High school track and field has been getting a little scary.
But it’s scary in a good way. The unbelievable times, heights and distances these young athletes have been putting up over the last decade has shown just how much this great sport has progressed in a short period.
That was something that I witnessed first-hand at the Penn Relays Carnival this past weekend and by glancing at the recent MileSplit rankings. Here’s a small sampling:
For the boys’ mile run, Chantilly (VA) senior Sean McGorty ran the nation’s fastest time for the four-lap race, winning with a Penn record of 4 minutes, 4.47 seconds. That’s a time run by a good number of athletes at the collegiate level in Division I. McGorty certainly had some talent behind him. A total of six runners in the field ran the mile at a sub-four-minute pace for 1,500 meters. In the 1990s, think about how many 1,500-meter races were won in the states below four minutes. There were plenty.
The girls’ mile was equally impressive with seven runners cracking five minutes, including winner Jaimie Phelan of Ontario, who clocked 4:50.6. Five minutes was once considered untouchable for most young female runners to achieve. Now it couldn’t even place you in the top six at the Penn Relays or put you among the top 50 in the current rankings.
In the other distance events at Penn, nine runners dipped under 8:30 for the boys’ 3,000 meters, a time that computes to a 9:10 two mile. Max Norris of Harriton (PA) won the race in 8:25.62 (9:05.92 two-mile pace). Remember when running a two mile in under 9:20 was considered an incredible time. It still is a very good time. But according to the recent rankings, 9:20 wouldn’t even get you in the top 50. Here’s an eye-opener. So far, 15 runners have bested nine minutes! The girls’ race, won in 9:35.22 by defending champion Sophie Chace of Lake Braddock (VA), had 15 runners under 10 minutes for the 3K. That’s about a 10:44 for two miles. Pretty astonishing.
Not too long ago, a height of 5 feet, 6 inches in the high jump would win most state meets for girls. If you did that at Penn this year, you would finish sixth. For the boys, leaping 6-7 wouldn’t even place you among the top six. A month into the season, already 49 girls have cleared 5-8 and 50 boys have done 6-8!
Back in the 1970s, when most of track and field was done in yards, breaking 10 seconds for the 100-yard dash was a huge milestone. The equivalent to a sub-10 for the 100 meters is 10.83. Guess what? That’s a time that’s not even close to making the top 50 in the rankings. In Florida over the weekend, Kwadarius Smith won the 100 at the FHSAA IA Outdoor State Finals in 10.53. That time, which is about a 9.64 for 100 yards, puts Smith at No. 50 on the list.
Better knowledge, better equipment and an increase in the number of athletes that are participating in the sport has been a big contributor to what we are seeing right now. The good news is there is still lots more to come. It’s certainly exciting.
Rhode Islanders at Penn
There were a handful of R.I. athletes among the several thousand that competed over the weekend at the Penn Relays. Individually, Classical High junior Maddy Berkson took 11th in the girls’ mile (5:02.01). Chariho Regional senior Bryce Kelley finished 13th in the boys’ mile (4:18.53) and Exeter/West Greenwich senior Zach Hurd placed 15th in the javelin (176-6).
In the relay events, Bishop Hendricken ran 43.73 in the Large School 4x100, while Hope was timed in 45.79 and La Salle clocked a 46.13 in the Small School 4x100. Hendricken also had a time of 3:29.55 and Hope ran 3:40.06 in the 4x400.
More wins for Ionata
The victories keep coming for Barrington weightman Charlie Ionata.
On Sunday, the Eagles’ senior was a double-winner at the International Hammer Implement Invitational at Conley Field. Ionata copped the 13-pound (six kilogram) hammer with a distance of 212-6. He was also victorious in the collegiate 16-pound (7.25 kg) hammer with a heave of 188-2. Ionata’s winning toss for the 13-pounder broke the state record of 211-10 by former Bishop Hendricken star John Freeman in 2005.
Barrington sophomore Adam Kelly took gold in the 11-pound (5 kg) hammer with a distance of 212-10.
The girls’ competition had wins from Narragansett’s Leia Mistowski in the seven-pound (3kg) event at 174-0 and Classical senior Marthaline Cooper in the nine-pound (4 kg) hammer at 163-7.