Last week I submitted my predictions for New York’s State Championship, and this Saturday I got see how the races play out in person. The day started with one of the greatest races I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, but unfortunately due to some unexpected scratches and disappointing races, the day overallcan categorized as average at best. Here are my reactions to each of the events I predicted.
300m
Here are my picks against the actual finish:
Predicted: Actual:
1) Richard Rose 1) Benjamin-33.29 (meet record)
2) Rai Benjamin 2) Porter- 34.83
3) Anton Porter 3) Kory Fitzgerald-35.21
This was a race with a lot of potential that ended up being a bit of a dud. First of all, Richard Rose, one of my favorite athletes, scratched due to either illness or injury (his twitter mentioned something about a setback, but did not specify the reason he was unable to race). As disappointing as this was, I really don’t think Rose could’ve beaten Benjamin as I had predicted. From where I was seated, I could watch the first 150 meters of the race and the final 100 meters. When Benjamin left my view, the race was close; by the time he reentered my sight, the race was over. Cornell is a flat, slow track, and he ran 33.29. 33.29! This guy is a hurdler for goodness sake! There was no competition at all. Despite Benjamin’s incredible performance, the race could have been closer under different circumstances. In addition to Rose scratching, Izaiah Brown opted just to run in the 4x4, a move I have a serious questions about; Anton Porter, who while still finishing second, may have challenged Benjamin a little more had he not run the 55m prelims, semis, and finals, on top of the 300m prelims, before the final; lastly, MergaranPoleon, who had beaten Rose in the past and came in with a PR of 33.98, failed to make finals, missing the final spot by .02 seconds. So, despite Benjamin’s extraordinary performance, the race would’ve been considerably more exciting if he had the competition I had anticipated. On the bright side, if Rose can get heathy in time, he, Benjamin, and Brown are all tapped to run in the 400m at indoor nationals later this month.
600m
Predicted: Actual:
1) Luke Germanakos 1) Germanakos-1:20.60
2) Kermani Mighty 2) Anthony Hawthorne- 1:22.145
3) Infinite Tucker 3) Calvary Rodgers-1:22.146
No surprises with Germanakos taking home the win in this one, as he repeated as state champ at 600 meters. As you can see from the final times, Germanakos cruised to the victory, as his closing 200 in 27.7 shut the door on his competition. An interesting aspect of this race was the ability of two guys from the second heat to sneak into the top five: Rodgers in third, and Austin Spearl in fifth, with Tucker finishing between them from the fast heat. Once again, an unexplained scratch took some of the luster out of the race, as Kermani Mighty never raced (I have no explanation for his absence). Overall, this race was fun to watch because Germanakos really took off, but here is some food for thought: Brown, Benjamin, and Rose all have 400 PRs at least two seconds faster than Germanakos. Two time state champ…hmmm….
1000m
Predicted: Actual:
1) James Asselmeyer 1) Asselmeyer-2:28.20
2) Jake Johnson 2) Johnson-2:28.72
3) Shamarr Powell 3) Kyle Barber- 2:28.81
Like the 600, the 1000 had a clear favorite who did not disappoint. Asselmeyer really took control of the race by going out 1:57 and then did what he had to on the final lap to win. Johnson’s performance was very impressive, as he took second from the slow heat, going out in 1:58 by himself and coming home just fast enough to lock up silver. I almost got this race completely right, but Barber’s PR of almost a full two seconds allowed him to edge out Powell for third. Another impressive performance (1:57 on Cornell’s track did not look fun for Asselmeyer), but the race probably could have been a bit more interesting had Asselmeyer and Johnson been in the same heat. Moreover, I expected a little more from guys like Kareem Joseph and Luciano Fiore, who enter the race with PRs of 1:57.08 and 1:56.4 respectively, but ended up finishing 23rd and ninth.
1600m
Predicted: Actual:
1) Luke Gavigan 1) Burke-4:17.88
2) Mikey Brannigan 2) Gavigan- 4:20.28
3) James Burke 3) Marco Pompilj-4:21.04
James Burke must’ve read that I wrote “I give him a 5% chance of winning a state title,” or maybe he just wouldn’t stand for another second place finish. Whatever it was, this kid was on a mission the final 800m. His splits? 2:17.21 and 2:00.67. He closed in 2:00?!?!? Yeah I know he was Millrose champ and has run 4:11.25 for the full mile, but closing in 2:00 is real. I don’t want to take anything away from Gavigan’s race, as he close in 2:02.67, but I really felt like he could’ve done more. With 600m to go, Burke made a little surge, Gavigan didn’t go with him, and the race was over. Would I be saying this had I not written a piece praising Gavigan? Probably not. Still, you expect a two time state champ to know when to match a move. No guarantees he beats Burke, but at least it would be a race in the final lap. Oh well, good for you James Burke. You proved me wrong, and you deserved the win. Just a note on Pompilj, who had one of the most impressive doubles on the day: in addition to his third place finish here, he split 1:58 in the 4x800. Finally, I haven’t run the 1600/3200 double in a while, and I forgot how hard it was. Mikey Brannigan finished in 4:31.
