Interview and Write-up by Jim Lambert
Elliot Gindi of Ocean Township knew what was coming, so he did what he does best. He patiently waited for the right time to pull the trigger on his lethal kick.
With about 75 meters to go in Saturday's boys 1,600-meter run at the 49th Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington, it was time as Gindi cranked it up and passed a very game Drew Maher of Shore Regional and hammered his way across the finish line first, stopping the clock with a PR and NJ #1 4:09.14, the 8th fastest time in meet history.
Maher, a junior, finished second in 4:09.92, a personal best by nearly seven seconds.
The victory was especially sweet for Gindi after he finished second to CBA's Drake Anzano last year. Gindi wasn't going to let the same thing happen again as he ran a strategically perfect race to get the win.
Chris Romero of Voorhees took it out fast as expected, hitting the 400 in 59.4 and the 800 in 2:03.6. Gindi sat back in fifth at 800, and moved to third at the bell. Maher then took the lead with 225 to go and Gindi stayed right on his heels before he summoned his killer kick to put the race away as he finished off a 59.1 final 400.
| BOYS 1,600 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | WIND | H# | |
| 1 | Elliot Gindi | 12 | Ocean Twp. HS | 4:09.14 | 2 | |
| 2 | Drew Maher | 11 | Shore Reg. HS | 4:09.92 | 2 | |
| 3 | Billy Massey | 12 | Montclair Kimberley Academy | 4:12.50 | 2 | |
| 4 | Billy Hill | 12 | Franklin Twp. HS | 4:13.74 | 2 | |
| 5 | Noah Yuro | 12 | Christian Brothers Academy | 4:14.51 | 2 | |
| 6 | Malual Mu | 11 | Trenton Central HS | 4:15.33 | 2 | |
| 7 | Chris Romero | 11 | Voorhees HS | 4:16.04 | 2 | |
| 8 | Teddy Meredith | 11 | Hopewell Valley HS | 4:16.16 | 2 | |