The Union Catholic girls 4×800-meter relay team and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood boys shuttle hurdle squad both captured titles at the New Balance National Track and Field Championships that concluded on Sunday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
In the girls 4×800, Union Catholic, fueled by its runner-up finish at the New Balance Indoor National Championships, defending champion Union Catholic got the revenge it was seeking by reversing that outcome by producing an electrifying and meet-record smashing victory over Cuthbertson of North Carolina in a Clash of Titans late Friday night.
The eagerly awaited showdown lived up to the hype as UC and Cuthbertson waged an epic duel that wasn’t decided until the final homestretch when Peyton Hollis slammed on the gas and blasted by Charlotte Bell with about 100m to go. Hollis completed a masterful 2:07.96 anchor carry by charging across the line with her arms in the air, stopping the clock at 8:47.08 to give the Vikings their second straight title! Bell, who also anchored for Cuthbertson at the NB Indoor Championships, split 2:08.60 and brought her team across second in 8:48.16.
UC’s wining time of 8:47.08 is just off its NJ state record and U.S No. 2 all-time 8:44.98 that it ran to win the 4×800 Championship of America race at the Penn Relays in April on this same track, and a little short of its biggest target, the national record of 8:43.12, which was set in 2008 by Roosevelt (MD).
UC’s victory avenged its loss at the NB Indoor Championships when Cuthbertson ran a national indoor record 8:48.02 to edge UC, second in 8:48.66, No. 2 in U.S. indoor history.
The race developed as expected with UC and Cuthbertson trading shots every step of the way..
Maameyaa Nyinah, who is headed to North Carolina, led off for UC with a 2:14.03 and handed off to freshman Jimmiea King in third-place, just a few meters behind Cuthbertson, who received a 2:13.29 from Justine Preisano to take the lead.
King, the only UC runner not on the 4×800 national championship team last year, got out fast and quickly bolted to the lead, splitting 2:13.89 to give UC a five-meter lead at the second exchange. Stella Kermes ran 2:15.28 on her leg for Cuthbertson.
Notre Dame-bound Kaleigh Gunsiorowski then took over for UC and cranked out a 2:11.21 to maintain a very slim lead over Cuthbertson, who received a 2:11.01 third carry from Alyssa Preisano.
Hollis, who will be a senior this fall, got the stick a couple strides ahead of Bell, who surged to the front just before the 200m mark. But Hollis, who ran the second leg at the NB Indoor Championships, stayed right on Bell’s shoulder and remained patient before unleashing her wicked kick to seal the deal for UC.
For the Scotch Plains-Fanwood boys, junior Ameen Zubair, brand new to the sport this year, and sophomore Justice Larkin began hurdling for the first time this past winter as they joined All-American Nate Rayan and Ian Hopkins on the shuttle hurdle team. .
As with any new hurdlers, it took some time for Larkin and Zubair to fine tune their technique and get their steps down, but just a few months after clearing a hurdle for the first time in their lives, Larkin and Zubair ran their best races when it mattered most to help ignite SPF to a magical, improbable and historic performance on Saturday when the Raiders produced a stunning victory in the shuttle hurdles.
Hopkins, a junior, started things off for the Raiders, and gutted out a 15.5 leadoff leg after hurting his hamstring midway into the race. Larkin then ran a PR of 15.3, and Zubair split a PR of 15.2. Rayan, who won the 110 HH at the Meet of Champions in 13.42 (No. 2 in NJ history), then closed it out by burning a 13.7 to stop the clock at 59.78. SPF’s previous best time this season was the 1:01.29 it ran to finish first at the Union County Relays.
The 59.78 by SPF is the fastest time by a NJ team this season, a new school record, and the victory marks the first national title in the history of the program. The previous school record was set in 1998 when Adam Bowser, Nate Jones, Blair Woodward, and Karl Jennings ran 1:00.9 at the East Coast Relays in Morristown.
After winning its heat (the 8th of 10), SPF had to wait to see if any teams in the last two heats beat their time. Trenton gave the Raiders a scare by running 59.99 in the ninth heat to finish second overall. Toms River North, who ran in the same heat as Scotch Plains-Fanwood, made it a 1-2-3 NJ sweep by placing third in 1:00.38.
