MileSplit New York
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Over two consecutive weeks, we've seen two of the fastest miles ever run by New Yorkers.
Dylan McElhinney (Hunter College HS) put the state on notice as a sophomore last year when she ran to a second-place finish at the New York Outdoor State Championships in the 1,500m with her record-setting performance at PSALs with a time of 4:24. Since then, she has captured an 600m indoor state title and went on to become the first girl from New York to ever double at nationals, winning the 800m and mile at Nike Indoor Nationals.
At the 2024 Penn Relays, McElhinney utilized her speed from that 800m prowess to break a strong field in the mile over the closing lap. Her closing lap was 66.16 FAT, enough to take home the title in 4:40.82.
That mark represented the fourht-fastest time ever run by a New Yorker over the mile distance.
Meanwhile, Zariel Macchia (Floyd) was also at Penn Relays, but she was scheduled for the 3,000m. It was a natural fit, as her indoor season was largely influenced by her participation in the World Junior XC Championships.
It pushed her fitness up to the 6K distance and transitioned nicely into a second-place finish over 3K at the indoor state meet -- she also won the 1,000m at that same meet.
At Penn, Macchia took second behind a stellar performance and her 9:31.64 mark was a personal best.
On Friday, she raised set up for the mile at the Trials of Miles at Icahn Stadium -- a meet inviting the top distance runners in the Northeast.
Macchia was there for the mile and put on a display reminiscent of McElhinney at Penn.
Trailing into the last lap, Macchia unleashed a 66.93 final lap to sprint away from the field and capture the win. Her time of 4:41.37 is a six-second personal best and moved her up to New York No. 6 all-time in the event.
Both McElhinney and Macchia are juniors and both have now dipped under Christine Curtin's prior junior state record.
Both girls have a potential three more times to meet up on the line at a New York state meet and we can't wait to see the pair battle it out.
