National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

Tremendous tally: 1 HSR, 4 meet records, 5 class records, 17 US#1s

Holloway/Zallow battle tops them all

• NATIONAL RECORD-equaling 7.05 boys’ 55m hurdles, en route to 60mH, by Grant Holloway (Grassfield, VA junior), just ahead of Chad Zallow (John F. Kennedy, OH senior) at US#2 7.06 (#3 all-time), as both pushed toward the finish of their race.  Holloway tied Wayne Davis II”s 2009 mark.
• Meet, Armory, junior class nat’l record and US#1 7.59 boys’ 60m hurdles (=#2 all-time) by Holloway, nipping Zallow by .004 in a photo finish, 7.585 to 7.589.  Zallow is =US#1 and =#2 all-time as both broke Wayne Davis II”s 2009 meet record of 7.60 and came within .02 of Donovan Robertson’s 2012 HSR.  Holloway’s qualifying and semi times had trailed Zallow, 7.69-7.88 and 7.70 to 7.77 before he got the huge PR in the final to move up from 2nd in 2014.  Obviously, two hurdlers had never broken 7.60 in one race.  Charles Graham (Phoebus, VA senior) was 3rd in US#3 7.75.  Holloway, who joined HSR-setters Davis II and Rickey Harris as the only juniors to win here, was also 2nd in Saturday’s high jump.

Near-HSR efforts by McLaughlin, Fisher

• US#1 and soph class nat’l record 8.17 girls’ 60m hurdles (=#3 all-time) by Sydney McLaughlin (Union Catholic, NJ soph), just .06 off Dior Hall’s 2014 HSR and beating another great performance by Anna Cockrell (Providence Day, NC junior) at US#2 8.21 (#5 all-time).  McLaughlin joined 2012/2014 champ Hall as the only soph ever to win this event.  Cockrell equaled the fastest non-winning performance in history.  McLaughlin, who was injured after the race and couldn’t compete in the 4x400, passed 55mH in US#1 7.60 (#5 all-time), while Cockrell was US#2 7.64 (#6 all-time).  Alexis Duncan (DeSoto, TX junior) duplicated her 3rd-place finish of last year in 8.36 – though she actually ran a US#3 8.35 in the prelim (US#3 7.74 55H).  McLaughlin clocked 8.35 and 8.27 in the first two rounds; Cockrell 8.35 and 8.32.
• Meet record and US#1 4:03.54 boys’ mile run (#4 all-time) by Grant Fisher (Grand Blanc, MI senior), defending his 2014 title and dominating the field – even with a stumble on the curb and briefly into the edge of infield during the final curve that probably cost him a second or more.  He’s the first repeat champ since Bobby Curtis in 2001-2003.  Taking 2nd and 3rd were James Burke (Port Jefferson, NY senior who was 5th last year) at US#2 4:08.48 and Sam Ritz (Germantown Acad., PA senior) at US#3 4:08.67.  Fisher passed 1,500m at US#1 3:46.40, #3 all-time.

Lyles, Clark exchange super sprint wins

• Meet record and US#1 20.83 boys’ 200m dash (#2 all-time) by Noah Lyles (TC Williams, VA junior), edging Ryan Clark (Banneker, GA senior) at US#2 20.85 (#3 all-time) in a reversal of their 60m dash finish.  2014 winner Trentavis Friday had the previous MR at 20.97.  400 champ Rai Benjamin (Mt. Vernon, NY senior) was 3rd with US#3 21.09 (=#9 all-time and fastest-ever 3rd-place finisher).  Lyles moved up from 3rd in 2014; he was also 2nd in the 2014 NBNO 200 while Clark was 5th.  Clark had led prelims at a then-US#1 21.00.
• US#1 6.65 boys’ 60m dash (=#13 all-time) by Ryan Clark (Banneker, GA senior), just nipping Noah Lyles (TC Williams, VA junior) – also 6.65 – in a photo finish, actually 6.641 to 6.644.  Clark is the first champ from Georgia in this event, while Lyles is the fastest-ever runner-up.  Darryl Haraway (DeMatha, MD senior), the top returnee from last year (2nd) and last June’s NBNO 100 champ, was 3rd in US#3 6.70 – despite being .02 faster than 2014. 

