Friday Coverage from New Balance Nationals: Barrett 16:11 5K NR!

Event Winners: Championship Division - Emerging Elite Division 

Stories: Girls 5K - Boys 5K - Girls DMR - Boys DMR - Girls High Jump

Quick highlights, winner's photo shots, event results, stories, and video interviews from Friday's events at the 2014 New Balance Indoor Nationals.

 

Barrett adds a new national record in 5K to her Foot Locker National title from fall

by Phil Grove

They never knew what hit them.

Pennsylvania’s Tessa Barrett led every step of the way in dominating the girls’ 5,000-meter run, claiming an indoor national title and an all-time record Friday at The Armory.

“I was hoping it would be a possibility,” Barrett said of her national record time of 16 minutes, 11.85 seconds. “I knew there were some great competitors going in.”

The talented field had no time to settle in as the Waverly, PA, resident never trailed, breaking from the outside alley and heading toward the rail.

With Iowa’s Stephanie Jenks in her shadow, Barrett covered the opening 400 in 73.6 seconds. She toured the next 10 laps in 38.8 or faster, hitting the opening 800 in 2:30.3 and the first 1,600 in 5:03.1 as the lead duo opened about a 14-second gap on the rest of the field.

“I started to feel it in those middle laps, and I knew I would after going out in 5:03,” said Barrett, who will run for Penn State in 2015. “I knew I would be feeling that. I didn’t want to get too nervous about it, stay relaxed, whatever time you get is the time you get.

“The last two laps were definitely hard. I was running on heart. My legs were pretty tired.”

Before the halfway point, Barrett started to lap the field and then opened a slight margin over Jenks. Several more 39-second laps put Barrett ahead of Jenks by about 15 meters, and the race for the record had the crowd’s attention.

Last year’s Friday night final produced the old national record, with Wesley Frazier of North Carolina running 16:18.01. The new queen of the indoor 5K said the experience of placing fourth a year ago helped her tackle this year’s 25-lapper.

“I tried not to count laps, tried not to look at the lap counter because it’s kind of discouraging if you look up and you still see 12 (laps) to go,” Barrett said. “I tried to stay focused, stay on my pace and keep running consistent.”

The reigning Foot Locker champion, Barrett said the fast opening metric mile wasn’t exactly what she wanted.

“I was hoping to go out in 5:10, then negative split,” said Barrett, who also set a 3K state record en route to the win with a hand-timed 9:35.4. “Every race I seem to go out fast. It’s something I have to work on. It happens (in) cross country (and) track. I can negative split.”

With Barrett’s record-breaking performance, the national 5K record has fallen in four consecutive NBINs at The Armory. As a result of the onslaught, the record is now almost 32 seconds faster than it was in the winter of 2011.

Giving chase to Barrett paid big dividends for Jenks. One of the nation’s best young triathletes, Jenks finished second in a national sophomore class record. Her US#2 time of 16:37.50 was easily better than Frazier’s 16:50.55 at NBIN in 2011.

“I went out hoping that I could stay with (Barrett) as long as I could,” Jenks said. “If I push her, she pushes me and we’ll both run faster times. I accomplished my mission because after I crossed, she came over to me and said ‘Thank you so much.’ I said thank you, too.

“I was going for the sophomore record, and I got it. This is why I love coming to these races. I come to these races to get pushed and get faster times.”

Connecticut’s Claire Howlett finished third after taking the lead in the chase pack after about 1,300 meters.

“It was rough,” said Howlett, whose third-place time of 16:58.35 is US#4. “I didn’t expect to lead, and I’m not the best at leading but I just tried to keep calm and composed.

“I knew they had gotten pretty far away so I wasn’t trying to catch them. I was just trying to keep my splits steady at that point.”

The next two spots went to North Carolinians Mary Grace Doggett and Ryen Frazier. Doggett is US#6 after a 17:01.75 in fourth, while Frazier is US#7 after a fifth-place clocking of 17:02.17.

The final medalist also walked away with a national freshman record. Jessica Lawson of Corning, NY, is US#8 after her 17:08.45 broke the class standard by almost seven seconds.

 

Mantz travels long distance to 5K national title

by Steve Mazzone

The indoor track & field season has been moderately frustrating for Connor Mantz. Even though the Skyview (UT) junior has run a few quality times since the start of the year, the victories have been minimal.

But it all came together Friday night at the New Balance National Indoor Championships.

Engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with Tennessee’s Aaron Templeton in the 5,000-meter run, Mantz secured the lead for good with a mile remaining and then cruised to a nation No. 1 clocking of 14 minutes, 24.33 seconds inside the New Balance Armory. Templeton, a senior from Hardin Valley Academy, finished second at 14:37.84. Defending champion Elijah Armstrong of Pocatello (ID) was third at 14:48.72.