3200m
Predicted: Actual:
1) Mikey Brannigan 1) Aidan Tooker-9:05.47
2) Jeremy Spiezio 2) Brannigan-9:05.50
3) Bryce Millar 3) Spiezio-9:07.27
Easily the best race of the day. This photo, posted byMileSplit, says a lot:https://twitter.com/MileSplitNY/status/574407959725408256/photo/1. Coming into the home stretch, Brannigan had a sizeable lead and looked like he had the victory sealed. Tooker was charging hard, but I was convinced the gap was just too large. At the finish line, Brannigan put his hands up, relieved he had lived up to the hype after winning a national championship, andTooker dove in desperation, knowing what it means to win a state title. From my view, I thought Brannigan had it. Then the times flashed on the scoreboard. Shock. For the Saratoga (Tooker’s hometown) fans sitting in front of me: elation. On the podium, in an act of pure class, Brannigan put his arm aroundTooker and smiled. This exciting race left me with mixed emotions. I was amazed at Tooker and his guts, and as just a junior, he’ll enter outdoor with PRs of 4:11 (if he doesn’t PR again at New Balance Nationals) and 9:05 with three track seasons to improve. What was really cool is Tooker understood his accomplishment; sitting just a few rows in front of me, I heard Tooker tell his friend “I just beat a national champion.” It’s great that this kid understands the gravity of that race, because he did beat an incredible field, with an incredible individual athlete in Brannigan. As for the runner up, I can’t help for feel bad. Yes, Brannigan committed the deadly sin of running by assuming he had won before crossing the finish line (a mistake many us, including myself, have made). Even so, Saturday was the fourth time Brannigan had finished runner up at a state final. On top of that already incredible statistic is the total time he lost those four races by: .42 seconds. Brannigan lost by .03 seconds to Tooker, .02 seconds in the 1600 to Gavigan last year at outdoor states, .07 seconds to Liam Purdy in the 1000 at indoor states last year, and .3 seconds to Bryce Millar in 2013 at the cross country state championship. It is truly incredible. I am proud of Brannigan for handling the agonizing loss as well as he did, but his record at states is truly agonizing to see.
Despite what that previous paragraph may have led you to believe, there were other great performances in the 3200. JeremySpiezio’s 9:07 is a nice PR, and a really impressive race on Cornell’s flat track. The same can be said of junior ConorLundy’s 9:09, even if he was seeded at 9:03 going into the race. It will sure be interesting to see Lundy and Tooker duke it out next year. One name missing from this is Bryce Millar’s, as he was yet another unexpected scratch. I am unaware of why Millar was not in the race as planned, but I’d like to believe that given the winning times, Millar could have been right up with Spiezio. Maybe he doesn’t take third as predicted, but a sub 9:10 finish was certainly possible had he been in the race. Even without Millar, this is was a race I, or any of the other spectators, willnot soon forget.
4x400m Relay
Predicted: Actual:
1) Amersterdam 1) Huntington 3:27.76
2) Paul Robeson 2) North Rockland-3:29.79
3) Huntington 3) Amsterdam-3:29.99
This race was incredibly disappointing. I was expecting to see a fireworks finish from Izaiah Brown, but the danger of relays is one stud’s reliance on three others. This was the downfall for Brown on Saturday. He got the baton three seconds behind the leaders in Huntington, and despite his best efforts to close the gap (his first 200m was about 22.0), the race was just over. In addition, Paul Robeson received a DNF after their first leg failed to make it 200m after the start of the race. I did not see what happened, but I have to assume a muscle was pulled after the start. Huntington did manage a win with four guys who will return next year, including Infinite Tucker who clocked a 49.3 in his third race of the day, meaning they’ll be a powerhouse next year. Despite this, in a race with two seeds at 3:20, you expect to see a winning time of fast than 3:27.
Predicted: Actual:
1) Arlington 1) Shenendowa-7:56.72
2) Shenendowa 2) Arlington-8:00.26
3) Syosset 3) Sweet Home-8:07.99
Another disappointing race. Nothing against Shenendowahere, it’s just that when a race has two teams seeded under 7:50, and six teams under 8:00, one expects times to be a bit faster. 7:56 on a flat track is nothing to scoff at, and Collin Rowe’s 1:56 on the anchor for Shenendowa was a nice way for them to win, but it is hard to believe that Arlington had run 7:47 with that same team in the same season. Yes, Asselmeyer wasn’t fresh, but still. Some okay times and splits in this race, just not what I had built it up to be in my head.
I enjoyed myself, as this was the first state championship I’ve been able to attend. That 3200 made the day worth it, even if some big names were missing. If you’d like to see any of times and splits from the meet, here is a link:http://www.leonetiming.com/2015/Indoor/IStates/. All in all, I learned one very important thing: never guarantee a loss for a kid who just won the Millrose Mile. Once again James Burke, I sincerely apologize.
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