2017 New Balance Nationals IndoorMar 13, 2017 by Johanna Gretschel
Eight National High School Records Fall At New Balance Nationals
Eight National High School Records Fall At New Balance Nationals
A ranking of the eight national high school records broken at the 2017 New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships.
By Cory Mull for MileSplit
It may seem impossible to rank the best performances from New Balance Nationals Indoor this weekend in New York, but we're going to take a stab at it.
With eight national records going down, all eight are MVP efforts in our books.
Let us know what your thoughts are as well. Where would you rank the performances?
Since last year, when Harris broke the seven-minute barrier for the first time -- winning her first national title at New Balance Nationals Indoor -- the Sachem East (NY) High senior has gone nowhere but up. She secured her third straight national title -- between indoors and outdoors competition -- on Saturday.
She went 6:53.44, which was a little over a second slower than her personal record of 6:52.23, which she secured last spring at New Balance Nationals Outdoor.
Afterward, well... check out the tutorial here.
The East Orange (NJ) High boys went at it with Western Branch and came away with the title, securing a national-best time of 28.62 seconds, which topped the previous record held by Union Catholic in 29.20.
The squad, who returns three of its members next year, was made up of Akeem Lindo, Cory Poole, Altraiq Dunson, and Ibrahim Fobay. They took control on the third leg with Poole handing off to Dunson.
Poole, ranked U.S. No. 1 in the 55m entering the competition, was emphatic in his review of the race.
"Altraiq was the one that stretched it; I know that," Poole said.
MileStat.com's Nolan Jez interviewed the boys afterward.
It was bound to happen. And Western Branch did it, becoming the first high school team to break 31 seconds by winning the shuttle hurdle relay in 30.63 seconds. Two years ago, the Bruins set the mark at 31.22 seconds.
The team was comprised of Jada Terrell, Shadajah Ballard, Jashella Jenkins, and Adriana Shockley.
Terrell set the tone early and said afterward, "I just knew I had to get out and get us a lead."
From there, her teammates did the rest, hammering the field, including their "B" and "C" teams, which finished fourth and sixth, respectively, for their second national title in three years.
First race of nationals, first time in New York, sky-high expectations, and perhaps pressure to meet past success with her own?
And what did Grandview (CO) High's Brie Oakley do?
She crushed her own expectations, becoming the first high school girl to go under 16 minutes by running 15:55.75, which blew away the former record held by Leesburg's Weini Kelati of Virginia in 16:08.83.
She started her first mile by going out in 5:04, which was four seconds faster than she had hoped and then continued to hit each check point from then on out.
She came back a day later and claimed the girls 2-mile championship in 9:56.06, though who could have expected her to go 2 for 2 in national records and eclipse Mary Cain's 9:38.68?
Maybe she can save that for the spring.
First up, Sam Affolder, in the 1200m leg.
"I stayed consistent, went to the arms and legs, and I gave the baton off with a big lead and I knew we had a shot at the record," Affolder said.
Next up, Jared Griffie.
"My coach told me to go out fast," Griffie said, "I didn't necessarily listen to him, but still finished well and had a lead at the end.
OK, and then the baton is off to Isaac Kole.
"I wanted to go fast enough to get a good 8-leg in," he said.
All that's left? A 1600m leg from Noah Affolder. He crosses the line in 4:04.
"They gave me the baton with a good lead and I felt like I was fit enough to chase the record," he finished.
As the Thundering Herd entered the DMR with fresh legs -- they won the PTFCA indoor championships with a U.S. No. 1 time of 10:13, but the team was on tired legs -- they knew they had a chance for something special.
The record turned out to be exactly that for Carlisle.
It's special when greatness turns into familiarity. But that's exactly what's taking place with Union Catholic's Sydney McLaughlin, whose 51.61 second time in the 400m, a national record, was almost a forgone conclusion.
Did we expect it to happen? Yes and no. But McLaughlin, who won New Balance Nationals Indoor last year in the same event, has a habit of making predictions silly. The quarter-miler bested her own previous best by 0.23 seconds.
It was her last indoor high school competition. And we'll definitely miss her going bananas on the track.
GOAT (Greatest of all time) status?
