MileSplit NY - It was a big weekend for Track and Field again, as warm temps brought scorching times to the track. We were on hand at the Somers Lions Club Invitational for all the action, then our coverage shifted to some night action up in Hilton, of Rochester. The big marks were not exclusive to these two meets, as the St. Anthony's Invite and the Colonie Relays brought about great times as well (more on these tomorrow). Cover photo by Ron K.
The Pete Glavin Invite Proved Worth Staying Up For
Under the lights, sweltering with music, the 3200m and 3000m runs at the Runnin' Cadet Classic are the marquee events. A stellar field of athletes concentrated for one race. Of course you were bound to get some fast times. Wire-to-wire were two NXN qualifiers in the boys race, as Mickey Burke of Rush-Henrietta just edged out TJ Hornberger of Lake Shore, 9:12.16 to 9:12.70. Even the marks behind them were impressive, taking nearly the entire field under ten minutes, For the girls, it was no different, as Eileen O'Hara of Webster Thomas and Katie Lembo of Penfield battling the distance, with O'Hara taking the victory in 9:42.89.
These were not the only impressive marks out of the "Saturday Night Showdown" events, as you have a new state leader in Karmen Auble of Warsaw, breaking her own Section 5 record twice, to let it remain at 12-7. Kaishawn Cathey of Edison Tech leaped a strong 47-5 in the triple jump, and Desmond Mobley of Greece-Olympia put together a solid 23-3 state leading mark in the long jump.
Day of Doubles at Lions
It seemed as if the top athletes of the meet were looking to take home more than one shirt, the annual prize for top placement at the Somers Lions Invitational. The most successful of all these attempts would be Hackley's Mustafa Dais, who would win the 100m (10.6h), the Triple Jump (46-0.75), the Long Jump (21-9.5), and anchor the winning 4x200m squad (1:29.7). Dais is one of the top athletes in the compact Independent Schools League in New York State.
Carmel's Eric Holt wasn't afraid of pulling double duty on Saturday either, although several athletes didn't make it easy for him. After anchoring his SMR on friday in a strong 1:54, Holt returned to win both the 800m (1:57.7) and the full mile (4:19.4) by only milliseconds. Arlington gave him the biggest scare in both, with Chris Koenitzer pushing the pace to the line in the 800m, and Sibby Hanson attempting to hold off Holt and teammate Benito Muniz of Carmel in the mile.
On the girls' side, Arlington would take two titles, as sophomores' Bella Burda and Zola Golden would win the 3000m and 400m, respectively. Golden's handtime of 56.1 is a big PR for the event, and sets up the Arlington girls for a great DMR.
Be sure to check out more meet interviews, with double winner Rai Benjamin (Mt. Vernon), Matt Lee (Dover), and Jazmine Fray (Kellenberg)
 Matt Lee - 3200m |
 Rai Benjamin - 400m |
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Jazmine Fray - 800m
Highlights
Pole Vault winners at Runnin' Cadet Sam Harding of Canadaigua (14-3) and Karmen Auble of Warsaw (12-7)
Hackley's handoff to secure their winning lead in the 4x200m.
Matt Lee of Dover, eventual winner, lets Ben Barton of Fox Lane set the pace in the 3200m
Bella Burda pushes the pace early, to find herself a comfortable lead in the 3000m.
It was a push down the back straightaway for the finish in the boys mile.
Monae Cooper of New Rochelle lets the shot fly over in the throwers circle, to win in 37-1.5
Jazmine Fray of Kellenberg wins the 800m after taking second in the 400m, and retuning to win the 4x400m.
Rai Benjamin of Mt. Vernon clears the last hurdle over 400m, to clock a fast 57.6.
A close finish kicked off the day on Saturday, as New Rochelle just edged out Kellenberg in the Shuttle Hurdle.
Lakeland/Panas went 1-2 in the High Jump, as Kingsley Ogbanno goes 6-5 for the win.