“Athlete of the Meet” efforts for Ward, Frazier

• US#1 and Armory record 51-7.75 boys’ triple jump (#11 all-time) by Ja’Mari Ward (Cahokia, IL junior), completing a 2-day LJ/TJ double.  He won by 9.5” over pre-meet US#1 (51-0) Marcellus Fletcher (William Byrd, VA senior) at 50-10.25.  Ward came within a half-inch of the junior class nat’l record (he already holds soph- and frosh-class nat’l marks) – while becoming only the 2nd junior to win this – and was less than four inches from the meet record.  He was 7th here in 2014 before passing the last 3 jumps due to injury.  Ward is the first Illinois boy to win any field event at NBNI.  Jared Lovelace (Archbishop Molloy, NY senior) was 3rd with 49-7.75.
• US#1 10:02.86 girls’ 2-mile run (#5 all-time) by Ryen Frazier (Ravenscroft, NC senior), winning by more than 17 seconds over Kate Murphy (Lake Braddock, VA soph) at US#2 10:20.22 and Julia Heymach (Lamar, TX soph) at US#3 10:23.27.  Her time is #2 in meet history behind Aisling Cuffe’s 2011 MR and her 3k split was US#1 9:23.68 (#6 all-time).  Frazier, the 2014 NBNO mile champ, was the 5k runner-up two days earlier and would go on to get 2nd in the mile just over an hour later.  She also gave the Frazier family two 2M titles as sister Wesley won the 2M (and 5k) in 2013.

Girls Jumps: Breakthroughs by Garcia, Denk

• US#1 43-2.25 girls’ triple jump (#5 all-time) by Asa Garcia (Texas City, TX senior), with her last attempt finally taking a great battle with 2014 NBNO runner-up Sydnei Murphy (Apex, NC senior) at US#2 42-0.75 and NSAF Project Triple Jumper Chinne Okoronkwo (Flying AJs/Mountlake Terrace WA junior) at US#3 41-10.  Garcia is #2 in meet history and joins Erica McLain (2003-04) as Texas champs in this event.  Murphy is the furthest-jumping non-winner.
• US#3 13-8.5 girls’ pole vault (#10 all-time) by Kristen Denk (North Royalton, OH senior), clearing on her 3rd attempt before missing 14-0.5.  Denk – just a 12-4 vaulter until mid-January – is tied for 3rd in meet history and the 2nd Ohio winner.  Meagan Gray (Hays, TX senior) was 2nd with US#5 13-4.5.  Four vaulters cleared 13-0.75, with Brooke Catherine (IL senior) taking 3rd on misses.

