Haddonfield Distance Meet

It was a dark and stormy night, a few miles away from our home of Cherry Hill. The night, Wednesday, May 25, 2005. The time, 7:30 PM. With sporadic showers all day, the scene was set. The track was wet, and the sky was dark. The lights shone down on the otherwise dark track, creating an erie glow in the sky. The last meet of the year was upon us, and we were ready to shine. As the meet began, Steve Scarpato had an impressive PR of 2:06 in the 800, with Mike Adler and Brandon Cohen running 2:17 and 2:18, respectively. Max Cohler and Jon Baeckstrom had big PR's of 5:16 and 5:37, respectively, in the freshman 1600. The stage was set for the big race of the night, the varsity 1600. With most of the team in the slowest heat, it was up to Mike Levin to "man up" and finally break 5:00. The pace was quick, starting out with a 72 second first 400m. The 8 rounded out in around 2:28-229, right on pace to break 5. He had a strong 3rd lap, finishing the 1200 in 3:43, on pace for the first time to break 5. The 4th lap was tough, and Mike was boxed in with less than 150m left. 2 runners in front, one to the side, and one behind. Rounding the turn with 100m to go, Mike saw his oppurtunity, and split the gap between the runners ahead and next to him. As he split the gap, the runner behind him, the only girl in the race went with him. Mike thought to himself "There is no fucking way that I am going to lose to a girl" and brought it home hard, finishing the race in an astonishing 4:58.5, the first sophomore in 2 years to break 5 minutes at East.

Here are some pics from the meet: