Nike Indoor Nationals

Mar 14, 2009

Knights of the Banked Table:

West Windsor-Plainsboro No. Seizes HSR @ 4 x 1Mile

By: Jordan Schilit

Blazing individual times have already proven to be the norm at Nike Indoor Nationals this weekend. However, the newly renovated Reggie Lewis Track Complex in Boston, MA allowed West Windsor-Plainsboro North to capture its goal as well. On Saturday, the Knights’ 4 x1 Mile team of Ryan Sleeper, Tyler Corkdale, Joe Rosa, and Jim Rosa pulled together a stunning National High School Record of 17:21.58 – bettering the previous record of 17:25.98 set in 2004.

After falling during the first 800m, Ryan Sleeper may have worried his team initially, but nonetheless managed to pull off a 4:25 split to keep the quartet within striking distance of the record. “I had fallen down at Nationals as well as a sophomore,” Sleeper said. “I just got my adrenaline going and I knew I had to get back with the leaders.”

Tyler Corkdale, 2^nd to receive the baton, split a 4:22 for his leg – 4 seconds off his open PR of 4:18. “I just stayed with the lead pack for the first 800. I thought to myself that I have to pick it up for the second half of my race in order to get Joe in a good position.”

Joe and Jim Rosa definitely sealed the deal during this excellent 4 x mile effort, distancing the Knight Track Club from the rest of the field with ease. “I was pretty confident that my teammates would do their job. We were not expecting a record today, but it was definitely a possibility,” Jim stated.

But WW-P No.’s quest to dominate the record books hopes to continue throughout the outdoor season as well. “We want to have a shot at the 4 x mile [Outdoor] National Record of 17:06, but we still have a ways to go for that,” Jim Rosa said. The current 4 x mile record has stood for 33 years; the team of Dirk Lakeman, Chris Nelson, Bill McChesney, and John Gustafson averaged under 4:17 per runner for a total time of 17:06.60 in 1976. “We are concentrating on the relay events now. “Running fast enough to put our anchor in good position is what’s important,” Joe Rosa said. “We can worry about individual times later.”