After booking their tickets to the State Meet, the Saint Anthony's pair also made sure they booked their airline tickets down to Missouri. That's because both Mason Gatewood and Matthew Payamps were awarded At-Large Berth's to the Festival of Miles, held in St. Louis, Missouri.
How did a single team get two entries? Well, it would be hard to distinguish the pair, after they conquered the coveted Loucks Games 3200m in that same 1-2 position, clocking 8:55.00 for Gatewood and 8:56.06 for Payamps. Those marks still lead New York State to this day.
| Place | Athlete | Team | Result | Wind | H# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mason Gatewood | 12 | Saint Anthony's | 4:07.00 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Matthew Payamps | 11 | Saint Anthony's | 4:08.32 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Easton Allred | 10 | Rock Canyon High School | 4:09.49 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Carter Dillon | 12 | Mountain Vista High School | 4:10.24 | 1 | |||
| 5 | Ryan Riddle | 12 | Webb City High School | 4:11.15 | 1 | |||
Well, in an eerie case of déjà vu, it would seem as if history was made to repeat itself. The Saint Anthony's pair matched their Loucks performance once again, streaming to 1-2 in the Mile. Gatewood once again pulled off an incredible feat of clocking an even number on the FAT-Clock, hitting 4:07.00 even to win the race. Payamps was once again just a step behind, crossing the line behind in 4:08.32. Both ran to NY #1-2 for the distance.
That should set the pair up nicely for next week at the State Meet, where they will run separate events, then come back for the 4x800m. Matt Payamps will take on the 800m, as Gatewood will try his hand at the 1600m. Payamps will seemingly lose his biggest competition in both events, as Northport's Isaiah Claiborne has been accepted into the Brooks PR event that same weekend, making Payamps the favorite in both.