Brodey Hasty so close to breaking four-minute barrier

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

New York -- Brodey Hasty's quest to break four minutes in the mile led him to The Armory for the second straight weekend, amidst a crowd of professional runners at the 111th NYRR Millrose Games.

A week removed from a 4:03.26 effort at the Dr. Sander Invitational that saw him crowded out, Hasty, the senior from Brentwood, Tenn. with his curly ponytail and rainbow fleece, was back.

The result was tantalizingly close.

Hasty posted the third-fastest boys high school mile of all time, 4:00.05. He hung with pros like Eric Avila (3:57.45) and Pat Casey (3:57.73), carving out space for himself and a place in running history.

"I was trying to find a place to sit comfortably," Hasty said  "I found my spot. It was a little slow, but I did the best I could."

Hasty, ninth through 600 meters, clung to the lead pack through splits of 2:00.72 and 3:00.44.

"With one lap to go I thought, 'Oh crap, this is going to be close,'" Hasty said.

Grimacing, Hasty sped to fifth place at the finish. The crowd paused as it waited for his time to materialize on the scoreboard.

"I was really close," Hasty said. "Maybe if I got perfectly settled in I could have done it. There's no excuses. ... I'm really excited."

The Bullis School MD girls 4x200 relay members lined up Saturday for another shot at the national record of 1:35.39 they set Jan. 20 at the Virginia Showcase. The time of 1:36.34 was good for the No. 3 all-time prep performance, and a runaway win over Highland Springs VA (1:41.18), as senior Ashley Seymour, senior Masai Russell, sophomore Leah Phllips and sophomore Shaniya Hall took the win.

"(Running for Bullis) is like a family," Phillips said. "You go to practice, even if it's a hard practice, there's always someone there to support you. Winning and losing, it's a different feeling."

Bishop Shanahan PA's Josh Hoey scored a statement 4:07.42 win in the New Balance High School Boys Mile. After Dalton Hengst pulled the field through a somewhat slow 2:07.68 split at 800 meters, with Hoey, Hasty's teammate Scott Thompson, and Loudoun Valley VA junior Sam Affiolder in pursuit, Hoey used a 57.9 closing 400 for the win.

"I wanted to wait until the last 400 to take the lead and really push it," Hoey said. "I wanted to take it out slowly and have enough left. I'm glad the race worked out that way."

Thompson was second (4:10.63), followed by Affolder (4:10.97) and Hengst (4:12.98).

Both Hoey and Hasty will run next season for Oregon.

"It's an exciting time to be in the sport," Bishop Shanahan PA coach Pete Uhlman said. "Our middle distance program has suffered for too long. It's in a bit of a renaissance."

Bullis' boys 4x200 relay produced a US#1 time of 1:27.16. The quartet of senior Eric Allen, Jr., sophomore Ashton Allen, senior Bryce Watson and freshman Sydney Peal combined to hold off DeMatha Catholic MD (1:27.62) and Nansemond River VA (1:27.64).

"They're overcoming adversity right now," Bullis coach Joe Lee said. "One guy was at home injured and another guy (Ashton Allen) has been sick at home. To come out and run this well at a meet of this caliber, we're pleased."

Flower Mound TX junior MacKenzie Hayward won the girls pole vault with a clearance of 13-5.25. Hayward, a late addition to Mlllrose who works with the Polecats Pole Vaulting Club in Keller, Texas (between Dallas and Fort Worth), held off Averill Park NY senior Alana Carroll (13-1.50) for the win.

"The Dallas-Fort Worth area really is a hotbed for pole vaulting," said Hal Theodore, who runs the Polecats Club out of his home. "It's blown up. There's several clubs in the area."

St. Benedict's NJ won the boys 4x800 relay in 7:52.09. The lineup of juniors Jackson Burnett, Ronald Kigen, Lewis Ngwenya and Alfred Chawonza defeated Lincoln-Sudbury MA (7:54.21).

"We did what we had to do," Kigen said. "We came here to win, so we did."

Lincoln-Sudbury, which is located 25 minutes outside of Boston, carried the torch on the day for Massachusetts programs like Marshfield, Newton South and Lowell.

"There are a lot of good young coaches doing great things," Lincoln-Sudbury coach Sean Duncan said. "Massachusetts kind of hides under the radar. Looking at the schools, a lot of them are like us -- they come from great communities with a lot of support."

Strath Haven PA won the girls 4x800 relay in 9:11.19. The lineup of freshman Maggie Forbes, freshman Taylor Barkdoll, junior Abby Loiselle and junior Grace Forbes defeated Union Catholic NJ (9:13.90) and Niskayuna NY (9:14.73).

DeMatha senior Brendon Stewart, a former lacrosse player and transfer from St. Vincent Pallotti, won the 55 meters in 6.34 over Bullis' Eric Allen, Jr., (6.36) and Taft Education Academy NY junior Carlon Hosten (6.40).

"I decided last year to stop playing lacrosse," Stewart said. "I've really fallen in love with the sport."

Thelma Davies of Girard College PA won the girls 55-meter dash for the second year in a row, clocking 6.88 seconds.