Mantz assured himself the coveted ring awarded to the winners of the championship races by blazing his final 600 in 1:39. A total of eight runners broke 15 minutes.

“My goal was to run sub 14:30 and I thought I needed to run like 1:09 (for the last 400) to get that. I was just like, ‘I got to give it my all right here,’” he said. “I didn’t know where everybody was, but I knew Aaron and Elijah both have very good kicks. I knew if they were within 40 meters they could pass me if I didn’t really push it.”

Mantz, a seventh-place finisher at the Foot Locker Nationals back in December, has managed just two victories this indoor season, both at 1,600 meters. He was also second to Armstrong at the Jackson Invitational in Boise on Jan. 24, running 9:09.44 for two miles and third at the Simplot Games (Armstrong was second) on Feb. 13, where he was timed in 9:12.99 for 3,200 meters.

Mantz knew he had an eye-opening performance in him and was happy it came on indoor track & field’s biggest stage.

“I am faster than last year and my workouts are showing between 10-20 second in my two mile and stuff,” he said. “I know my training has been going great. It feels good to have a good race.”

Mantz and Templeton did the pace-setting from the minute the smoke cleared the starter’s gun. With Templeton holding a slight edge, the duo went through the first 800 at 2:16 and were 4:34 at 1,600.  Armstrong led the chase pack about 40-meters behind.

“I never actually thought about leading early. I was trying to stick with Aaron for a lot of it,” Mantz said. “If the pace went out slow I was going to lead it. The pace went out pretty good.”

Mantz took its first lead at 2,700 meters. Templeton went back in front briefly before the Skyview runner resumed control again and maintained it to the finish line-banner. He passed the 3,200 mark in 9:14.9.

“Aaron made a big move away from the pack and I just wanted to stick on it and keep up with him,” Mantz said. “But after a ways, I thought the pace was strung out a lot and thought maybe I’ll do a little work so I decided to lead it and then he passed me and I passed him again. I don’t feel I increased the pace at all.”

The first mile I got out there,” said Templeton, a third-place finisher in the two mile at last year’s NBNI meet and the Foot Locker South regional champion this past fall with a best of 14:36 for 5K. “The last mile, Connor just ate me up.”

Mantz is unsure his immediate plans after his latest victory. But it may include a return visit to California for the Arcadia Invitational. Last year he was 21st overall in the mega-talented 3,200m field with a time of 9:04.05.

“I am thinking about it,” he said. “Last year I went out way too hard. My stomach wasn’t feeling good. I went out in like a 62 (seconds) and my third lap was about a 72 (seconds). It slowed down that much. I think it would be a great race to go to, though.”

 

 

DiPietro validates US #1 high jump ranking with 5'10.50" personal best clearance

by Phil Grove

Ellen Dipietro brought a little March madness Friday to one of the most storied venues in track and field.

Already the national leader in the girls’ high jump, Dipietro captured the New Balance indoor title by making like a power forward looking for a rebound, adding to her 2014 US best with a winning clearance of 5 feet, 10.5 inches.

“That time I just focused on going up, like just straight up,” Dipietro said of the key to a solid clearance on her third try. “No arms, no anything, just going straight up.

“At practice, we practiced on touching the (basketball) rim, so I just tried to repeat the same exact thing and just went up. It worked.”

As nine jumpers took their first look at the bar at 5-8.5, defending champ Cyre Virgo and fellow Pennsylvanian Megan McCloskey shared the lead with Crystal Jones of Virginia as each still had an unblemished record. Virgo jumped into the driver’s seat with her first try over, while Dipietro also cleared without a miss. McCloskey needed all three attempts in becoming the final jumper to advance.

“I try not to think about stuff like that,” the eventual winner said of the large group that was still alive at 5-8.5. “I just try to stay as calm as possible.”

With the bar up another two inches, Dipietro remained confident, knowing she was the only jumper remaining who had successfully gone higher than 5-8 this season.

“I knew I had jumped (5-10) before so I was really confident going in,” she said. “At the same time, I hadn’t hit 5-10 in a while so I was iffy about it but it definitely felt good that I had that (experience).”

Although she was unsuccessful three times at 5-11.25, Dipietro walked away knowing that she had her closest tries ever at the height and was a national champion.

“It’s so amazing,” Dipietro said of being the nation’s best indoors. “I finally got it in my senior year.

“I have won stuff in Massachusetts (but) just to even be here, it is amazing. The fact that I won it … I am just speechless.”

Virgo claimed the runner-up spot over McCloskey based on misses as both share US#5. Jones was fourth, while fellow Virginian Nicie Grier-Spratley was fifth and Shayla Broughton of Brooklyn was sixth.

