While the Kangaroos took home the team title, athletes from all over the city went home as individual champions. Here’s list of the top five team finishes and a rundown of highlights from the running events. Complete results of the relays, field events and running events can be found on the PSAL Web site.
Top Five Team Standings (20 events scored)
1) Boys & Girls 63
2) Benjamin Cardozo 55
3) Middle College 42
4) Townsend Harris 41
5) Samuel J. Tilden 34
2000m Steeplechase
Fiorello LaGuardia's Julia Rooney, who is on her way to Princeton, opened the championships with a well-paced time of 7:36.16. Rooney won the same event at the South Shore Classic this season with a time of 7:37.29. Defending city champ Devotia Moore of Townsend Harris finished second with a time of 7:36.24, nowhere near her mark of 7:18.85 in last year’s championship race. Tottenville's Victoria Pontecorva placed third with a time of 7:56.20.
400 Meter Hurdles
In her strongest event, Benjamin Cardozo senior Dalilah Muhammad finished with a time of 59.68. Muhammad recently was selected to run in the IAAF World Youth Championships, which will be held in July in the Czech Republic. She finished the outdoor season with 10 first place finishes, including three at the borough championships on May 18. “Being named to the [World Youth] team was a big deal for me,” Muhammad said. “I was hoping for it ever since last year. All my hard work paid off. ”
Brooklyn took the next four spots with Regis Gehian of Paul Robeson (1:02.74), Godline Deterville of Boys & Girls (1:04.77), South Shore's Tricia Beckles (1:05.41) and Imeisha Wright of Tilden (1:06.74) rounding out the top five.
400 Meter Dash
Zoey Russell from Frederick Douglass Academy edged out Nadonni Rodriques (55.317) of Boys & Girls in a photo-finish. Waiting for the official results was nerve-wracking for Russell, who lost a photo-finish in the 400 meter indoor nationals earlier this year. "I was skeptical," Russell said. "I heard her steps pounding on the floor. I was really nervous."
Outside of Russell, Boys & Girls owned this event with four runners in the top six, including Meagan Gillespie (57.33) in second place, Deandra Nelson (58.11) in fifth and Hadassa Bruno (58.82) in sixth. Fourth-place belonged to Juliena McIntosh of Thomas Jefferson (57.36).
3000 Meter Run
No surprises here, as the best two runners in this event during the season finished in just that order. Stuyvesant's Ada Okun kept a steady pace and powered through the final 400 meters for a time of 11:00.89 to win beat our Cardozo's Alison Lee, who finished second with a time of 11:10.07. Tottenville's Annie Johnson was third with a time of 11:24.07. “Running track was the highlight of my high school career,” said Okun, who will skip states due to a prior commitment, “I knew this would be my last PSAL race. I wanted to go out on top.”
800 Meter
Tilden's Monique McKenzie (2:18.43) had just enough to beat out Jaysona Wright (2:19.89) of Dewitt Clinton in one of the better races of the day. McKenzie won the 800 Meter at the Brooklyn Boroughs and the Mayor’s Cup, but this was her best time. Again, Boys & Girls was well-represented on the leader board with Jasmine Barbee (2:24.18) and Nicole Brown (2:24.20) capturing third and fourth place, respectively.
1500 meters
Moore, who plans to run for Duke in the fall, rebounded from losing the 2000 meter steeplechase to win the 1500 with a time of 5:00.57. Wright and Stuyvesant's Ewa Sdej rounded out the top three with times of 5:02.14 and 5:04.07, respectively. “The better girl won the last race," said Moore, who shrugged off the humid weather. "We don't train for the weather, we train for time. It's always nice to see your hard work pay off.”
100 meter high hurdles
Benjamin Cardozo’s Lindsay Rowe, who is on her way to UCLA, recorded a PSL record in the prelims for this event. Her time of 13.59 edged out the record of 13.65 set by Monifa Taylor of Truman in 1989. Rowe went on to win the finals with a time of 13.68, just missing out on Taylor's record of 13.65 also set in 1989. Janice Jackson (15.02) of Fashion Industries and Beckles (15.27) rounded out the top three. "I felt like I was in my best shape coming in," Rowe said. "My training prepared me for this event. I just had to push myself."
100 Meter Dash
Middle College’s Deiddra Rogers blazed to a time of 11.78 to own this event for the third straight year. She narrowly missing the city record of 11.77 set in 1982 by Diane Dixon of Brooklyn Tech. Analisa Austin (11.96) of Middle College finishing in second, followed by Tilden’s Sheveen Rowe (11.98).
200 meter dash
It was one of the best races of the day, as winners of three separate races faced off. Rogers with a time of 24.52 bested 400 meters hurdles winner Muhammad, who came in at 25.07. Russell, who won the 400 meter dash, again made a strong showing with a time of 24.94.
1500 meter race-walk
Kelly McCann of Townsend Harris won the 1500 race-walk for the eight time this season with a time of 7:49.95. She was followed by Nina Yang of Stuyvesant (7:59.59) and Marissa Conroy of McKee/Tech. (8:00.39), who each won this race in their borough championships. McCann finished fifth in this event at last year’s championships.