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Over the course of his senior year, Elijah Mallard of Washingtonville proved that something special would occur at his first-ever New York State Championship appearance.
Throughout the season, Mallard ran 53 seconds over 10 hurdles three times before breaking through that barrier.
In the prelims Friday, Mallard received great competition from Shane Ashton before the Franklin K. Lane Campus sprinter lost his footing over the last hurdle.
Mallard used that to his advantage as he crossed the finish line in 52.80. Despite the hiccup over the 10th hurdle, Ashton finished just four-tenths of a second off his personal best.
Saturday was a new day and both Mallard and Ashton lined up once again and left it out on the track.
The finals looked similar to the day before. The seniors came off the turn, nearly even, with 100m to go. Even with Ashton sharpening up the last two hurdles, it wasn't even enough to hold off the power that Mallard generated from the last obstacle.
Mallard improved on his Friday performance by sprinting to a US No. 4 time of 52.72, ahead of Ashton's 52.97. Neil Howard of Taconic Hills was third overall when he clocked 54.69.
Boys 400 Meter Hurdles Championship
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51.81 6/7/2019 Ryler Gould, Newburgh
51.86 2014 Rai Benjamin, Mt. Vernon
Name Year School Finals Points
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1 963 Elijah Mallard 12 Washingtonville1 52.72 10
2 1208 Shane Ashton 12 Franklin Lane-1 52.97 8
3 259 Neil Howard 10 Taconic Hills-2 54.69 6
4 1302 David Davitt 10 Stepinac-1 55.51 4 55.501
5 250 Jason Colindres 11 Shenendehowa-1 55.51 2 55.509
6 1120 Quincy Chery 12 Huntington-1 55.71 1
7 526 Ayden Grinion 12 Gates-Chili-1 56.12
8 607 Cj Krzanowicz 12 Cheektowaga-2 56.15 Related Links: