The National Scholastic Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at the 168th Street Armory in New York City on March 10-12. The meet was a huge success for both Shen and Section II as a whole. There were 4 national records set including an impressive 9:59.94 in the DMR by Gloucester, MA on Friday afternoon. I had the opportunity to attend the meet as an alternate and had a great time at the fastest track in the world.
As far as Shen athletes go, the meet was a huge success. Boys participants included seniors Darrell Andruski, John Lynch, Sam Silver, Zach Hansen, Chris Cooper, and Ryan Ensel, along with junior Marty Weishaar. Girls participants were seniors Cara O'Toole and Kelly Hagner, junior Brianna Hodges, sophomores Jamie Stitt, Laura Kevlin, and Dana Belcher, and freshman Laurie Macander.
The boys' DMR ran 10:41.52 on Friday afternoon, finishing 16th out of 26 teams. The girls' DMR ran 13:11.23, finishing 24th out of 26 teams. Also on Friday afternoon, senior Kelly Hagner finished 4th in the shot put with a throw of 39'3". Kelly earns the distinction of the highest placing Shen athlete of the weekend to go along with her New Balance All-American status.
The Plainsmen resumed competition on Sunday with pole vaulters and 4x800 relay teams in action. The boys' 4x800 relay was the first event and it got the meet off to a flying start. Shen finished 19th out of 42 teams with a team best 8:03.03. Splits were as follows: Zach Hansen (Sr.)-2:01, Darrell Andruski (Sr.)-2:00, Marty Weishaar (Jr.)-2:02, John Lynch (Sr.)-1:59. Phillips Exeter (NH) won the event with a time of 7:46.64, just missing the long time national record of 7:44.60 set by Roselle Catholic (NJ) in 1969. Our pals from Burnt Hills came in 7th with a 7:58.08, just missing All-American and a school record. The BH 4x800 runners were Chris Camp, Chris Dolen, Jim Light, and Matt Reilly.
The girls' 4x800 relay team of O'Toole, Kevlin, Hodges, and Belcher ran a 9:58.38, finishing 29th out of 31 teams.
In the boys' pole vault, seniors Ryan Ensel and Chris Cooper both vaulted 13'3.5", as they tied for 17th place. In the girls' pole vault, Jamie Stitt met some formidable competition in the likes of Massachusetts sophomores Samantha Shepard and Molly Lederman. Lederman won the event with a 12'5.5" vault, while Shepard no-heighted. Stitt finished 9th with a vault of 10'. Using the results from the 2000 Nationals, she will be the third best returning vaulter in the country next season.
Not only did Shen perform admirably at the Nationals, but so too did our friends from Colonie High. They finished 5th in the SMR on Friday with a time of 3:30.91 . The team consisted of Scott Chambers, Bryan Susser, Jim Tremblay (1:55), and Mike Gathen.
Colonie also ran in the 4x400 relay on Sunday. The team finished 5th in 3:21.02. Bryan Susser finished 2nd in the 400m with a 48.35. His time is the second fastest in the nation this year and makes him the highest Section II finisher at the Nationals. With the 2nd place finish in the 400 along with 5th place finishes in the 4x400 and SMR, Susser is a three time New Balance All-American!!! Not bad for a scrawny white kid.
The Colonie 4x200 relay team of Scott Chambers, Mike Couch, Brett Thompson, and Curtis Groff was 21st with a 1:33.43. Other athletes representing Section II included Leah Folmsbee of Burnt Hills (18th-2 mile-11:14.57), Shaker's Justin Corelli (9th-2 mile-9:32.39), Bethlehem's Lee Ansaldo (16th-60m semis-7.07), Scotia's Andrea Sweet (8th-60HH-9.03), and Shaun Empie (9th-PV-14'3.25") and Fred Frese (10th-PV-13'9.25"), both of Scotia.
The Colonie girls ran at the Nike Indoor Classic in Indiana. They finished third in the 4-mile relay with a school record time of 20:34.22. The team of Jen Kramer, Ashleigh Bordwell, Katie Twarog, and Nicole Susser broke the old national record, but were beaten out by Rockford, MI (12:02.81).
The girls also competed in the DMR, finishing 2nd with a time of 12:06.63, another school record. They were again beaten out by Rockford. The team was Kramer, Bordwell, Twarog, and Ashleigh Tremblay.
One non-Section II highlight of the NSC at the Armory was Suffern's Justin Romaniuk beating out Said Ahmed of Boston in the boys' mile. His speed burst on the final straght away was enough to give him a time of 4:14.09 and the national championship. Ahmed's time was 4:14.80.
