Final Look at NBNI - Top 5 Lists Galore

By SteveU

Welcome to a new column on the new DyeStat.com from someone who has been with the site since 2000 on a contributing basis and as a full-time editor since 2005 – and has been through all those changes and new versions of DyeStat that we’ve seen from back in the days with Rivals, Nike and Student Sports, to the more recent with ESPN, and now, Runnerspace.  Most of you have known me as “SteveU” going back to my days on the original message boards.  I got a kick out of a few times several years ago that the NSAF’s Jim Spier called me “The U,” so we’ll call this piece “The View From The U” – a weekly, somewhat personal look at all things prep track and field and XC.

With that very brief introduction, let’s get to it.  I wanted to take some time to analyze what we saw in three tremendous days of competition at New Balance Nationals Indoor last weekend and efforted to find a way to present my findings.  Top five lists came to mind, and so here you are: Ten Top 5 lists breaking down in some different ways what we all saw last weekend (and there’s more to come).

Here we go!

(p.s. I promise all columns won’t be this long!)

Top Five NBNI individual single performances

• 1. Maggie Ewen, St Francis, MN, 54-1 shot put, #2 all-time – This may surprise you, but this is a subjective list.  The meet’s three national records – coming in events with shorter and more limited histories and level of participation – are great, but not necessarily the very best performances.  The shot has been contested forever and Ewen’s monster throw, a 6-foot improvement that made her second in pre history only to the legendary Michelle Carter, gets the nod.
• 2. Sabrina Southerland, Cardozo, NY, 2:03.59 800, #2 all-time – Similar to the Ewen scenario, you look at the history of the event and those who set the standards.  Southerland’s now second only to Mary Decker and ahead of back-to-back World Junior/World Youth champ Ajee Wilson?  Pencil her in!
• 3. Kendell Williams, Kell/The Heat TC, GA, 4,068 hept, USR – A limited number of girls attempt the multis, but passing stars like Ryann Krais and Shana Woods on the all-time list – as Williams did – is pretty impressive.  Williams now owns both former Woods’ marks, including the outdoor heptathlon that she shattered at World Juniors last summer.
• 4. Sasha Wallace, Castro, CA, 8.17 60H, #2 all-time – Wallace got her second huge win over rival Dior Hall, just missing the USR by .01.  The best-ever indoor hurdles performance is arguably Candy Young’s 7.50 over the old 50-yard distance and Wallace passed the 55-meter mark (nearly equal to 50y) Sunday in 7.59.
• 5. Wesley Frazier, Ravenscroft, NC, 16:18.01 5k, USR – A great run and a great finish, just not quite as stellar compared to above marks for other disciplines.  And, if she’s healthy and/or runs a smarter pace, Erin Finn probably resets her own record instead and Frazier is second.  But no knock on the new champ – see more about her below.

Top Five NBNI athletes overall (multiple performances)

• 1. Kendell Williams, Kell/The Heat TC, GA, USR 4,068 hept, 2nd in LJ, HJ and 60H – For her USR and all she did in her three other events, Williams is the choice here.  She PR’ed in the 60H and while her individual LJ and HJ efforts weren’t at her career best level, she admitted she has yet to work toward peak form with the outdoor season looming ahead (though she did hit a US#1 HJ in the pent).  She did an awful lot in three days, competed well and showed the mature star she’s become.
• 2. Sabrina Southerland, Cardozo, NY, #2 all-time 2:03.59 800, 4:44 DMR anchor –In addition to the aforementioned 800 performance – where she had an astonishing 6-second PR (though she’d run 2:06 for a relay leg) – Southerland of course also anchored Cardozo’s super DMR win with her 4:44 anchor.  That was a massive PR, too, as she hadn’t been close to 4:45 before.
• 3. Wesley Frazier, Ravenscroft, NC, USR 16:18.01 5k, #12 a-t 10:12.23 2M – After that epic 5k win Friday, Frazier came back nicely on Sunday to pull away from the 2M field with another fine mark.  This winter has been the veteran’s best and most consistent season.
• 4. Henry Wynne, Staples, CT, 4:06.45 DMR leg, US#1/#18 a-t 4:08.15 1M – Wynne came into NBNI with a NB Indoor GP title and US#1 over 1k, but never having broken 4:10 or 1600 or a mile.  Both his victorious anchor for Staples and individual mile were fast, well-measured efforts with superlative kicks.  He gets the boys distance star of the meet over Cheserek.
• 5. Ed Cheserek, St. Benedict’s, NJ, 4:05.65 DMR leg, 1:52.20 SMR leg, 8:59.00 2M – Some interesting choices for the final spot, but ultimately, it goes to Cheserek.  With two victories (SMR anchor, 2M) in three attempts, he wasn’t quite as monumentally impressive as the three-for-four in 2012.  Still, he ran three strong, fast and smart races.  And you have to think he’ll be fresher for his final outdoor season than what we saw last year.