More sprints: Dramatic boys’ 400; Williams dominates

• 46.61 boys’ 400m dash for Rai Benjamin (Mt. Vernon, NY senior), just off the US#1 46.59 (#4 all-time) that he ran to lead qualifying.  That prelim was just .02 off Najee Glass’s meet record.  Taylor McLaughlin (Union Catholic, NJ senior) crossed the line first at 46.50 in the final, but was disqualified for a break line violation.  He had qualified 2nd with 46.81 (#6 all-time).  Benjamin was the 2014 runner-up behind Richard Rose, who was 5th this year.  Izaiah Brown (Amsterdam, NY senior) nipped Josephus Lyles (TC Williams, VA junior) – the 2014 NBNO 400 champ – for 3rd, US#3 47.32 to US#4 47.35.  The final was marred by a finish line collision where a volunteer holding the finish tape was in the path of McLaughlin and all four runners went down.
• Meet record 23.46 girls’ 200m dash by LaurenRain Williams (Oaks Christian, CA soph), just off her own US#1 23.39 (#6 all-time) from Boise.  After leading the semis with 23.60, Williams won the final by a huge .53 over Symone Darius (NY junior) at US#2 23.99.  Kaitlin Sherman (Parkland, NC senior) edged Imani Solan (Suffern, NY senior) for 3rd, US#3 24.05 to US#6 24.08.  Zola Golden (Arlington, NY senior) and Quashira McIntosh (Hope, RI senior) had =US#4 performances of 24.07 in qualifying.
• US#1 7.33 girls’ 60m dash by Teahna Daniels (First Academy, FL senior), beating Cassondra Hall (Northside WR, GA junior) at US#2 7.37.  They passed through 55m at US#2 6.82 and #2 6.85, respectively.  Daniels is the first Florida winner since 2-time champ (2000-01) Erica Whipple.  Third- through 7th-place finished within .05, with Kiara Parker (Westlake, MD senior) taking the bronze with 7.43.  After leading qualifying in 7.42 and running 7.45 in the semis, 55m pre-meet national leader Brenessa Thompson (Medgar Evers, NY senior) did not start the final.
• 54.57 girls’ 400m dash by Kamryn McIntosh (Suffern, NY soph), just holding off the trio of Layla White (Cary, NC senior) at US#3 54.60, 500m US#1 Lauryn Ghee (VA soph) at US#4 54.65 and Martha Sam (MD junior) at US#6 54.74.  McIntosh – the first New York girl to win this event – had run a US#2 54.09 to lead qualifying. 

More distances: Killer boys’ 2M; Mareno outkicks Frazier

• US#1 8:48.22 boys’ 2-mile (#6 all-time) by Andrew Hunter (Loudoun Valley, VA senior), just outkicking Levi Thomet (Kodiak, AK senior) at 8:48.32 (#7 all-time) and Alex Ostberg (Darien, CT senior) at 8:48.88 (#8 all-time).  They also passed 3k in the same order at 8:16.44, 8:16.46 and 8:16.73 – US#1-2-3 and #11-12-13 all-time.  Hunter, the 2014 NBNO 2M runner-up, is the first Virginia winner since Alan Webb and Bobby Lockhart took consecutive titles in 2001-02.  It was also the first NBNI deuce with three under 8:50.
• US#2 and soph class nat’l record 4:43.23 girls’ mile run (#12 all-time) by Nevada Mareno (Leesville Road, NC soph), pulling away from US#1 Ryen Frazier (Ravenscroft, NC senior) at 4:44.48.  Mareno took down Nicole Blood’s 10th-grade best of 4:46.13 from 2004.  She also split US#2 4:25.35 at 1,500 (also #12 all-time), about a second off Mary Cain’s 2012 class best.  Mareno, the first North Carolina girl to win the mile, also anchored Leesville Road’s runner-up finish in the sprint medley on Saturday.  Frazier, meanwhile, was racing an hour or so after winning the 2-mile, which followed her runner-up finish in Friday’s 5k.  Taking 3rd overall was Dani Jones (Desert Vista, AZ senior), who had dominated the previous section in US#3 4:44.90.
• US#1 2:08.13 girls’ 800m run for Sammy Watson (Rush-Henrietta, NY soph), winning a terrific 4-way battle.  Ersula Farrow (Motor City TC/Oak Park, MI junior) was 2nd in US#2 2:08.38, duplicating her 2014 runner-up finish, followed by Kaley Ciluffo (Bettendorf, IA senior) at US#3 2:08.83 and Sarah Walker (Germantown, PA junior) at US#4 2:08.97.  Watson is the 2nd soph to win here and had anchored the HSR-setting sprint medley relay the day before.  Interestingly, Watson, Farrow and Ciluffo had finished 1-2-4 in last month’s Armory Invite 1k, while Walker won the 600 in the same meet.
• US#3 1:51.08 boys’ 800 for Brian Bell (Dayton Dunbar, OH senior), taking the lead on the last lap and holding off 2014 NBNO 800 champ Donavan Brazier (Kenowa Hills, MI senior) at US#5 1:51.57 and Ignacio Fontes Garcia (Winnipeg, MB/CAN) junior at 1:51.59.  Bell was 8th last year, the top finishing non-senior.  He also anchored Dunbar’s national record sprint medley relay Saturday with a 1:49 leg.  Brandon McGorty (Chantilly, VA soph) won an earlier section in US#4 1:51.50 for 2nd overall – and just .39 off the soph class nat’l record.  US#1 John Lewis passed up the race to run in relays for Cheltenham, PA, while US#2 Elias Graca was 12th in the fast section.

