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Eastern States includes standout performances by Sydney McLaughlin - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Mar 4th 2015, 6:02am
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McLaughlin accelerates to 7.66/52.34 double

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 

Progress comes so steadily, so sharply, for Sydney McLaughlin that it seems she has no limits.

 

Honestly, it's been that way since she stepped onto the track in a Union Catholic uniform for the first time less than 15 months ago. 

 

When a friend suggests she might run 49 seconds for the 400 meters this spring in outdoor track, McLaughlin shrugs and laughs.  

 

"Time doesn't really matter," McLaughlin said Tuesday night at The Armory, where she ran a New Jersey state meet record and No. 5 all-time 7.66 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles and then later split 52.34 in the 4x400 relay. "It's more about the race itself and how I feel after the race."

 

McLaughlin could have been satisfied knowing that she gave everything she had at the 81st Eastern States Championships. She took the baton in the 4x400 and was pressed by hard-charging Paul Robeson standout Amanda Crawford for more than 200 meters. 

 

Crawford ran until she was depleted, or injured, and eventually stepped off the track. McLaughlin kept on trucking and hit the tape in 3:47.03 -- US#4 for Union Catholic. 

 

She also pressed herself to the point of exhaustion. McLaughlin lay prone one the ground inside the rail near the finish line for several minutes. Then she flopped onto the high jump mats for several more. 

 

That 52.34 split would have held up pretty well in the boys 4x400 relay. 

 

"I could feel her on my shoulder," McLauglin said of Crawford. "I looked back and said 'Wow, she's right there.' I knew I had to pick it up a little bit. I think she definitely helped us run the time we did.

 

"That was the whole goal, an indoor PR for me and for the other girls. It shows we're ready for nationals."

 

McLaughlin ran away from everyone in the hurdles race, but had the advantage of using blocks for the first time this season, which helped her lower her time and set the state record. 

 

"I think having someone push me could make me go faster," she said. 

 

The Eastern States lost some teams Tuesday when snow began to fall in the afternoon and school districts canceled all activities. Those cancellations cut into the overall turnout, but there were still many strong performances. 

 

Brenessa Thompson of Medgar Evers ran a season best 6.93 in the 55 dash to move into a tie for US#1 with Teahna Daniels of Florida. Thompson and many of the other New Yorkers in the meet used it as a tune-up for the state championships on Saturday at Cornell. 

 

The large New Jersey contingent is already in the post-season and see Eastern States as a springboard to New Balance Nationals Indoor -- March 12-15 at The Armory. 

 

In the boys 200, Taylor McLaughlin of Union Catholic ran 21.37 in the prelims for US#4 but then did not show up in the final where he would have matched up with Mt. Vernon star Rai Benjamin. As it was, Benjamin ran an identical 21.37 to win the event. (McLaughlin did come back for the 4x400, splitting 48.3 as UC ran US#5 3:20.41 for the win).

 

Luke Gavigan of Tappan Zee NY put together one of his best races of the season in the 800, running US#15 1:54.12. He will run in the 1,600 at the New York state meet on Saturday.

 

Marcus Polk of Exeter NH won the boys 55 hurdles with 7.40 seconds, good for US#8. He edged out the nation's fifth-ranked hurdler, Chais Hill of Highland, who also ran 7.40.

 

In one of the top high jump competitions of the year so far, Ameer Banks of Delsea NJ and Devin Bradham of Williamstown NJ both cleared 6-10. Banks won the competition on fewer misses.

 

Eric Bethea of Piscataway NJ won the triple jump with a big mark of 49-6.50, which was a two-foot improvement and moved him to US#5.

 

The Hillhouse CT boys put their A team together for the first time this season in the 4x200 and ripped a US#5 1:28.57 that bodes well for nationals. Right behind them were Mt. Vernon NY with US#8 1:29.21 and Christ The King NY with US#9 1:29.22.

 

In the boys DMR, Fordham Prep NY ran US#2 10:18.24 with Conor Lundy running 4:22 on the anchor leg. West Windsor-Plainsboro South NJ was right behind with US#3 10:18.87.

 

Quashira McIntosh from Hope RI won the 200 impressively, with US#5 24.32. Crawford was second in that race in 24.87.

 

Jessica Molina from Westwood NJ pumped out the US#3 mark in the shot put with 48-10.

 

The West Windsor-Plainsboro South NJ girls, competing for the final time this season, went out with a bang by winning two relays. The Pirates ran US#2 12:01.87 in the DMR and US#13 9:21.74 in the 4x800.



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