Berkson crushes state mark in mile!

Add another state record to Maddy Berkson's never-ending list.

The Classical High senior established her latest R.I. mark on Monday night at the Eastern States Championships in New York City where she won the mile run going away with a time of 4 minutes, 50.11 seconds. Hopewell Valley (NJ) senior Haley Mann was a distant second, crossing the line in 5:08.42.

Berkson broke the 10-year-old record of 4:53.02 by former Westerly great Samantha Gawrych in 2004 at The Armory Track & Field Center, the same site of the Eastern States. The Stanford-bound runner dictated the pace from the gun and held a sizable lead by the 800, passed in 2:22. Berkson's time beats her all-time indoor best of 4:50.50, which she ran on an oversized track at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle last winter.

Also competing at the top regional meet was Hope junior Quashira McIntosh, who was fourth overall in the 200 dash with a time of 24.66. McIntosh holds the current state mark of 24.54.