Top Five NBNI (single) relay performances

• 1. Davis UT girls 4x800, US#1/#3 all-time 8:56.57 – Ranking a #3 all-time above a national record is a tough call, but considering how much more frequently the 4x800 is contested than the shuttle hurdle relay, the Davis girls get the nod here.  It hadn’t been a remarkable season in the event before NBNI and though there were good teams out there, a powerful sub-9:00 was still a surprise.  Davis had three strong legs and then superstar Shea Martinez to close it out.  Very nice.
• 2. Union Catholic NJ boys 4x55 SHR, USR 29.20 – There aren’t a lot of shuttle hurdle relays held, even taking the indoor track-heavy states as a whole.  But considering a group with individual 55H PRs of 7.42-7.51-7.60-7.85 – two of those are US top 12 – that’s a pretty great quartet.  They came to New York going for the USR and they took it down in style for the only boys national record of the meet.
• 3. Benjamin Cardozo NY girls DMR, US#2/#5 all-time 11:39.10 – This will be the only performance of this top five that was not a US#1, but Cardozo gets extra points because they ran 15 seconds faster than they did in January and because everyone’s legs really shone – especially that 4:44 anchor by Southerland.
• 4. Columbia NJ girls 4x400, US#1/#5 all-time 3:42.03 – Columbia’s girls are always good at NSAF/New Balance meets, indoors and out.  But this group may be a little more special than the others.  In Coach Lisa Morgan’s program, breaking a school record usually means you’re contending for a national title, and with junior Olivia Baker anchoring a super effort, they did just that.
• 5. Grosse Pointe South MI girls 4x1M, US#1/#3 all-time 20:02.80 – The Meier twins and Co. absolutely dominated, winning by more than 40 seconds, and hit history’s #3 time.  But a national record was on the mind of this crew and – given their PRs coming in – they had a chance to destroy Saratoga’s 19:59.24 by at least 15 seconds.  Running alone the second half was tough and quelling the temptation to go out too fast each leg was even tougher.  Still, an awfully good mark.

Top Five NBNI (aggregate) relay performances

• 1. Union Catholic NJ boys, USR 29.20 SHR, US#1/#10 a-t 3:16.01 4x4, #1/#15 a-t 1:27.90 4x2 – This is where the Vikings really get high marks, with by far the meet’s best set of showings in the short relays.  The national record in the 4x55H was probably the easiest piece.  In the 4x400, they were US#1 coming in, but hardly a decisive favorite.  In the 4x200, they were definitely not the favorite.  But in both the latter events, they executed with near-perfection and triumphed with US#1 times and room to spare.  It was a tight group with one common denominator – versatile junior hurdle star Obafemi Animashaun – and considerable overlap between the SHR and 4x2, and then the 4x2 and 4x4.  No school owned this meet like Union Catholic.
• 2. Christian Brothers NJ boys, US#1/#5 a-t 17:22.67 4x1M, 2nd DMR, 3rd SMR, 4th SHR – It’s no surprise these guys could run these times and score a title and three more top-four finishes.  Their seasonal bests told us so in the shuttles and medley, and we knew they could put together four guys around 4:20 for the 4x1M.  The point was whether they could come through after last year’s debacle –where they were shooting for national records and after a disaster on the 4x1M (fifth, with two of their legs sick), they went home.  There was also the memory of that disappointing non-podium finish for the distance crew at NXN last fall.  These boys are back! Of course, the performers went beyond distance runners, too.
• 3. St. Benedict’s NJ boys, US#1/#6 a-t 3:26.19 SMR, 3rd DMR – The Cheserek-led quartets didn’t quite achieve their double victory of last year, but given reasonable expectations, they ran well.  They weren’t as strong in the DMR this year, but still pulled off a very good third.  On the other hand, they were favored to win again in the SMR and they dominated that.
• 4. Wakefield NC girls, US#2/#10 a-t 1:37.34 4x2 (2nd), US#2 3:44.84 4x4 (2nd) – It was a tough meet for these girls.  Last year, led by Ariah Graham, they swept the 4x2 and 4x4.  They were good again this year, but not quite at the same level.  They were just nipped in a great battle with Medgar Evers in the 4x2.  Then in the 4x4, they were beaten decisively by Columbia NJ, but were still way ahead of everyone else.
• 5. (tie) Cardinal O’Hara PA boys, US#3/#7 a-t 17:25.28 4x1M (3rd), US#4 10:13.13 DMR (4th) – Excellent distance program scored high in the super deep 4x1 and the nearly-as-good DMR.
• 5. (tie) Knightdale NC boys, US#4 1:28.86 4x2 (2nd), US#4 3:18.89 4x4 (3rd) – These guys weren’t super highly regarded or favored to win anything coming in, but they benefited somewhat with the disasters that befell some teams (like Forest Park VA 4x2) and the struggles of others.  The result was a runner-up finish in the 4x2 and a third in the 4x4.

