, we had (Jordan) Yamoah to compete with, and we didn't get to see him much. Because Iona and St. Anthony's are in the same league, Greg and I get to compete together all the time. I feel it makes us both better."
Reaching New Heights
Newburgh Free Academy's Xavier McCallister is another athlete who is no stranger to the sky. He bettered his high jump mark from the Hispanic Games, to a US #3, clearing 6' - 9" this Saturday.
Millrose Madness
Automatic qualifying bids for Millrose are still available, and Maria Seykora used the Stanner Games to guarentee her spot. Running with the crowd for the first four laps, Seykora began to pull away in the latter half, running away from the field to win in 5:01.09 .
The Awad Double
The boys Invitational Mile, also serving as an auto-qualifier, had a stacked field of athletes. Shaker brought down their strong contingent with the likes of Christian Delago and Mike Libruk, both XC standouts. Also in the mix was NYC's own Thomas Awad of Chaminade, and Konrad Surkont of Stuyvesant. The race went out tighly packed, and stayed that way throughout the race. Thomas Awad, who already has the NYS #1 time for the 2-mile, barrelled down the last 50m of the race with the entire field only footsteps behind him. Awad would finish in a fast 4:15.67, followed closely by Delago in 6:16.00 and Surkont in 4:16.31. Awad's time now gives him the distance running double, as his time puts him on the top of the One Mile rankings for 2012 as well.
Pulling from the Pack
Rachel Paul, already a Millrose qualifier, opted for the invitational 3000 meter run at the Stanner Games. She ran the race hard the whole way through, reiterating the force she can be for her team. She crossed the line nearly 25 seconds in front of the rest of the field, finishing in 9:49.69.
2-Mile Madness
The 2-Mile showed some very impressive seeds as they were lining up to compete. Sibby Hanson and Eddie Merenda of Arlington are both strong runners, and Eric Holt of Carmel had just came off a 4:16 mile time the wednesday before last. But all the attention rested on one person, Edward Cheserek, winner of the Foot Locker XC National Championship, and Millrose Qualifier himself, in 4:09. While Cheserek had sat at the back of the pack for his mile qualifier, that mentality was not to be repeated Saturday, as he got out fast and stayed that way. Check out more, as well as a full interview, in our article here.
NOTE: Times and results are still being updated by the meet directors. Times will not be input into the rankings until we have confirmation that they are corrected. We apologize for the inconvenience, but it is out-of-our hands at this point.