Silver at Nationals for Val!

A beautiful day in Greensboro, NC was the setting for Val's second place performance in the Steeplechase at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.  Keelin Hollowood led early, then Val took the lead on the third lap.  With 450m to go, Keelin made a strong move and opened a gap that she would not surrender.  Val ran 6:47 to place second, comfortably ahead of the heated battle for third, which Hannah Cole lost by just 0.01 seconds (the officials originally awarded Hannah the bronze medal).  So, a very nice ending to a wonderful high school career for Val, who is looking forward to continuing her running at Duquesne in the fall.

The Boys Steeplechase did not go exactly as expected.  First, a runner from Colorado Springs ran away from the field in the first heat, coming within 0.13 seconds of the meet record (and was just 5 seconds off the national record).  Then Brennan Root and Tyler Ranke were running 1-2 in the second heat, with a shot at the win, when Brennan caught a barrier with about 800m to go and did a tumble.  Tyler then opened up a bit of a lead, but was passed with about 100m to go and finished second in the heat, and third overall, as the time from the first heat held up for the win.  Brennan should great heart, as he popped up and finished just a couple of seconds back, sprained wrist and all.

The Girls Two Mile Run was an excellent race with Katie Lembo and Eileen O'Hara in the Championship Section of 13 girls.  The pace was a little hesitant at first, so Katie went to the front to get things moving, and was co-leader for most of the first mile, before a group of three pulled ahead.  Eileen started to fade, but Katie stayed in the mix for fourth for a while before finishing 8th in the very talented field, just a few seconds out of an All American spot.

The Boys Two Mile followed immediately, and went out very quickly (perhaps 2:07 at 800m).  Mickey Burke was in the second pack that formed when the top three runners pulled away.  He seemed to struggle a bit on laps 6 and 7, drifting back to 7th place, but he rallied nicely on the last lap, and wound up 4th, just 0.2 seconds from the bronze.  He almost broke 9 in the two mile, going through 3200m in 8:57.

The East Aurora girls closed the evening in the 4x800m relay, with a very strong performance, knocking six seconds off of their NY State Meet time, running 9:17, to capture 3rd in the first heat, and 11th overall.