Belen Smashes National Record in 4000m DMR

Belen Smashes National Record in 4000m DMR

One of the highlights of the weekend for Florida came in historic fashion as Belen rewrote the national record books in the Boys 4000m Distance Medley Relay Championship at Nike Indoor Nationals.

The Belen delivered one of the greatest relay performances in high school indoor history, clocking 9:47.01 to win the national title and shatter both the Armory facility record and the National Scholastic Record (9:53.40) 

Junior Armando Cruz opened with a strong 3:00.02 1200m split, handing off to freshman Carlos Benitez, who followed with a  50.76 400m leg, giving the boys momentum heading into the final two legs.

Sophomore Jack Michalak ran his second sub-1:52 800m of the day, with a controlled 1:51.48 800m split, giving Belen a sizeable lead and setting the stage for junior Marcelo Mantecon, who delivered a 4:04.73 anchor mile, sealing the new national title.

Mantecon will return to the track again today as he is entered in the Championship Mile, giving him another chance to shine on the national stage with a historic four national titles over the weekend.

Also in the DMR Championship race, the Dreamville TC delivered a strong performance, placing 4th overall in 10:08.14, which ranks Florida No. 3 all-time indoors.

The relay included Buchholz runners: Davis Garrett, Quinn Meyer, Andrew Sides, and Samuel Freas.

Other Florida athletes delivered big performances across multiple events Saturday at New Balance Nationals Indoor and Nike Indoor Nationals.

New Balance Nationals Indoor

National Champions

Montverde Academy TC captured the Girls 4x200m Championship in 1:34.25, earning the national title with a lineup of: DaQuana Howell, Adriana Rodriguez, Nakira Hudson, and Dasia Reed.

IMG Elite's Jaxon Jerabek also claimed a national crown in the Boys Pole Vault, clearing 5.27m (17-3.50) to win the championship.

Several Florida sprinters advanced through to the championship rounds.

In the Girls' 60m Championship prelims, three athletes moved forward:

• Lee Peters (Foundation Academy) - 4th overall, 7.44q

  Vanessa Waite (Power House Athletics) - 7.46q

  Akari Marshall (Flying Tiger Athletic) - 7.54q

  Diamond Bryant (E.O.T.O. Elite) - 7.55q

  Dasia Reed (Montverde Academy) - 7.56q

In the Girls 200m Championship prelims, Vanessa Waite returned to run 23.64q for second overall, while Dasia Reed clocked 23.82q to advance.

On the boys' side, Florida athletes dominated the 200m Championship prelims with Zamarii Sanders (Cardinal Newman) running 21.07q for the top time and Miles Outerbridge (Montverde Academy) following in 21.14q.

In the Boys 60m hurdles semifinals, Christopher Lawley (IMG Elite) advanced with a 7.84q, while Kobe Johnson (Dunbar TC) also qualified running 7.81q. Lawlwy's teammate Andrew Chen (IMG Elite) finished just behind in 7.82.

Nike Indoor Nationals

Sophomore Jack Michalak of Belen placed 3rd in the Boys 800m Championship, running 1:51.32.

Several Florida athletes also made their mark in the field events.

• Emma Negri (IMG Elite) placed 4th in the Girls Weight Throw Championship with a toss of 17.45m (57-3).

  Samuel Johnson (Montverde Academy) finished 3rd in the Boys Triple Jump Championship at 15.40 (50-6.25)

  Journee Belcher (Tallahassee) cleared 1.75, (5-8.75) to place 4th in the Girls High Jump Championship.

Young Florida athletes were also impressive in the developmental divisions.

Destiny Robinson (IMG Elite) qualified in the Girls Freshman 60m with 7.64.

In the Girls Middle School 60m Final, Aniyah Walker (IMG Elite) won the title in 7.58, while Tamia Nixon (Admiral Farragut Academy) placed 4th in 7.78.