A Run On The Banks

Section One in New York State — made up of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties along with parts of Dutchess County — sits just north of New York City and boasts of perennial powers New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Suffern, Arlington, Pearl River and North Rockland. And all the powerhouses converged on The Armory Sunday for the Section's kickoff event.

Anima Banks of Mamaroneck provided fireworks in the girls' 600-meter run, posting a nation-leading time of 1:33.9. After Suffern's Sara Adler set the early pace through 250 meters, Banks took over for good. Last year she set the Section 1 record in the 1,000m when she ran 2:50.05 at the Section 1 State Qualifier. With the state record of 2:48.44 sitting less than two seconds away, it promises to be an exciting season for Banks. Adler wound up second in 1:36.0 .

The highlight of the field events was Gillian Berger of Sleepy Hollow, who leapt 35-11 1/4 to win the triple jump. The senior has a personal best of 37-5 1/2.

Mount Vernon's Tanaya Yarde looked very comfortable in winning the 300-meter dash in 42.56 — especially since it came in an early-season 'no spikes' meet. Last winter Yarde ran 39.03 at the Section 1 State Qualifier and placed seventh at New Balance Nationals in the 200-meter dash. She is expected to challenge for the N.Y. State title in the 300-meter dash.

Other winners on the day included Clair Gomba (John Jay-EF) in the 1500m, Robbi Rogers (Mount Vernon) in the 55m and Suffern in the 4x200-meter relay.

The boys 1,000-meter provided the best finish of the day as Hendrick Hudson senior Cameron Rasmusson out-kicked Somers' Scott Friedman. Rasmusson was timed in 2:37.5 with Friedman right behind. The athletes from Somers and Hudson have been battling one another for years.

Pawling's Kevin Hunter — the 300-meter dash winner in 36.84 — had won the outdoor N.Y. State title in the 400-meter dash last spring and claims lifetime bests of 35.41 for 300 and 48.60 for 400.

Brewster's Justin Maguire — who was fifth at the NYSPHSAA Championships — ran 9:42.9 to win the 3,200-meter run. Maguire pulled away from Arlington's Eddie Merenda and Byram Hills' Marc Violone.

Suffern and Harrison staged a good race in the boys' 4x200-meter relay. Harrison led after the first leg, but Suffern took over between the first exchange and the cut-in. The Huskies kept trying to come back on the Mounties, but they just didn't have enough, losing 1:35.49 to 1:36.22.

After Arlington and Hendrick Hudson led early on in the 4x800m, the boys of Somers took command when third leg Dave Sammel went by Arlington with just over 250 meters to go. Somers' Scott Friedman — who earlier had lost the 1,000m on a lean — was able to secure the victory as the Tuskers won in 8:23.9.