The only question that's left: What's next, Syd, what's next?
The Winfield City (AL) High senior whooshed through the 60m hurdles on Saturday in a national-best 7.45 seconds. And at the time, who could have expected anything more? Perhaps that's why Cunningham threw his arms in the air in glee.
But times are meant to be broken -- in the all-time best cliche -- and Cunningham was seemingly destined to secure the same glory times two on Sunday in a national-best 7.40 seconds, a world U20 record.
He also set the 55m hurdle record en route to the 60, hitting the mark in 6.87 seconds.
The Florida State University signee had himself a heck of a weekend.
What else is there to say?
When you break two -- if you're counting the 55m marks as well, that's four -- national records in a span of 24 hours, you're probably at the top of any MVP list.
But saying that, there was another guy...
What height can't this guy hit?
Weeks ago, Armand "Mondo" Duplantis' brother posted a video of the Lafayette (LA) High senior making 10 out of 11 vaults in 28 minutes.
OK, great.
That came after he broke national records in January and February.
How do you follow that up? You nail a mark over 19 feet for the first time in your career. You set a new national record, perhaps one that may be unbeatable -- at least in the immediate future.
Will Duplantis' record go down as one that will stand the test of time? Will his effort become legendary?
The mere fact we're talking about this signals his performance was extraordinary, one that will not only go down in the record books but also will be talked about for years to come.
And on top of that, he beat his dad's all-time best mark, too!
Robert Kellert, of MileSplit, wrote this of Duplantis after his national record:
"The previous record for individuals under 20 years old was 19-00.25 (5.80m), held by Raphael Marcel of Germany since 1989. This was not only a great performance for the history of the sport, but also in terms of family, it surpassed his own father's career best of 19-00.25."
It may seem impossible to rank the best performances from New Balance Nationals Indoor this weekend in New York, but we're going to take a stab at it.
With eight national records going down, all eight are MVP efforts in our books.
Let us know what your thoughts are as well. Where would you rank the performances?
8. Lauren Harris wins her third national title in the racewalk by breaking the national indoor record -- her own -- and then teaches MileSplit's Billy Cvecko how to racewalk
Since last year, when Harris broke the seven-minute barrier for the first time -- winning her first national title at New Balance Nationals Indoor -- the Sachem East (NY) High senior has gone nowhere but up. She secured her third straight national title -- between indoors and outdoors competition -- on Saturday.
She went 6:53.44, which was a little over a second slower than her personal record of 6:52.23, which she secured last spring at New Balance Nationals Outdoor.
Afterward, well... check out the tutorial here.
7. East Orange boys crush the national record in the shuttle hurdle relay held previously by Union Catholic in a stunning race against Western Branch that was decided by less than 0.02 seconds
The East Orange (NJ) High boys went at it with Western Branch and came away with the title, securing a national-best time of 28.62 seconds, which topped the previous record held by Union Catholic in 29.20.
The squad, who returns three of its members next year, was made up of Akeem Lindo, Cory Poole, Altraiq Dunson, and Ibrahim Fobay. They took control on the third leg with Poole handing off to Dunson.
Poole, ranked U.S. No. 1 in the 55m entering the competition, was emphatic in his review of the race.
"Altraiq was the one that stretched it; I know that," Poole said.
MileStat.com's Nolan Jez interviewed the boys afterward.
6. Western Branch girls are the first to break 31 seconds in the event, besting their own national record yet again
It was bound to happen. And Western Branch did it, becoming the first high school team to break 31 seconds by winning the shuttle hurdle relay in 30.63 seconds. Two years ago, the Bruins set the mark at 31.22 seconds.
The team was comprised of Jada Terrell, Shadajah Ballard, Jashella Jenkins, and Adriana Shockley.
Terrell set the tone early and said afterward, "I just knew I had to get out and get us a lead."
From there, her teammates did the rest, hammering the field, including their "B" and "C" teams, which finished fourth and sixth, respectively, for their second national title in three years.
5. Brie Oakley becomes first high school girl to break 16 minutes in the 5K, leading off New Balance Nationals Indoor with a major tone-setter and the seventh straight national record in the event
First race of nationals, first time in New York, sky-high expectations, and perhaps pressure to meet past success with her own?
