Championship Sunday Storylines: Grant Fisher clips the rail, All-Time marks and more

By Stephen Mazzone

Grant Fisher's sub-four minute mile attempt was literally derailed on Sunday afternoon at the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championship.

Heading to the finish line of the Boys Championship Mile, Grant Fisher leaned just a little too much, caught the inside rail and stumbled into the infield.

But not even that misstep could stop the Michigan runner on Sunday.

The Grand Blanc senior easily defend his title in the Mile during the final day of the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championship. About the only thing his mishap at the end prevented was a possible four-minute mile - or better!

In a dominating performance, Fisher never let up from the opening gun and crossed the line with an all-time personal best of 4:03.54. The time ranks US #3 All-Time in event.

"I wanted to win this race. That was the number one goal," said the Stanford-bound runner. "I felt comfortable, and other than one or two strides, I felt great."

And speaking of those one or two strides...

"Going around that last corner, I was solely concentrating on getting to that finish line as fast as I could," he said. "I just gave it all I had. Sometimes when you are tired, your form goes a little haywire. I guess I was leaning a bit too much driving for that finish line and clipped the railing a little bit. When you are going at that speed, sometimes you lose control."

Fisher was certainly teetering with a "sub four" on the New Balance Armory oval. He opened up with a 59-second 400m split and passed the hallway mark at 1:59. By then, it was a race against the clock as the determined senior was nearly 40 meters ahead of the chase pack. He slowed somewhat during the final 800m, but the magical mark was still well within reach.

Needing to break 27 seconds for his last 200m, Fisher had the fans roaring with each stride towards to the finish. Despite tripping up on the rail, he still managed a PR and convincingly beat second-place finisher and last month's Millrose mile champion James Burke (Port Jefferson, NY), who was timed in 4:08.48.

Similar to Fisher's race, North Carolina's Ryen Frazier turned the girls' two-mile run into her own personal time trial. The Ravenscroft senior was already well ahead of the field by the time she reached the mile, passed in 5:02. Frazier never let go of the accelerator and won with a US #3 All-Time mark of 10:02.86. Finishing second was sophomore Kate Murphy (Lake Braddock, VA), who crossed the line in 10:22.22.

Frazier, who was runner-up to Anna Rohrer (Mishawaka, IN) in the 5K on Friday night, tried to make it twice as nice in the mile run a little more than an hour later. She took the lead over front-runner Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar, IA) just before the 800m mark.

Jenks eventual faded to fifth overall (4:49.70), but it didn't leave Frazier without competitors. Still hanging on was sophomore Nevada Mareno (Leesville, NC). Mareno, who a day earlier sizzled to a 2:07.6 anchor leg for her team's runner-up 4x800m relay team, made a decisive surge on the final backstretch and coasted to the win, breaking the tape in 4:43.25 (US #2, National Sophomore Class Record). Frazier finished at 4:44.48.

Nevada Mareno defeated fellow North Carolina prep and pre-race favorite Ryen Frazier to set a National Sophomore Class Record of 4:43.25 in the Mile.

"I started by going right to the front to see how long I could stay there," Mareno said. "It turns out I could until the end."

The Leesville standout improved on her best for the mile by nearly 12 seconds. She realized she had a chance to bring herself to the next level after her sizzling 800m leg a night earlier.

"My best 800 before that was 2:14," she said. "I came across the line and said I'm sorry guys, I thought I could have caught her. I thought I had got like a 2:14, 2:15."

Senior Danielle Jones (Desert Vista, AZ) took third place running 4:44.90 (US #3) in the slow section.

One of the most impressive group finishes occurred in the boys' 3K where Drew Hunter (Loudon Valley, VA) was able to hold off a fierce challenge by Levi Thomet (Kodiak, AK) and Alex Ostberg (Darien, CT) the final straightaway en route to a personal best of 8:48.22. Thomet took second at 8:48.32, while Ostberg was third in 8:48.88. A total of six runners broke nine minutes.

Hunter was the pace-setter during the first two thirds of the race and after Ostberg and Thomet took turns leading, he regained the front-runner position with 300m left with a well-timed surge.

The Virginia runner, who was the 3K winner at last year's Penn Relays, knew he would have to be at his best during the late stages of the race. The tactic is something he learned at last year's outdoor nationals where he finished second, just a few strides behind Mikey Branningan (Northport, NY).

"I knew that to win this race, I was going to have to close really, really quickly," he said. "It's not fun getting second. I definitely wanted to come here and win this time."

Ostberg admitted it was bittersweet for him coming up short at the end.

Drew Hunter's tough pace from the gun led the Loudon Valley, VA junior, Levi Thomet and Alex Ostberg to the nation's No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 fastest marks of all-time in the Two Mile.

"I'm a little disappointed that I came away with third place but my coach and I have always said that we train to run fast," said the Darien standout, who is the defending NBN Outdoor 5K champion. "Run fast I did today. That was an absolutely awesome experience and I couldn't have done it without these guys pushing me the whole way."

Just a day after anchoring her school's national record-setting SMR squad, sophomore Sammy Watson (Rush Henrietta, NY) came back and won the 800m title with a nation best of 2:08.13. She earned the title by making a surge with 150m left, defeating second-place Ersula Farrow (Oak Park, MI), who finished at 2:08.38 (US #2).

Watson felt she had to make a move when she did with Farrow on her shoulders. The Michigan runner was second at last year's meet and has a best of 2:06.