Top Five NBNI thriller finishes

• 1. Girls 5,000 – Is there any doubt here?  It wasn’t just the closeness of the race, as Frazier came from way back to nip Finn by .01 seconds, it was also the ensuing confusion and the way Frazier caught so many folks off guard.  Coming down the final straight, Finn appeared to still have enough room and Frazier’s sprint was almost lost among the lapped runners that were mixing it up with these top two.  Finn’s name appeared at the top of the scoreboard indicating she had won for a few minutes before any other results showed up – and it wasn’t until Frazier’s name topped Finn’s that the upset was official.
• 2. Boys 800 – The four-lapper was thrilling on a couple levels.  First, it was Chris Ibarra coming from behind to edge Tre’Tez Kinnaird by .10 at the tape with Jacob Clark just .02 back.  Then it was the realization that none of them were fast enough to beat Nathan Kiley’s 1:51.37 from the morning section.
• 3. Girls Mile – Hannah Meier looked like a huge favorite in the race and, when Elise Cranny started shadowing her as Meier gapped the field, it seemed that it was surely just a matter of time before she dropped off.  But it never happened and Cranny executed a stunning kick in the last 100 to win by .35 – with both in the top six performers all-time.
• 4. Girls 200 – The second section of the final shaped up to be a great showdown between the girls likely to be Florida’s and California’s best sprinters this year – Kali Davis-White and Ariana Washington and it lived up to its billing: Davis White edged Washington, 23.48-23.50, becoming #7 and #9 all-time.
• 5. Girls 1M RW – A great come-from-behind finish by Holly Lindoe NY was good enough to top Empire State rival and national 1,500 leader Ji Won Kang at the tape, 7:26.07 to 7:26.42.

Top Five dominant NBNI individuals/relays

• 1. Grosse Pointe South MI girls, 4x1M – They won by more than 40 seconds – ’nuff said.
• 2. Maggie Ewen, MN, girls shot put – Ewen was hardly a big favorite coming in, but all five of her legal throws were better than anyone else and she won by more than seven feet.
• 3. Jeremiah Green FL, boys triple jump – Green WAS the heavy favorite (and the 2012 New Balance outdoor champ) and he led from his first attempt.  All five of his legal jumps were better than anyone else managed, as well.
• 4. Ed Cheserek and St. Benedict’s NJ’s SMR – There was little drama as to who would win either the boys 2M or the sprint medley relay.  Ches dominated the former, despite cruising for half the race.  And when his teammates gave him the stick with the lead in the latter, there was no doubt whose anchor would be victorious.
• 5. Sabrina Southerland NY, girls DMR and 800 – Southerland played a huge part in making the DMR a 20-second blowout with her monster 4:44 anchor.  And, even though the girls’ 800 was a deep, quality race, with Maddy Berkson pacing the first 400, Southerland hammered the field into submission in the final 300 as she ran history’s second best time.

Five NBNI events that were REALLY deep

• Boys 4x1M – CBA NJ led the way with its aforementioned 17:22.67 victory, #5 all-time, but at least equally impressive was the fact that five squads ran 17:28 or better – easily the deepest finish ever for this event indoors.  Even fifth-place Northport NY is now #12 all-time.
• Girls 5k – Everyone knows that Frazier and Finn, as mentioned above, ran the #1 and #2 times in history with their photo finish.  But never had five girls run under 16:45 before in a single indoor race and even fifth-place Maria Hauger makes the top 10 all-time.
• Boys 800 – The top two times didn’t seem super fast after what we saw with Ben Malone’s 1:49 and Zavon Watkins’ 1:50 in 2012, but the top four finishers – Kiley (from slower section), Ibarra, Kinnaird, and Clark – were 1:51.52 or better and now occupy #12-13-15-16 all-time.
• Girls Pent – Beyond Williams’ USR, the performances by Alexa Harmon-Thomas in 2nd, Felecia Majors in 3rd, and Kendra Gustafson in 4th, make them #4-8-9 all-time.
• Girls 800 – Beyond Southerland’s #2 all-time performance, Maddie Berkson’s 2:06.67 in 3rd makes her #9 all-time.  Canadian runner-up Kailee Sawyer ran 2:05.94, a time only five U.S. girls have now ever beaten.