 

West Springfield girls, anchored by Alcorta, follow up outdoor DMR title with an indoor national championship

The footsteps were there, and West Springfield anchor Caroline Alcorta knew they weren’t going away. In fact, they were getting closer.

Despite the efforts of some heavy-hitting 1,600-meter anchors, Alcorta and her Virginia teammates held the lead and ruled the day in the girls’ distance medley relay. They covered the 4,000 meters in a new US#1 time of 11 minutes, 43.39 seconds.

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” Alcorta said of possibly backing off her fast pace that moved her through 800 in 2:17. “I knew if I slowed down, I would probably slow down too much. I didn’t want to lose momentum.

“Even though I was going out fast, I didn’t feel the burn quite yet. (It was a) might as well keep going kind of thing.”

With the opening 1,200 by senior Katie Kennedy (3:37.33), the winners followed with freshman Kiera Bothwell with a 400 (63.13) and sophomore Reagan Bustamante carrying an 800 (2:15.36) and handing off to Alcorta (4:47.57). The only hiccup in the winners’ performance was a jumbled first exchange that allowed Unionville, Pa., to lead into the second leg.

“I was so anxious,” Alcorta said of her emotions prior to getting the baton. “They got us in perfect position. Right in the front. I can do this.

“I was counting where each team was. It sounds more analytical than it probably should when you are about to race. I was worrying about that.”

Putting the pressure on West Springfield during the final eight laps were Haddonfield, N.J., and Staples, Conn., and their anchors, freshman Brianna Gess and sophomore Hannah Debalsi. All three anchors earned All-American honors in cross country last fall, and all were moving fast on the banked oval.

“I just had to go if I wanted to catch the girls in front of me,” said Debalsi, who was credited with the fastest anchor of 4:46.16. “I PRed in the 800 and the 1,000 in that race because I’m not too fast.

“I had to. I had to do this for my team so maybe I went out too fast but it all worked out in the end.”

Debalsi put Staples into second with about 600 meters left, but she was not able to hold the position. Gess and her 4:48.64 leg lifted Haddonfield to the runner-up spot and painstakingly close to the winners, covering the four legs in 11:43.94 compared to Staples and its 11:45.79.

Last year’s champion Benjamin Cardozo of New York sliced a little more than 10 seconds off its 2014 best to finish fourth in 11:52.07. The top four teams all moved to the top of the DMR yearly list.

The other two medalists also broke 12:00 as Patriots TC (Freehold) of New Jersey was US#6 11:56.13, while early leader Unionville moved to US#7 11:59.67 by dropped its season best by almost 10 seconds.

 

Cardinal O'Hara DMR flirts with a historic sub 10 minute time

by Steve Mazzone

Cardinal O’Hara coach Tom Kennedy was confident his distance medley relay could run fast and clock a time close to 10-minutes flat at the New Balance Nationals. He also felt that to do that it would take a near-perfect effort by everyone that carried the baton.

He got it.

The Pennsylvania foursome of junior Kevin James, junior Isiaih Cooper, senior Nick Smart and senior Jim Belfatto earned the coveted prize inside the New Balance Center, combining for a meet record of 10 minutes, 0.75 seconds. Chaminade (NY) was second in 10:04.37 (US #2) and Westchester Henderson (PA) finished third with a time of 10:04.45 (US #3).

O’Hara’s winning effort is the nation’s fastest time this season and a tick away from the all-time best of 9:59.94 by Gloucester (MA) in 2000.

“We did our projections. We looked at the national record and we thought it was a possibility, but we are talking about a possibility of a great day,” said Kennedy, who squad broke their own state record of 10:10, set at the NBNI meet 10 years ago. “How many times as a coach do you sit down and say ‘Well in a dream we could do this,’ and you get something much less? To watch them run like that, I am really still in shock. We have parents, who are crying. Kids who are crying. I am in shock. They made it look so easy, which I knew it wasn’t.”

Cardinal O’Hara was in contention throughout the race and were within striking distance of early-race leader Saratoga Springs (NY) after the first two legs. With a blistering 800 leg of 1:53.69 by Smart, the Lions were able to take the lead for good. Jim Belfatto put the finishing touch on the victory with a six-second PR of 4:11.51 for his mile leg.

“I just wanted to get out front and get a good lead for Belfatto,” Smart said. “I felt good the first lap, which I was really surprised about. I didn’t want to (jeopardize) us so I just kept going. It felt good.”

Kennedy wasn’t surprised by Smart’s effort.

“He split (1:53.69). He ran 1:54.84 at the state championship,” he said. ‘I figured that he would get the baton, down a little bit. As far as my calculations, he was the second best 800 guy in the whole field.”

