New Balance Nationals Day 2 CRACK RECAP!

New Balance Nationals Indoor 2016
Johanna Gretschel


Quick Take

As fun as it is to watch an untouchable superstar go for a record, it's more fun to watch two evenly matched heavyweights slug it out. That's what we saw in the girls long jump and 4x800. 

In the pit, Samiyah Samuels beat Tara Davis after losing to her at the Simplot Games last month. Those two have clocked major frequent flyer miles going from Texas and California, respectively, to compete against each other--and it paid off today. Samuels put pressure on the field extremely early, going 21-3.25 on her second jump. That was the first time a high school girl jumped over 21' indoors in nineteen years, and it was enough to win by four inches. Davis went 20-10 on her fifth jump to take second. Samuels's mark is #3 all-time.

On the track, New York rivals Mamaroneck, North Rockland, and Shenendehowa duked it out in a beautifully intense 4x800. Shen and North Rockland (winner of last night's DMR in national record time) led going into the final leg, but Katie Devore of Mamaroneck was lurking. She went out in 60, hawked North Rockland's anchor in the last 50 meters, and dabbed to the crowd after winning. Mamaroneck's 8:58.86 is #7 all-time and gives New York five of the top ten schools ever in the event.

There were two national records today. Lauren Harris won the race walk in 6:57, becoming the first high school girl ever to walk a mile in under seven minutes. And Chantilly (VA) ran 3:24.02 in the SMR--with Brandon McGorty splitting 1:49 to get his squad 0.14 seconds under the old standard.

National Records

  • Lauren Harris, Sachem East, N.Y., National High School Record, One Mile Race walk, 6:57.36
  • Tyrese Cooper, Miami Gardens Xpress T.C./American High School, National Freshman Class Record, 200m, 21.22
  • Chantilly High School, Va. (Michael Scopellite, Justin Loh, Titus Jeffries, Brandon McGorty), National High School Record, SMR, 3:24.02 

National Champions

  • Girls Mile Racewalk: Lauren Harris, Sachem East, N.Y., 6:57.36 
  • Boys Mile Racewalk: Cameron Haught, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 6:15.77
  • Boys Shuttle Hurdle Relay: Western Branch High School, Va., 29.58 (Anthony Williams, Micaiah Harris, Jahkwan Blackley, Antwan Stukes)
  • Girls Shuttle Hurdle Relay: Hoover High School, Ala., 31.87 (Brittley Humphrey, Caitlyn Little, Kyla Horn, Michelle Nkoudou)
  • Boys Long Jump: Rayvon Grey, Beacon, N.Y., 26-0.25
  • Girls 4xMile Relay: La Salle Academy, R.I., 20:11.7 (Karina Tavares, 5:07.6/Grace Connolly, 5:13.1/Emily Kane, 4:59.9/Eliza Rego, 4:51.1)
  • Boys 4xMile Relay: Sandburg High School, Ill., 17:16.36 (Dylan Jacobs, Brandon Lukas, Chris Torpy, Sean Torpy)
  • Girls Sprint Medley Relay: Rush-Henrietta, N.Y., 3:55.48 (Tori Thompson, Stephanie Nwachi, Lanae-Tava Thomas 56.77, Sammy Watson 2:07.94)
  • Boys Sprint Medley Relay: Chantilly High School, Va., 3:24.02 (Michael Scopellite, Justin Loh, Titus Jeffries 48.86, Brandon McGorty 1:49.53)
  • Girls Shot Put: Nickolette Dunbar, Whippany Park, N.J., 54-7.5
  • Boys Pole Vault: Armand Duplantis, Lafayette, La., 17-1
  • Boys Shot Put: Jordan Geist, Knoch, Pa., 71-2.75
  • Boys High Jump: Darius Carbin, Mt. Pleasant, Calif., 7-1.75
  • Girls 4x800m Relay: Mamaroneck, N.Y., 8:58.86 (Shari Rauls, 2:17.1/Lauren Shpiz, 2:16.71/Lauren Chapey, 2:16.1/Katie DeVore, 2:08.95)
  • Boys 4x800m Relay: Dublin High School, Ohio, 7:45.27 (Tyndale Hannan, 1:57.9/Tommy Alford, 1:56.15/Lucas Bons, 1:58.47/Simon Alford, 1:52.76)
  • Girls Long Jump: Samiyah Samuels, Cypress Springs, Texas, 21-3.25
  • Boys Pentathlon: Grant Holloway, Grassfield, Va., 4,230 points
  • Girls Pentathlon: Dallyssa Huggins, Canada, 3,885 points

Race of the Day

No. 1 ranked Mamaroneck entered the Girls Championship 4x800m Relay with an undefeated record, but could they match in-state and New York Section I rivals North Rockland? Thiells T.C. lit up the stage on Friday night with a National High School Record of 11:34 in the DMR. 

Mamaroneck also entered with the added drama of illness (Rauls) and a banged up leg (DeVore), but it was just the challenge the quartet needed as they rose to the occasion with a U.S. No. 7 All-Time 8:59 to finish just ahead of North Rockland in 8:59.

DeVore split 2:08 and celebrated with a finish line dab. More on The Dab below...

They Said It



I'm a terrible dancer! it was probably really bad, I probably managed to mess it up somehow. I dance when I'm nervous... which is a lot. [New favorite song "Best Friend"]... it's kind of hip hoppy and rappy; it's kind of explicit and crazy and it's so not our speed but our speed at the same time.

-- Mamaroneck 4x8 anchor Katie DeVore on doing "The Dab" at the finish line

Tweet of the Day

Meanwhile, GOAT Grant Holloway's mom might be starting a new reality show...


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