The Scoop: New York Performances, CARIFTA, Plus Sydney's 5K


The Fun Is Just Beginning In New York

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The New York Relays marked the beginning for what hopes to be a fruitful season for some of the state's, and region's, best performers. 

And arguably the top race at the beautiful Icahn Stadium on Saturday in New York City came in the boys 800 meter run, where Bronxville (NY) senior Matthew Rizzo uncorked his best half-mile of the season, winning against an impressive field in 1:53.40. 

Rizzo pulled away late from Guilderland's Noah Tindale, who finished second in 1:54.38, St. Raphael Academy's Darius Kipyego, who was third in 1:54.55, and his brother, Alex, who was fourth in 1:55.56. 

Matthew opened with a few tune-ups previous to the Relays, though with the Penn Relays fast approaching next week, it was time for the national standout, and the Bronxville boys, to begin their ascent up the charts. 

PLACEATHLETETEAMRESULTWINDH#
 1Matthew Rizzo 12Bronxville 1:53.40 1
 2Noah Tindale 12Guilderland 1:54.38 1
 3Darius Kipyego 10St. Raphael Academy  1:54.55 1
 4Alex Rizzo 12Bronxville 1:55.56 1
 5Peter Diebold 11Weston High School 1:58.16 2
 6Nicholas Soldevere 12Guilderland 1:58.19 1
 7Jackson Burnett 12St. Benedict's Prep 1:58.21 1
 8Dave Torrington 11Samuel J. Tilden 1:59.45 1


Kelsey Chmiel Drops US No. 1 3K: Saturday also marked the open debut of Chmiel, who played it safe over the indoor season -- she nursed some nagging issues -- before coming back strong last week for an anchor performance on the team's US No. 1 DMR. 

She followed that outing on Saturday with a good effort in the 3K, a US No. 1 time of 9:45.95 that was roughly 12 seconds faster than second-place Ella Kurto, Chmiel's freshman teammate at Saratoga Springs. The squad had five girls finish in the top nine places and seven in the top 12.

Annika Kelly Over 170 In Hamnmer: Kelly is arguably the girl to beat in the hammer in 2019. The Rhode Island prep owns a US No. 2, and a career best mark, of 182-11 and followed that performance with a win on Saturday, heaving a mark of 176-10. She was third at New Balance Nationals Outdoor last spring.

Payamps Takes 3200m Win: We were keeping a close eye on Payamps, who was making his outdoor debut. What kind of effort would the Saint Anthony's senior show us? 

While he's capable of going under 9 minutes -- watch out for him at the Loucks Games -- Payamps opted to test the field, racing to a quality opening of 9:13.52. If anything, it was a good early indication of fitness for one of New York's top distance runners. Croton-Harmon's Sean Gardiner was second in 9:29.36, while Pittsford-Mendon's Nathan Lawler was third in 9:13.19. 

Anthony Brodie Goes 48 In 400m: The Villanova signee is gearing up in the 400m. Saturday marked his third outing at the distance, and he won in 48.83 seconds. The real question is just how good he can be in 2019. Brodie scored a career best 47.67 at the NYC Mayor's Cup last week, though there's a chance he could join the elusive sub-47 club later in the season.