Top Five NBNI upsets

• 1. Girls Mile, Elise Cranny – Besides qualifying as a fantastic finish, Cranny’s win over Meier was also the meet’s biggest upset, since she was just a 4:58 miler coming in and Meier had won the last two titles.
• 2. Boys 800, Nathan Kiley – Any time a winner comes from a slower section, it’s an upset.  But even Ibarra winning the fast section makes it a qualifier in this category since you had defending champ Ben Malone and 2012 US#1 Kinnaird to beat.
• 3. Girls 5k, Wesley Frazier – Given that Frazier has beaten Finn before, it’s harder to qualify as an upset.  But Finn had beaten Frazier soundly at Brooks and appeared in better shape before her illness, though both were running well.
• 4. Boys DMR, Staples CT – These guys obviously had the talent to pull off the win, but they didn’t have a 2013 mark on paper and most eyes were on several other top contenders.
• 5. Girls HJ, Cyre Virgo – The soph clearly has the talent, but when you’re beating a defending champ like Kendell Williams who’s gone 5-10 or better so many times, it’s still an upset.

Top Five NBNI breakouts

• Maggie Ewen MN, 54-1 girls shot – A good (but not “great”) putter coming in with a best in the 48s – now she’s #2 all-time.  Yep, that’s a breakout.
• Elise Cranny CO, 4:40.62 girls mile – Yes, she was last fall’s NXN SW champ and Coloradoans know her as one of the state’s most talented distance runners.  But going from a 4:58 best to 4:40?  That might be an even bigger breakout.
• Audrey Belf MI, 10:22.46 girls 2M (3rd) – Here we go to some of the non-winners.  This gal was an 11:06 3,200 runner as a frosh last year, then part of a state champion Birmingham Seaholm XC team last fall – though medical issues limited her to #5 girl.  By Michigan’s indoor state meet she got down to a fine 10:37.38 for 3,200, but no one saw a national soph class record 10:22.46 coming.
• Tessa Barrett PA, 16:42.99 girls 5k (4th) – It’s been clear the Abington Heights junior has had talent during the course of her career, but she’s only been under 19:00 a couple times in XC.  This winter she’d clearly gotten better, highlighted by a 9:47.73 3,000 victory at state, but in running 16:42, she took a huge step into national elite territory.
• Zyaire Clemes NJ, 47.27 boys 400 (2nd) – Clemes wasn’t yet a sub-50 runner at this time last year.  Yes, he improved to 47.86 outdoors last spring.  But this winter has seen him progress from the mid-48s, to 48.26 to win the NJ Meet of Champs, 48.07 at Eastern States, and then his superb 47.27 to finish second only to Cherry last weekend.

Five at NBNI who showed they “belonged”

• Felecia Majors VA, 3rd girls Pent, 3rd LJ, 53.80 4x4 anchor, 12th PV – Touted as the next queen in the multis after her epic state meet performance in Virginia, the South County senior didn’t have a monster breakthrough, and suffered a few ups and downs, but she proved she’s worthy of being considered a national-class multi threat.
• Trevor Gilley TX, 2nd boys mile – Gilley’s big mile win at Brooks was a stunner – beating a soph year PR – and he needed to back it up here.  With another 4:08 in second, the Southlake Carroll senior certainly did that.
• Maddy Berkson RI, 3rd girls 800 – Berkson’s been known as a prodigious young talent in Rhode Island for awhile and had made some waves on the national stage – but this was by far her biggest performance to date.
• Julie McConville MA, 2nd girls 5000, 3rd 2M – The Hingham Academy senior had some good times to her name, especially her performance at Brooks (5th).  But given her limited outdoor and XC creds, she really hadn’t established herself as a consistent national talent.  Two top-three runs, both making the all-time lists, definitely changes that.
• Cyre Virgo PA, 1st girls HJ – With talent and athleticism to burn, Virgo had begun to catch fire in Pa. this winter.  Now the Fleetwood Area soph is burning bright and could be not just the next 6-footer, but well beyond that.