If there was one thing the Loucks Games have been known for in the past decade, it would be that the 3200m's on Friday night are set to shake up the State Leaderboard. That being said, plenty of harriers got their legs ready one week before, and we saw some major times go down across the State. The prior State Leader was Benjamin Berman (Bronx Science), who fled to Arcadia for the warm weather, and an 8:56.23 personal best. That's almost a full minute improvement from where he was last year, as a sophomore.
But what about this weekend?
Fast Times At Ridgefield High
Not only the name of the meet, but true to the moniker, the times were flying. Just over the border in CT, four athletes led a field under 9mins for the 3200m, the only event of the meet. The race was ultimately won by Magnus Manley, of the home school, in a time of 8:54.47.
Second behind him was Andy Condon (John Jay-Cross River), the top New Yorker, finishing with a mark of 8:55.76. That time betters the prior Section 1 Record set by Brian Cook (Pearl River) in 2014, when he went 9:00.24 for the full 2-Mile. New York converts all 3200m's up for record purposes, but the fastest true 3200m time belongs to Hakon DeVries (John Jay-East Fishkill) when he ran 8:57.99 in 2004. Condon's time converts to 8:58.96.
Although he finished only fourth, sophomore Ryan Sykes (Horace Greeley) may have stolen the show. His time of 8:56.49 betters that standing State Record for the Sophomore 2-Mile. Noah Affolder (Carthage) ran 9:03.89 for the 3200m way back in 2015, which had broken John Trautmann's long standing former record from 1984. Sykes' time converts to 8:59.69 for 2-Miles, and is the fastest in the country by 15-seconds. The current National Record is 8:46.75, held by Lex Young (Newbury Park, CA).
Hilton Provides Equal Drama
Not all racing was held out of State. The Hilton Runnin' Cadet Invite is traditionally the largest upstate invite of it's kind, in terms of quality. The race was won by Ibrahim Ford (Arkport-Canaseraga) in a time of 9:13.92. Like Sykes, the action wasn't all out front. In fourth place, Desmond Hill (Marcus Whitman) ran 9:19.09, marking him the fastest as the 8th fastest freshman in the country in the event.
That mark would have broken the State Record for Freshman, if Sykes had not broken it one year prior. It had sat at 9:20.10 for 22 years before Sykes went 9:07.17 for two miles at New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
Family Affair
Lastly, an interesting note from elsewhere in Section 5. Rarely do we see a team sweep in the 3200m, and even more rare from the same family. The Feider family put on a show, sweeping the Batavia Invite on Saturday. Has any other family pulled this off? The Furman family has similar personal bests, if you allow their father's times to count, but rarely does it happen all at once. Kudos.
Boys 3200 Meter Run Finals
If there was one thing the Loucks Games have been known for in the past decade, it would be that the 3200m's on Friday night are set to shake up the State Leaderboard. That being said, plenty of harriers got their legs ready one week before, and we saw some major times go down across the State. The prior State Leader was Benjamin Berman (Bronx Science), who fled to Arcadia for the warm weather, and an 8:56.23 personal best. That's almost a full minute improvement from where he was last year, as a sophomore.
But what about this weekend?
Fast Times At Ridgefield High
Not only the name of the meet, but true to the moniker, the times were flying. Just over the border in CT, four athletes led a field under 9mins for the 3200m, the only event of the meet. The race was ultimately won by Magnus Manley, of the home school, in a time of 8:54.47.
