Boys Recap: Jackson Spencer Powers Herriman To DMR Title; Zamarii Sanders Adds 200 Title; Schmar Gamble Wins 110 Hurdles; Archbishop Carroll Beats Bullis In 4x400

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

John Nepolitan Photos

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

PHILADELPHIA — All Henry Birge needed was a chance to prove himself.

He got that chance in the home stretch of the boys 800 meters on Sunday at New Balance Nationals Outdoor and delivered, surging past national leader Joshua Sharp and breaking the tape in 1 minute, 48.32 seconds to earn his first national title.

For the first 700 meters, Sharp led with authority. The Upper Darby PA senior came in with confidence after a 1:47.22 performance in Florida at the end of May, which earned him US#9 all-time status, and it looked like he was going to end his high school career in the perfect way, winning a national title in his home state.

As the finish line drew closer, though, Sharp was clearly running out of gas, and it became anyone’s race again. Birge, of Patriot High in Virginia, Cole Boone (Pulaski County VA) and Baylor Miller (Goshen IN) were neck-and-neck.

Birge knew he had an edge, though. The Virginia state champion in the 1,600 meters talked with his coach before the race, breaking down the numbers. This season, he had run 4:07 in the 1,600 and recorded a split of 47 seconds in a 4x400 meter relay. Any way they looked at it, he was the top dog.

“I knew I had the speed, I knew I had the endurance to do it,” Birge said. “It was just a matter of getting out there into the race… taking control and seizing the opportunity.”

Both Birge and Philip Cupial, who won the mile on Saturday, are University of Virginia commits. Birge is excited, to say the least, about the trajectory of the Cavaliers’ distance program.

Jackson Spencer Gets Hat Trick With DMR Win

When Jackson Spencer took the baton in first place to kick off the anchor leg of the boys distance medley relay, the crowd at Franklin Field knew the race was over. 

The Gatorade Cross Country National Player of the Year, who hasn’t lost against high school competition in a calendar year, ran a 4:04.51 split for 1,600 meters to bring his Herriman UT teammates another relay victory at New Balance Nationals Outdoor and take home his third gold medal of the weekend.

The Mustangs ran 9:50.63, the fastest time in the United States this year and the sixth-fastest all-time outdoors.

Getting Spencer the baton in first place was the top priority, his teammates said, and making that happen was an uphill battle.

Senior Caleb Brown led off with a 3:01.99 split on the 1,200 meter leg. He wanted to hand off the baton in first, but with 14 boys vying for the lead in a narrow space, he got stuck in the middle of the pack for much of the race.

“It was just a battle all the way through,” Brown said. “There wasn’t much I could really do except sit and wait and find every opening I can.”

Still, he handed off in second to junior Krew Olson, who ran 51.92 for the 400 leg despite waking up feeling ill. Olson handed off in second again to junior Trevin Lounsbury.

Lounsbury said he couldn’t breathe very well on the first lap, but he fought to pass Bishop Hendricken RI’s Oliver Redmond for the lead and held off Union Catholic NJ’s Ciaran Brosnan. When Spencer took the baton, he had a lead of over two seconds.

The BYU commit charged down the home stretch with no one around, putting an exclamation point on his final race with his Herriman teammates.

“It’s been so fun to be able to race with the guys,” Spencer said. “I train with these boys every day, day in and day out. Being able to share victories with them has been so special.”

Mifflin County PA’s Carter Smith split 4:02.06 on the anchor leg to move into second, but his crew still finished four seconds behind Herriman.

Gamble Gives Archbishop Carroll Coast-to-Coast Dominance in Hurdles

After Archbishop Carroll’s Keenen Davis broke the high school record in the 400-meter hurdles at the USATF U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Friday, his teammate Schmar Gamble knew what he had to do.

Gamble gave the Lions a victory on the East Coast, clocking a 13.66-second performance to win the 110-meter hurdles at Franklin Field.

After breaking the meet record in the preliminary round with a 13.37-second run, he knew all eyes would be on him, he said. 

“I was sitting there thinking, ‘I just gotta do my job no matter what happens,’” Gamble said.

Cardinal Newman FL’s Zamarii Sanders also knew that he would have eyes on him after winning his third straight 100 meter dash title on Friday. He had the chance to earn his second straight title in the 200 and his fifth New Balance title overall, and he delivered, breaking the tape with a 20.56-second performance.

Sanders said he turned the race into one of his favorite games: “Catch the rabbit, pass the rabbit, leave the rabbit.” Coming around the final bend, he caught Braden Pickett (Pearl MS) and Cameron Homer (Bullis MD), and he promptly passed and left them. He charged down the home stretch knowing full well that he was on his way to another title.

Other Highlights:

>>> The Archbishop Carroll boys denied Bullis School senior Quincy Wilson a final gold medal at Franklin Field, running 3:08.79 to win the boys 4x400 relay. Wilson, who earned a spot on the U.S. U20 team on Friday in Oregon, still leaves as the most decorated male athlete in meet history. 

>>> Jordon McNeill (Southwest Guilford NC) won the boys 400 meters out of the penultimate heat, running a personal best 46.38 seconds. 

>>> After breaking the meet record and becoming the first team from Virginia to break 40 seconds in the 4x100 meter relay with a 39.91-second performance in the preliminary round, the St. James Academy boys ran 40.50 to take the win in the finals.

>>> Nethan Verger tied the meet record in the boys long jump, leaping 7.74 meters (25-4.75).

>>> Deptford Township NJ won the boys 4x110 meter shuttle hurdle relay out of the penultimate heat, clocking a 58.42 seconds.