NYSPHSAA - NY State Champs 2009

SYRACUSE – You would think he’d be excited. You would think there would be some sort of celebration. A smile maybe. But Alex Hatz of Fayetteville-Manilus walked off the track, as calmly as he entered, with just a few nods to the people than were in awe of him in that moment.

NORTH SYRACUSE – Garden City trailed for three legs in the Division I 4x400 relay and one of the top runners in the country sitting on the anchor leg for Hempstead. Garden City’s last two legs already had races in their legs and Hempstead had built a sizeable leg.

NORTH SYRACUSE – Jeff Martinez said himself that he just knew Marcellus senior Chris Stogsdill had it. Then the Johnson City senior watched while Stogsdill jetted away from the field and started a time trial in a quest to break nine minutes for 3,200 meters while the rest of the field was supposed to figure out who wanted second place.

It’s not uncommon for high school runners to be fans of other high school runners. It’s not unlikely for athletes to look at each other like stars, knowing their stats and their tendencies and their running style without ever having exchanged a word.