Once in the front, Belfatto got a mental boost knowing that fellow state rival Tony Russell was running the anchor leg for Westchester. Russell defeated Belfatto in the mile at the PTFCA Indoor Championships on March 1. He was also won the event at the Yale Track Classic and the New Balance Grand Prix.

“I was just waiting for him to come up on me,” he said. “With about 1,000 meters to go, my coach told me Russell is coming. I was just looking up at the screen and never saw him behind me.”

James ran a strong opening 1,200m leg of 3:03.83 to put his squad just two-seconds behind Saratoga Springs.  Cooper had a split of 51.72 for his 400 leg.

Two weeks earlier at the state meet, this same foursome finished second in the 4x800 with a time of 7:56.48. They were also a runner-up in the same event at the New Balance Armory Collegiate Invitational in mid-February with a time of 7:50.98 (US #8).

“We knew at the beginning of the season that we could get close to the national record if everything went right,” James said. “Everything pretty much went right. We are pumped to have a national championship.”

Cardinal O’Hara’s previous best prior the nationals was a 10:22 at the TFCA of GP Meet of Champions on Feb. 22. Cooper admitted the time wasn’t a true representation of what his team was capable of doing on the Armory’s banked oval.

“We never really had a hard DMR like this,” he said. “This is the first time we ran a good, hard relay. The only other time was on a flat track. We knew we could get close to (a national record).”

 

On-Site Coverage

 

RACE VIDEOS

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

 

Championship Division Champions

 

Girls 5000m Run - Tessa Barrett (Abington Heights PA) 16:11.85 NATIONAL RECORD

 

Boys 5000m Run - Connor Mantz (Sky View UT) US #6 all-time 14:24.33

Girls DMR - West Springfield (VA) US #10 all-time 11:43.39

 

Boys DMR - Cardinal O'Hara (PA) US #2 all-time 10:00.75 

 

Girls High Jump - Ellen DiPietro (Marshfield MA) 5'10.50"

 

 

Emerging Elite Division Winners

 

Girls 2 Mile - Julia Heymach (Manvel TX) US #13 10:39.40

 

Boys 2 Mile - Toby Hardwick (Newark OH) 9:20.82

 

Girls 60m Hurdles - Shayla Broughton (Medger Evers NY) 8.70 

 

Boys 60m Hurdles - Robert Carter (Long Reach MD) 8.03

 

Girls 60m Dash - Lauren Rain Williams (Lakewood, CA) 7.59

 

Boys 60m Dash - David Connolly (Summit NJ) 6.91

 

Girls 400m Dash - Victoria Tachinski (Canada) 55.42

 

Boys 400m Dash - Kemarni Mighty (NY) 49.12

 

Girls SMR - Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (PA) US #2 4:03.83

 

Boys SMR - Dunbar (DC) US #2 3:31.79

 

Girls 4x800m Relay - Assumption (KY) 9:23.44

 

Boys 4x80m Relay - Cornwall (NY) 7:57.41

 

Girls 4x200m Relay - Oak Park (MI) US #5 1:40.49

 

Boys 4x200m Relay - Long Reach (MD) 1:29.94

 

Girls 200m Dash - Martha Sam (Silver Spring, MD) 24.59

 

Boys 200m Dash - Grant Holloway (Grassfield VA) US #2 21.64

 

Girls 800m Run - Malia Ellington (NC) 2:11.93

 

Boys 800m Run - Shane Dillon (Canada) 1:53.44

 

Girls 4x400m Relay - Cary (NC) 3:52.15

 

Boys 4x400m Relay - Bowie (MD) 3:20.69

 

Girls Shot Put - Noelle Parker (Whitewater GA) 42'6"

 

Boys Shot Put - Curtis Jackson (Bloomfield CT) 54'10.75"

 

Girls Long Jump - Imani Obieke (Edison Tech NY) 18'6.50"

 

Boys Long Jump - Bradrick Shaw (Hoover AL) 23'0.75"

 

Girls Pole Vault - Moriah Fitzgerald (Avon Grove) 12'0.75" 

 

Boys Pole Vault - Chandler Kennell (Century) 14'10.25"

 

Girls High Jump - Samantha Hjelmar (Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake NY) 5'6.50"

 

Boys High Jump - Isaiah Kyle (Morristown-East TN) 6'8.25" 

 

Girls Triple Jump - Brittney Gibbs (Canada) 38'11.50"

 

Boys Triple Jump - Jason Katz (Ramapo NJ) 46'10"

 

Girls Weight Throw - Ariane Dubois (Canada) 52'11"

 

Boys Weight Throw - Isaiah Rogers (Campbell GA) 62'2.25"