"I was nervous," Watson said. "I knew she could take off. I just wanted to kick harder."'

After running a 2:06 anchor leg on the SMR, Watson came into the race with a little extra confidence.

"Going into the race I felt strong and confident that I could go under 2:06 and PR," she said. "I (thought I could go faster today), but I'm happy because I won. That's my indoor PR."

In the boys' 800m, senior Brian Bell (Dunbar, OH) was racing against a talented field that included 1:50 half-miler Terrell Jackson (Memphis, TN). He was also racing against the clock. The previous heat saw tenth-grader Brandon McGorty (Chantilly, VA) win with a fast time of 1:51.50. McGorty is the younger brother of Stanford sophomore Sean McGorty, a multiple-time All-American in high school and sub-four-minute miler this year.

McGorty's time held for second overall in the race. Bell beat eventual third-place finisher, Donovan Brazier (Grand Rapids, MI), who was timed in 1:51.57.

"I had a strategy and my strategy was to compete and maintain the front position and take off," Bell said. "At the bell lap, that's exactly what I did."

Sydney McLaughlin vaulted to the US #3 All-Time, National Sophomore Class Record in the 60-meter hurdles with her 8.17 championship win.

Sydney McLaughlin (Union Catholic, NJ), who captured the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.17 (US #3 all time), which also stands as a National Sophomore Class Record. In a tight race, she edged Anna Cockrell (Providence Day, NC) at the line. Cockrell finished at 8.21, a time that ranks No. 5 all time. Grant Holloway (Grassfield, VA) edged a diving Chad Zallow (John F. Kennedy, OH) in the boys' 60m hurdles with both runners just .02 from the national record with their identical times of 7.59.

In a wild 400m race, Raj Benjamin (Mount Vernon, NY) earned the victory with a time of 46.61. The race saw Benjamin take the lead after the first lap and then battle to the end with Taylor McLaughlin (Union Catholic, NJ), older brother of Sydney. The two runners were side-by-side coming down the last few meters with McLaughlin inching past Benjamin. But McLaughlin was later disqualified for a lane violation, thus allowing Benjamin to take home his first national title.

"I wish it could have ended a little better," said Benjamin, about his friendly rival. "I didn't want him to get disqualified. I didn't want it to end like that, but it is what it is."

The race proved to create a little excitement at the finish line in more ways than one. As both runners were racing the final few meters, a woman responsible for holding up the finish line tape dropped it. She attempted to retrieve it but it was too late as McLaughlin unintentionally plowed into her as he crossed the line, creating somewhat of a pile up.

Just like the boys' race, the girls' 400m was also a down-to-the-wire affair with sophomore Kamryn McIntosh (Suffern, NY) out-leaning second- and third-place finishers, Laly White (Cary, NC) and Lauren Gee (Grassfield, VA), at the finish line with a time of 54.57. White was timed in 54.60 and Ghee crossed the line in 54.63.

"It feels really, really good," she said. "I knew from the beginning that there were a lot of good people in the heat, and the race. I just had to get out on the first lap and just get in the lead and hold through like any other race."

Lauren Rain Williams lived up to her top billing in the Girls 200m with a 23.46 win.

Pre-race Girls 200m favorite Lauren Rain Williams (Oaks Christian, CA), a sophomore, captured the national title with a time of 23.46, just .07 from her PR. Finishing second was Symone Darius (New Rochelle, NY) at 23.99.

Noah Lyles (TC Williams, VA) and Ryan Clark (Banneker, GA) put on a show in the boys' 200m with both runners breaking the meet record. Lyles, who won his specialty at last summer's World Youth Games, got the best of his rival with a time of 20.83. Clark finished at 20.85. Both times rank No. 2 and No. 3 all-time.

Lyles was second in the 2014 meet.

"Last year I came in here with a 21.4 and I was pretty down about that," he said. "I had to make sure I came in here faster than that."

Ryan Clark (center) and Noah Lyles (far right) traded wins in the 60m and 200m dashes.

Earlier in the meet, Lyles was also involved in another close finish in the 60m dash, only this time he didn't bring home the gold. Ryan Clark (Banneker, GA), the No. 1 seed, got the best of the Virginia sprinter in a photo finish. Both runners were timed in 6.65.

The two fastest times in the country were also run in the girls' 60m dash with Teahna Daniels (First Academy, FL) winning with a time of 7.33. Cassandra Hall (Northside, GA) was second at 7.37.

Adam Kelly (Barrington, RI) defended his title in the 25-pound weight throw with a heave of 81 feet, 5.25 inches. He led a 1-2-3 sweep by Rhode Island as teammate Bobby Colantonio was second at 78-0.25 and Owen Russell (Moses Brown) was third with a distance of 76-3.5.

Asa Garcia (Texas City, TX) established a new meet record with a leap of 43-2.25 in the triple jump. Finishing second was Sydney Murphy (Apex, NC) at 42-0.75. Garcia's jump ranks No. 5 all-time in the U.S.

In the girls' 4x200m and 4x400m relays, two nation best were achieved. Parkland (NC) copped the 4x200m with a 1:37.75 clocking and Oak Park (MI) was first in the 4x400m with a time of 3:42.72.

Western Branch (VA) beat top seed St. John's College (DC) to take the boys' 4x200m, while Cheltenham (PA) claimed the title in the 4x400m with a 3:17.38 clocking.