And what did Grandview (CO) High's Brie Oakley do?
She crushed her own expectations, becoming the first high school girl to go under 16 minutes by running 15:55.75, which blew away the former record held by Leesburg's Weini Kelati of Virginia in 16:08.83.
She started her first mile by going out in 5:04, which was four seconds faster than she had hoped and then continued to hit each check point from then on out.
She came back a day later and claimed the girls 2-mile championship in 9:56.06, though who could have expected her to go 2 for 2 in national records and eclipse Mary Cain's 9:38.68?
Maybe she can save that for the spring.
4. Carlisle boys DMR team predicts a national record and then backs up its up, taking the race in a smoking 9:56.18.
First up, Sam Affolder, in the 1200m leg.
"I stayed consistent, went to the arms and legs, and I gave the baton off with a big lead and I knew we had a shot at the record," Affolder said.
Next up, Jared Griffie.
"My coach told me to go out fast," Griffie said, "I didn't necessarily listen to him, but still finished well and had a lead at the end.
OK, and then the baton is off to Isaac Kole.
"I wanted to go fast enough to get a good 8-leg in," he said.
All that's left? A 1600m leg from Noah Affolder. He crosses the line in 4:04.
"They gave me the baton with a good lead and I felt like I was fit enough to chase the record," he finished.
As the Thundering Herd entered the DMR with fresh legs -- they won the PTFCA indoor championships with a U.S. No. 1 time of 10:13, but the team was on tired legs -- they knew they had a chance for something special.
The record turned out to be exactly that for Carlisle.
3. Union Catholic's Sydney McLaughlin, recent Olympian, does what she does best, turning in a fast time in the 400m to claim a national title
It's special when greatness turns into familiarity. But that's exactly what's taking place with Union Catholic's Sydney McLaughlin, whose 51.61 second time in the 400m, a national record, was almost a forgone conclusion.
Did we expect it to happen? Yes and no. But McLaughlin, who won New Balance Nationals Indoor last year in the same event, has a habit of making predictions silly. The quarter-miler bested her own previous best by 0.23 seconds.
It was her last indoor high school competition. And we'll definitely miss her going bananas on the track.
GOAT (Greatest of all time) status?
The only question that's left: What's next, Syd, what's next?
2. Trey Cunningham breaks a national record in the prelims, and then he breaks his own national record -- set a day earlier -- in the finals, seemingly in one swift motion
The Winfield City (AL) High senior whooshed through the 60m hurdles on Saturday in a national-best 7.45 seconds. And at the time, who could have expected anything more? Perhaps that's why Cunningham threw his arms in the air in glee.
But times are meant to be broken -- in the all-time best cliche -- and Cunningham was seemingly destined to secure the same glory times two on Sunday in a national-best 7.40 seconds, a world U20 record.
He also set the 55m hurdle record en route to the 60, hitting the mark in 6.87 seconds.
The Florida State University signee had himself a heck of a weekend.
What else is there to say?
When you break two -- if you're counting the 55m marks as well, that's four -- national records in a span of 24 hours, you're probably at the top of any MVP list.
But saying that, there was another guy...
1. Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis conquered the high school pole vault on Saturday, setting a U20 world record with a mark of 19-1
What height can't this guy hit?
Weeks ago, Armand "Mondo" Duplantis' brother posted a video of the Lafayette (LA) High senior making 10 out of 11 vaults in 28 minutes.
OK, great.
That came after he broke national records in January and February.
How do you follow that up? You nail a mark over 19 feet for the first time in your career. You set a new national record, perhaps one that may be unbeatable -- at least in the immediate future.
Will Duplantis' record go down as one that will stand the test of time? Will his effort become legendary?
The mere fact we're talking about this signals his performance was extraordinary, one that will not only go down in the record books but also will be talked about for years to come.
And on top of that, he beat his dad's all-time best mark, too!
Robert Kellert, of MileSplit, wrote this of Duplantis after his national record:
"The previous record for individuals under 20 years old was 19-00.25 (5.80m), held by Raphael Marcel of Germany since 1989. This was not only a great performance for the history of the sport, but also in terms of family, it surpassed his own father's career best of 19-00.25."