Bellport senior wins 600 from second heat
By Christopher Hunt
photos by www.wingedfootfotos.com
He never trusted himself before. Something about detaching himself from his comfort zone and allowing himself into this new place deterred him– the place where pain, oxygen debt, aching thighs and pounding headaches reside.
But Bellport senior Dennis Scruggs let go today. He finally explored his pain threshold. Scruggs now knows what it feels like to finish a race and tell his coach that he didn’t have anything left to give. So today, when he crossed the finish line at the Bishop Loughlin Games and looked up at the scoreboard at his time, he could only admire himself.
“Wow, that’s all I could say,” Scruggs said.
Scruggs came from the second heat to win the 600 meters in 1 minute, 20.28 seconds, a two-second personal best and the fastest time in the United States so far this season. Scruggs previous best was 1:22.83 and that relegated him to the second section. The first, Khaliff Featherstone of Simon Gratz (Pa.) won in 1:20.84. Featherstone ended up second and Scruggs went into his race knowing he needed to beat the clock.
He commandeered the pace from the gun. But in the closing stages he felt himself wanting to just settle in. Scruggs came off the last curve with a 40-meter, trying to hold his form together while eyeing the running time on the clock.
“I heard my coach (Kyle Bollar) screaming at me and I didn’t go at first because I couldn’t hear him,” Scruggs said. “Then I heard him and I just went as hard as I could. It’s just that it’s my year. I don’t need to hold anything back.”
Scruggs also anchored Bellport’s winning 4x200 that finished in 1:30.56. Scruggs split 22.1, passing Pleasantville’s anchor on the last curve.Brian McGovern of Mount St. Michael wasn’t looking to reserve anything either. The senior from Yonkers broke the meet record in the pole vault, clearing 15 feet, 3 inches, topping former Fordham Prep standout Jonathan Bednarz’s mark of 15-0. The mark is McGovern’s indoor best. He’s cleared 15-4 outdoors.
McGovern squeezed in a 20-minute warmup after arriving to the Armory late. Then started feeling pain in his right knee from an injury he suffered while training in the fall. “My coach (Pierre Chavez) just told me to relax and that calmed me down,” said McGovern, who is considering Manhattan, UConn, Northeastern and Rhode Island. “I just put it out my head. It still hurt but it’s definitely worth break a meet record. All I have to do is go home and ice it and I’ll be OK.”
McGovern moved the bar to 15-7 but the fatigue showed in the way he couldn’t popped off the runway and by the second attempt he was sitting at the edge of the mat with his fist under his chin. But he found the height but not enough momentum to carry him passed the bar.
“I got on to a new pole for the last height,” he said. “I’ve been using that pole in practice. If I can just get on that pole, I’ll be alright. If I can jump the way I’ve been in practice it’s going to be a good season.”
Devon Hill of Trenton Central also set a personal best in the 55 hurdles, winning the event in 7.49. “I really didn’t know how fast I was going,” he said.
“I ran that?” he asked when he saw the time flash on the scoreboard.
The most outstanding track performer was awarded to Robby Andrews of Manalapan (N.J.), who made a surge to win the 1,000 in the last 60 meters in 2:30.52. Most outstanding field performer was given to Steve Crouse of who won the triple jump in 48-8 ½.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.
photos by www.wingedfootfotos.com