New Balance Nationals Day 1 CRACK RECAP!

Quick Take:

A bold Weini Kelati aimed for sub-16 in the 5K and ran splits of 4:57 for 1600m, 9:27 for 3K and 10:07 for 3200m before gutting out a 16:08 to just dip under Anna Rohrer's 16:10. 2016 marks the sixth year in a row for the Girls 5K record to fall -- could top returner Libby Davidson (sixth, 16:40.97) take it down further next year?

An eighth-grader named Katelyn Tuohy anchored the fastest girls DMR in history (11:34.85) as a record five teams ran under 11:45 -- to compare, a relatively pedestrian 11:53.57 won last year.

After finishing fourth and third in the previous two editions of New Balance Nationals, Eric van der Els took home his first national title in the Boys Championship 5K. His time of 14:42.41 withstood Aaron Groff (14:43.1), Dominic Hockenbury (14:45.09) and Viraj Deokar (14:46.28) in a wild finish.

And Drew Hunter, the National High School Record holder for 3K and the Mile, almost looked vulnerable on the backstretch of the Boys Championship DMR.

Race of the Day: Boys Distance Medley Relay

"Will You Be The Hunter Or The Hunted? #SILENTHUNTER"  

If less than subtle, the New Balance Nationals' marquee banner at the New York Armory this weekend is at least true to life, as Drew Hunter of Loudon Valley hunted down River Dell, N.J.'s Will Daly on the anchor leg of the DMR, to win U.S. No. 6 All-Time 10:03.42 to U.S. No. 8 All-Time 10:03.98. But it wasn't as easy as you might think -- and he needed all three of his teammates to perform to the best of their abilities.

After the race, Hunter's mother, Joan, said, "No one can say that Drew Hunter won that race."

And it's true... and he nearly didn't! 

No. 9 ranked River Dell took off from the gun, as Will's twin brother, Colin, split 3:01 over 1200m to build a 10-meter gap over the field. Conor Riegel split 52 for 400m and Justin Fernandez split 1:58 over 800m to hand the baton to anchor Will with a seven-second lead over Loudon Valley, a.k.a. Jungle T.C. 

Loudon Valley, meanwhile, stayed consistent in the pack via Willem Smagh (3:05.73), Colton Bogucki (51.04), and Nathaniel Thompson (2:01.39).

Daly held a seven-second lead over Hunter at the final exchange. It was no surprise to watch the 3:57 miler chip away at the lead but when he made his move at the bell lap, Daly did not surrender. The Penn-bound senior rallied to stay on Hunter's heels, and nearly looked as if he would pull off an upset. It was only in the final meters that Hunter, the future Oregon Duck, clinched the 'W.'

Hunter split 4:05.26; Daly split 4:12.86.

Thomas Ratcliffe ran the fastest split of the evening in 4:04.00 as his Concord Carlise, Mass. team took third overall in 10:12.36. The results were nearly identical to 2015, when Ratcliffe, then a junior, posted the top anchor split (4:05.78) to lead Concord Carlisle to third place overall.

They Said It:

Tweet of the Day:

Championship Finals Tomorrow

• One Mile Racewalk
• Shuttle Hurdle Relay
• 4xMile Relay
• Sprint Medley Relay
• Freshman 400m
• 4x800m Relay

More Links!

• Day 1 Results
• Meet Schedule
• Photo Galleries
• Winners Table
• Championship post-race interviews
• Emerging Elite post-race interviews

**Herron's performance ties the National Freshman class record set by Tyrese Cooper