Relays: Motor City defends girls’ 4x4

• US#1 3:42.72 girls’ 4x400m relay (#8 all-time) by the Motor City TC/Oak Park HS, MI team of Johnyce Powell, Dorriann Coleman, Ersula Farrow and Anna Jefferson, defending their title and nipping pre-meet national leader Benjamin Cardozo TC/HS, NY at US#2 3:42.82 (#9 all-time).  Oak Park is #3 in meet history and Cardozo is the fastest runner-up ever.  Western Branch TC/HS, VA was 3rd at 3:45.45 (just off their US#3 3:45.06) and Paul Robeson TC/HS, NY 4th at US#4 3:46.85.
• US#1 3:17.38 boys’ 4x400m relay by the Cheltenham Striders TC/HS, PA team of Cordell Richardson, Christian Brissett, Kyle Davis and John Lewis, winning by more than two seconds over Clara Barton TC/HS, NY at US#3 3:19.78.  Penn Wood, PA and Pickerington North TC/HS, OH went 1-2 in the previous section at US#5 3:20.52 and 3:21.03, respectively, to take 3-4 overall.  Cheltenham, 3rd here last year, is the first Pennsylvania team to win since Glen Mills in 2002.  Two-time defending champ Union Catholic, NJ was 6th.
• 1:38.10 girls’ 4x200m relay by the Mustang TC/Parkland HS, NC team of McKinley McNeill, Katlin Sherman, Miaysha Bryant and Ebony Williams – topping pre-meet US leader (1:37.96) Medgar Evers TC, NY at 1:38.72 and Cheltenham TC, PA at 1:38.94.  Parkland had led qualifying with a US#1 1:37.75 to win heat 3, with Medgar Evers (H5) and Cheltenham (H2) also running faster in qualifying with 1:38.33 and US#3 1:38.64.  Parkland was also 2nd last year after running the fastest prelim.  Medgar Evers was running without its top girl, Brenessa Thompson.
• US#3 1:28.17 boys’ 4x200m relay by the Western Branch TC/HS, VA team of Micaiah Harris, Stephan Arjoon, Jahkwan Blackley and Tyson Robinson – finishing ahead of St. John’s College TC, MD at 1:28.58 and DeMatha Catholic TC, MD at 1:28.64.  St. John’s had led qualifying with US#2 1:27.98 in heat 1, while Western Branch won H3 at 1:28.19.  Western Branch had been 8th in 2014 qualifying, missing the final.  US#1 Newburgh, NY was disqualified for a lane violation in qualifying.

Weight throws: Kelly repeats, Gaitan rules

• 81-5.25 boys’ weight throw by Adam Kelly (Barrington, RI senior), defending his title and topping junior teammate Robert Colantonio at 78-0.25.  Kelly is already US#1 and #6 all-time with his 83-3.25 PR from Millrose.  He and Colantonio have finished 1-2 in every meet they’ve thrown in this year.  Kelly is the 5th champ from Rhode Island, but the other four all threw for Bishop Hendricken.
• US#1 60-10 girls’ weight throw (#8 all-time) by Sabrina Gaitan (Throw 1Deep/Sprayberry, GA senior), winning on her 2nd throw to beat Kaylee Antill (Tri-Valley, OH senior) at 59-9.  Antill had entered the meet at US#1 60-2.25.  Gaitan, the 2014 NBNO hammer champ, moved up from 4th here last year.  She’s the 6th weight champ from Coach Mike Judge’s Throw 1 Deep club.