Eastern States Championships at Armory on Monday kicks off last week of February

The 80th annual Eastern States Championships, one of the oldest and longest running high school indoor meets in the country, will look to really kick start the last week of February on Monday at the Armory. Many of the top athletes in the Northeast will be in attendance in a short break before or after their championship season meets in their respective states. A plethora of noteworthy national caliber names will be there at Eastern States competing including the national leading Union Catholic boys relays and Columbia girls relays of New Jersey, US #2 all-time triple jump performer Keturah Orji (NJ) in the girls long jump and triple jump, US #1 ranked 300 meter sprinter Zyaire Clemes (NJ) in the boys 400, another US #1 ranked 300 meter sprinter Zola Golden in the girls 400, Millrose mile champion Luke Gavigan in the boys 800, New Balance Grand Prix mile champion Maddy Berkson (RI) entered in the girls mile and 800, the nation's best in the shot put in Ben Bonhurst (NY) and the list goes on with stellar fields and nationally ranked individuals and relays ready to match up to result in improved season bests and positions in the national rankings. MileSplit will be on-site with our MileSplit New York affiliate state webmaster Kyle Brazeil providing coverage with photos, twitter updates, and video interviews from the Eastern States Championships.

 

2014 Eastern States Indoor Championships:

 

3 boys under 48 seconds led by winner Zyaire Clemes at US #1 47.13 for top 3 times in nation in one race!

Photos by Kyle Brazeil

 

Columbia (NJ) girls trying to take complete control of national leaderboard in relays! 9:05.40 breaks meet record & adds another US #1 to their top rankings in 4x200 & 4x400!

 

US #1 & #2 times in girls DMR led by race winners Mount Saint Dominic (NJ) at 11:56.08

Highlights

  • The Columbia girls of New Jersey are trying to take ownership of the national leaderboard completely in the relay. Already the national leaders in the 4x200 and 4x400, the Columbia girls are now US #1 in the 4x800 meter relay after setting a new meet record with their performance of 9:05.40. Their versatile star in Olivia Baker anchored them with a 2:13.1 split as the fourth leg. Baker in a short time later won her finals heat of the 200 meter dash in a 24.5 performance.
  • No national record for Keturah Orji (NJ), but another outstanding and far leap from her in the triple jump with a mark of 43'11.25" in her specialty on the runway at the Armory. Orji would later set another meet record in the long jump as her leap of 20'8" broke the old meet record held by two-time Olympian Carol Lewis from back in the 1980s.
  • The boys 400 meter dash was smoking fast with the nation's top 3 times produced from it led by Zyaire Clemes (Trenton NJ) blazing through to a US #1 47.13 victory in the race that saw three dip under 48 seconds. 
  • The girls DMR was a thriller as it came down to two New Jersey squads in Mount Saint Dominic and Freehold Township with both squads dipping under 12 minutes and producing the two times in the nation with Mount Saint Dominic as the winners in a US #1 time of 11:56.08 and closely followed by early race leaders Freehold Township in second at a US #2 time of 11:57.07.
  • Zola Golden of Arlington (NY) nearly added a US #1 time in the 400 to her current national lead in the 300 with a US #2 clocking of 54.40 to break the meet record in the girls 400.
  • New Rochelle's Symone Darius posted a US #2 time of 24.02 in the girls 200 meter dash finals to pull away in the outside lane at the Armory with a time that also ranks #2 all-time in meet history.
  • With a strong 3:04 opening leg from Sean Kelly, the Chaminade (NY) boys were able to establish and early lead to give them the distance they needed on strong anchor legs from other teams such as a 4:14 1600 split by Tom O'Neil for Middletown (3rd, 10:15.87) to claim victory in a US #2 time of 10:14. Fordham Prep was right with Chaminade going into the final exchange, while Ridgefield (NJ) ultimately ended up being the runner-up finishing relay in the field at 10:15.82.
  • With a 1:53.6 anchor leg split by Morgan Murray, the South Brunswick (NJ) boys won the 4x800 meter relay in a US #5 time of 7:49.
  • New Jersey's strength at the half mile distance was also on display in the open 800 meter with Mahwah High School's James Buser taking the race in a US #4 performance of 1:53.27.
  • 3 boys teams went under 1:30 in the boys 4x200 meter relay with Newburgh Free Academy (NY) coming away as the race winners in a US #5 clocking of 1:29.05.
  • The Piscataway Township (NJ) girls will improve upon their previous US #19 ranking in the 4x200 after running a time of 1:43.08 in the prelims and improved upon that time by a second in the finals for a US #14 1:42.52 victory. 
  • Winslow Township (NJ) senior Torie Robinson rolled in the finals of the girls 55 meter dash with a US #5 clocking of 7.00. Her teammate Cidae'a Woods also celebrated a first place showing at the Eastern States in the 55 meter hurdles finals running just off her season best US #13 time (8.11) in the event with a 8.12 victory on Monday night.
  • Virginia private school state champion Brian Chase of Episcopal continues his breakthrough winter with a 6.43 win in the 55 meter dash finals. 
  • Obafemi Animashaun, a senior at Union Catholic, improved upon his New Jersey state leading time in the 55 meter hurdles as he lowered his season best of 7.54 to a US #11 clocking of 7.48 for first place in the finals.
  • Arlington's Bella Burda (NY) pulled away from the field midway in the girls two mile en route to a US #9 time of 10:36, which is the 6th fastest time in meet history.
  • Dayshawn Taylor of Longwood (NY) leaped to a US #8 mark of 23'8.50" in the boys' long jump.
  • An outstanding boys pole vault competition between New York vaulters Todd Uckermark of Warwick Valley and James Deutmeyer of Fordham Prep with both vaulters clearing 16 feet, while earlier misses broke the tie in Uckermark's favor. 
  • In essentially a time trial race for her, Classical's Maddy Berkson (RI) scored an impressive runaway victory in the girls mile to move up from US #17 to US #10 in the event with a 4:50.11 solo effort. More significant, Berkson's time shatters the Rhode Island state indoor record in the event.
  • The girls high jump saw four over 5'6", but only Lawrenceville's Kate Gulbrandsen (NJ) was able to get over the bar at 5'8" as she now joins a dozen others nationally tied for a US #4 ranking in the event.
  • Smithtown West's Benjamin Bonhurst (NY) was only 5 inches off his US #1 mark in the shot put with a throw of 64'7" for the Florida State signee on Monday night at the Armory.
  • ​The girls 800 came down to a photo finish between Yasmine Wilson-Jones (Port Richmond NY) and Erin Jaskot (Tappan Zee NY) with US top 15 times for both with Wilson-Jones at US #12 in her 2:13.52 win able to just hold off a late charging Jaskot in second place at US #13 2:13.57.
  • US #8 clocking of 21.74 from Anton Porter of Mount St. Michael (NY) in the boys 200 meter dash finals.

 

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

 

Twitter Updates