DMR win kicks off potential big weekend for Brentwood TN boys

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

NEW YORK -- It could be shaping up to be a big weekend for the boys from Brentwood Track Club of Tennessee. 

On Friday night at The Armory, the quartet of Scott Thompson, Dodger Vest, Max Benson and Brodey Hasty won the distance medley relay title at New Balance Nationals Indoor with the No. 2 time in history, going 9:56.31. 

The race provided a dramatic finish with three elite talents on the anchor legs for Brentwood (Hasty), The Jungle TC (Loudoun Valley VA) with Sam Affolder and St. Anthony's NY's Mason Gatewood. 

Hasty held his cards and used a huge burst on the final lap to get away from Gatewood and win the title. A year ago, Affolder was part of the national record setting team from Carlisle PA with his older brother Noah (9:56.18).

Affolder held the lead for much of the anchor leg, while Hasty sat on him and Gatewood closed the gap and made it a three-team race.

"I just trusted my instincts and tried to move when I thought it was best," Gatewood said. "Obviously, Hasty had a monster last lap."

Hasty returned to The Armory for the first time since running 4:00.05 in the mile at the NYRR Millrose Games. He is aiming to repeat as the NBNI 2-mile champion after running 8:45.16 in 2017.

"We thought to win we'd be close to a national record, but we weren't focused on that at all," Hasty said.

Thompson, who was a Nike Elite camper last summer along with Hasty, ran 3:02.53 on the opening 1,200-meter leg. He is aiming to win the mile this weekend.

"Training has been going pretty good (since cross country season)," Thompson said. "I'm in the mile and I'm looking to try to win."

In the boys 5,000 meters, Chad Johnson from Colonel Crawford HS in rural Ohio used a lethal kick to pull out a victory in 14:42.59. He ran away from Conor Nisbet of Wilmington, Del., who was second. 

Johnson said his school sits on flat ground and is surrounded by fields. He has to drive 30 minutes just to find hills for workouts. 

"All our roads are a mile long and they are separated by corn fields," he said.

The Ohio Division 3 star has dominated the small-school level for years and he's headed to Iowa State next fall. He's been called "Ochocinco" since the second grade because he shares a name with a popular former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver.

In the girls 5,000 meters, Exeter NH's Jacqueline Gaughan was the class of the field and ran 16:19.42. She lapped almost everybody in the field and won by 34 seconds. 

Gaughan's time was good for No. 9 all-time.

Monica Hebner, the New Jersey 3,200 champion, was second in 16:53.91. 

North Rockland NY won the girls distance medley relay for the third year in a row. Katelyn Tuohy anchored the team from fifth place to first with a 4:38.62 carry. The winning time was 11:44.48

Saratoga Springs NY was second, anchored by Kelsey Chmiel, in 11:52.96.

Anna Hall, last year's pentathlon winner, won the high jump competition with a 5-8.75 clearance.