Talent Rises To The Top At Ocean Breeze As Athletes Leave Imprint On All-Time Lists

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

NEW YORK -- The girls distance running dynasty from Saratoga Springs NY came into the weekend with seven of the top 20 all-time performances in the 4xMile relay indoors and added two more at Nike Indoor Nationals at Staten Island's Ocean Breeze. 

Competing under the moniker Kinetic RC, the team demonstrated once again the depth of the program under Linda Kranick and Art Kranick with an A-list team of Ella Kurto, Mackenzie Hart, Alycia Hart and Emily Bush breaking the 2005 national record and a 'B' team taking second and also joining the top 20. 

Friday's record only lasted one day, as it turned out, but it was a cherished moment for a group that has lost numerous opportunities since winning Nike Cross Nationals in December of 2019. 

"I'm so proud of our team," Bush said. "We worked so hard for this and we just wanted to come out and prove to everyone that we were capable of getting the record."

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The same quartet that smashed the outdoor record last June with 19:40.67 ran 19:49.10 on the 200-meter banked oval. 

The 'B' group ran 20:24.28. 

"Seven of us here can go sub-five in the mile, so that was pretty inspiring to me," said Kurto, who led off the record-breaking relay with a 4:54 opener. 

Kinetic also won the girls distance medley relay with 11:44.34.

Jordan Anthony from XCel Athletics of Mississippi picked up where he left off at The Outdoor Nationals last June by winning the 60 meters in 6.69 seconds and the 200 meters in 20.64 seconds. 

The 200 time slots third all-time behind Jaylen Slade's 20.62 last year and Noah Lyles' indoor championships record of 20.63. 

"It felt great," Anthony said. "I tried to break Noah Lyles' (meet) record." 

Hunter Jones of Benzie Central MI, a junior, ran the fourth-fastest indoor 5,000 meters in prep history with a winning time of 14:20.71. Jones won the race by 35 seconds. Only Edward Cheserek and Lukas Verzbicas have run faster as 11th-graders. 

Will Sumner, fresh off a Georgia state record in the 800 meters outdoors, came back inside for a final time this winter and blitzed the 400 in 46.63 seconds. That's No. 10 all-time and added to a indoor campaign that included national high school records in the 500 and 600 and No. 2 all-time in the 800. 

If there's an early candidate for Boys Athelte of the Year, it's hard to match Sumner, a senior from Woodstock GA. 

"I wanted to do what I've been doing all season and not change my plan in any way," Sumner said. "Attack everything the same as I normally would."

Sumner's impressive range extended to the 200, where he ran 21.74 in the prelims. 

Mia Brahe-Pedersen, a sophomore from Inner Circle Track Club and Lake Oswego OR, enjoyed a breakout performance in the 200 meters as she claimed the NIN title in 23.44 seconds. That followed a big PR in the prelim of 23.86. Suddenly, her time in the final has her ranked No. 10 all-time in the event indoors. 

Brahe-Pedersen also took sixth in the 60 meters final. Autumn Wilson from Leanders Spartans of Texas won that final in 7.32 seconds. 

In the girls shot put, Mensi Stiff from Brentwood Academy TN came into the meet looking for a big throw in the range of 54 feet. What she got on her fifth-round throw was a one-foot personal best and 52-8.75 mark that moved her to No. 9 all-time. 

Stiff said her immediate reaction to seeing the mark come up was "I can do better."

And maybe she will, going forward. But she was able to enjoy the moment with a victory and a step in the direction of her goals. 

"I focused in on my technique," Stiff said. "I had confidence that I could do it and just hit a big one."

Gregory Foster of Lawrenceville NJ hit a big one too, in the long jump. 

Foster moved his mark back for his sixth and final attempt and cut loose with a big personal best of 25-4.50 that put him just an inch away from Carl Lewis' all-time New Jersey prep record. It was also a US#1 for the season and moved him onto the all-time high school list at No. 14. 

"Everything clicked on that jump," Foster said. "When I got out of the pit I knew it was a big jump. 

"I knew I had 25 in me, but I didn't know it was goig to come together."

Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan of Woonsocket, R.I. swept the throwing events and cemented his status as the best combination weight-shot thrower in history. His personal-best mark in the weight throw, 85 feet even, moved him up to No. 5 on the all-time list and was the highlight of a busy weekend that saw him toggling back and forth between competitions at Ocean Breeze and The Armory. 

Robinson-O'Hagan also won the shot put with 68-3.25.