By Christopher Hunt
NEW YORK – When Gunnar Nixon finally finished he walked over to the high jump mat, laid face-down and closed his eyes. He had to stop moving for just a minute.
For just a minute, he wanted to stop resetting his brain. He wanted to stop refocusing. He needed to be still and let it soak in.
Nixon, an Arkansas-bound senior from Santa Fe High (Edmond, OK)., set the national pentathlon record Saturday at the New Balance Indoor Nationals with 4,307 points. He went into the last event, the 1,000 meters, knowing he needed to run 2:37.31 to claim the national record. With the crowd roaring behind him, he ran 2:37.00.
“I knew it was close,” Nixon said. “I saw it when I crossed the 800 mark. I saw I was at 2:07. I knew I had to run a 30. I don’t think I could have done it without the fans. They were so loud. The crowd was amazing.”
The atmosphere at the New Balance Track and Field Center helped Nixon at the end but stole his focus in the middle. Nixon posted bests in the long jump, hurdles and 1,000. But he struggled in the high jump, clearing just 6-6.75. His personal best is 7-0.25.
The senior said he struggled putting his approach together. Between the starter’s pistols, crowd noise, officials, announcing and music, he suffered from some sensory overload. But he reset his mind again before the 1,000, the way he did between each event. And this time the noise was exactly what he needed.
“I couldn’t think about the other events,” he said. “First I was a hurdler. Then I became a long jumper. I’m not very good at the shot put but I had to be a thrower. You have to look at the event one at a time.”
Nixon will have plenty to talk about next year when he shares a room with Andrew Irwin at Arkansas. Irwin of Mount Ida (Ark.), set an Armory facility high school record while claiming the pole vault at 17 feet, 3.75 inches.
Joey Uhle (Powell, Ohio) put the pressure on early when he cleared 17-0 on his first attempt. Irwin missed his first two attempts at the height before clearing on his third. Then he returned the favor and vaulted 17-3.75 on his first try.
“I was just blowing through my blows at first,” Irwin said. “I wasn’t too nervous. That’s why you have three attempts.”
US-leader Marquis Dendy completed the first half of his double-gold attempt in the horizontal jumps. The Florida-bound senior from Middletown (Del.) soared out to 25-3.25 on his first jump to attempt to win the long jump. He went 25-0 on his second attempt and remains the only jumper this season beyond 25 feet.
“I can’t be disappointed with a first-place,” Dendy said. “I wanted to jump farther. I think I just got a little be too hyped. That’s how I am. I want to get hyped and get a big jump early but I think I got a little tired.”
Nick Vena of Morristown (N.J.), who’s probably the country’s most consistent 70-foot thrower, won the shot put in just 69-4.25.
New Jersey also flexed its muscle in the 4x1-mile relay. Christian Brothers Academy claimed the national title in 17:37.01 with Conrad Lippert (4:29.3), Dan Mykityshyn (4:26.1), George Kelly (4:20.2) and Mike Mazzaccaro (4:21.4).
Mazzaccaro spent the last two laps of the races looking over his shoulder. He admitted how hard it was to double back after a second-place finish in a blazing fast distance medley relay Friday night.
“It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be,” Mazzaccaro said. “I won’t like. I was feeling yesterday a lot. We wanted to run a little faster but we got our fast time yesterday. Today we got the win.”
Mansfield (Mass.) won the sprint medley relay in 3:28.99 with Nick King, Steve Gannon, Griffin Robertson and Josh Lampron.
Lampron outlasted Columbus anchor Strymar Livingston to win. Lampron took the baton in fourth and Livingston in last place. But Livingston quickly moved to the up to second and Lampron followed. Then when Livingston surged ahead Lampron was there to cover. They both anchored in 1:52.3. Columbus finished second in 3:29.55.
Abington (Pa.) won the 4x800 in 7:45.21 behind Kyle Moran’s 1:53.3 anchor leg. After Will Taylor pushed ahead of Speed City (Long Beach Poly, Calif.) on the third leg, Moran stretched the lead on Speed City’s Christopher Hall on the third lap.
Abington has been dominant in relays at the Armory this season but wanted more than the national title Saturday. Central Bucks West broke the Pennsylvania state record two weeks ago at the state meet. Abington wanted it back.
“We’re fine. We’re good,” Taylor said. “We came here to win. The weekend is just getting started for me.”
Abington will race the 4x400 Sunday, where they have the U.S.-leader at 3:16.78.
By Christopher Hunt
NEW YORK – When Gunnar Nixon finally finished he walked over to the high jump mat, laid face-down and closed his eyes. He had to stop moving for just a minute.