On Saturday February 4, 2017 we got to see some outstanding completion on the track. New Balance Armory Track & Field Center in Washington Heights was home to the Armory Track Invitational one of the Armory’s most prestigious meets. Under one roof, the meet featured a combination of US Olympians, international pros, the collegians, and some of the nations best high schoolers.
The battle of the sprinters
Two-time 2012 Olympic bronze medalist sprinter Lalonde Gordon of Queens, NY began his 2017 indoor track season in blazing success winning the Councilman Mark Levine Men’s 300 meters in 32.37 which makes that the seventh-fastest time in history. Not far behind Gordon taking second was high school phenom sophomore Tyrese Cooper of Miami Gardens Express clocking in at 32.87 to take second and breaking the world junior record.
The Teacher VS the Student
Olympian and NJ native Ajee Wilson takes home a victory in the women’s 600m outstanding fashion in a time of 1:24.48 the fourth-fastest time ever but just short of the world record (1:23.44 set by Russia’s Olga Kotlyasova in 2004) and the American record (Brenda Martinez’s 1:23.59 in 2013.)
High school star Samantha Watson had the opportunity to race against her mentor Ajee. Watson stated, “The pressure was off of me to go out and set a pace,” Watson felt that would let her run her race and be competitive. She admits to still being nervous out there because she knew Wilson would go out fast. Despite being nervous, Watson still found a way to break her 600-meter high school record of 1:28.67, which she set a few weeks ago on a flat track in upstate New York. At the Armory Track Invitational she shaved off some time off her personal best running a 1:27.13. It looks hopeful that she will go under two minutes in the 800m before graduating from Rush-Henrietta HS.
View the full photo gallery: http://www.jswiftsports.com/Sports/Track-and-field/20162017-Indoor-season/Armory-Track-Invitational-2017-Day-2/
