Baker runs 1:30.85 for 600; four new US#1s

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Olivia Baker was part of two US#1 performances on Friday but the elusive national record in the 600 meters eluded her grasp during the Armory Collegiate Invitational.

Mixed into a high-quality evening of action to round out the first day of the nation's largest regular season college indoor track meet, junior races for girls at 600 and 1,000, boys at a 1,000, and high school 4x400 relays delivered strong performances.

Baker held off a challenge from 2013 winner Emma Gallagher of Garden City, N.Y. to run 1:30.58. The national record, held since 2005 by Janine Davis of New Jersey, is 1:29.27. (As recently as 2013 Davis was an Armory employee but now is an assistant coach at Long Island University).

"I came out with a plan, I was going to go out in 27 (for the first 200), come back in 29 and just finish," the Columbia NJ senior star said. "Unfortunately today I got a little bit off pace. I got out well but my second lap was a little bit slow so today my execution was a little bit off."

Baker's time is the 11th fastest in HS history. An hour later she came back and anchored Columbia's 4x400 to a US#1 3:47.30.

In the girls 1000, an eighth grader from the Philadelphia area named Gabrielle Wilkinson ran 2:51.71 in her first attempt at the distance. The 14-year-old has an 800 PR of 2:10 and she pulled away from one of the top Canadian high school recruits, Claire Smith of Ottawa, who was second in 2:52.45.

Wilkinson's time would be US#3 if she were in high school.

On the boys side, Union Catholic NJ lowered its season best to 3:16.12 to reaffirm its US#1 status in the 4x400 relay. Boys and Girls of Brooklyn was second with a US#2 3:20.31.

And Kenneth Hagen of Blacksburg VA beat a strong field in the boys 1,000, running US#1 2:26.94. Hagen is part of a Blacksburg quartet that is already US#1 in the 4x800 and that group will try to run even faster than its best of 7:51.58 on Saturday.