Nick Vena’s best throws crashed into the left side of the cage.  But even those throws bounced somewhere around 68 feet. That means that even on his “off” days, Vena is the best thrower in the country.

LSU’s Walter Henning can call the Armory home.  He knows everyone in the building. Even more people know him. Plus he spent endless hours camping out by the throwers’ cage for countless weekends as high schooler at St. Anthony’s on Long Island.

Neither Blake Heriot nor Brady Gehret had raced 300 meters before. Yet, in two different sections of the junior boys 300 they notched the two fastest times in the country this season.

When Melissa Kurzdorfer let the weight go, she let out the sort of primal yell that accompanies throwing events as a matter of custom. But the scream turned from a release of tension to a signal of terror while Lancaster’s star thrower started to tip out the throwing circle.

Ryan McDermott had one of those moments. It was the kind of moment that instigates multiple cell phone calls and tell the same story over and over and over yet each time with a renewed excitement. He already had the story laid out for him. All the Duke senior needed to do was secure the happy ending.

Ryan McDermott had one of those moments. It was the kind of moment that instigates multiple cell phone calls and tell the same story over and over and over yet each time with a renewed excitement. He already had the story laid out for him. All the Duke senior needed to do was secure the happy ending.

D.J. Thornton spent most of his mile race in the front, running all alone. It seemed sort of fitting. Injury kept the Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, N.J.) senior out of all the biggest invitational miles this season.

The Armory will be closed for practice on Thursday, February 4^th between 10am – 3pm. The only time for college and adult athletes to practice on that day will be between 6:30pm – 9:30pm.

Amber Campbell took over the world lead for the 2010 indoor season in the women’s weight throw Friday afternoon in a big weekend of throwing at the Armory.

NEW YORK – She looked like she had climbed a mountain or finally shouldered down a locked door that she pounded on for years. When Cory McGee finally snapped the finish line tape all she could do was stand there and take a second to enjoy a moment that teased her for her entire high school career.

NEW YORK – It seemed perfect. Bernard Lagat sat exactly where he needed to be with Asbel Kiprop of Kenya taking on all the work while he drafted and Great Britian’s Andy Baddeley kept him honest from behind. (Photo by Mary DiBiase Blaich/wingedfootfotos.com)

NEW YORK – Cardozo’s Ahtyana Johnson laid sprawled long the floor in a corridor behind the track. She had nothing left.

The Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden is a historical meet with a rich history, an event that immediately invokes magical memories of the One Mile Run for high school enthusiasts.  With the 103rd running of these games set for Friday, January 29th we have put together five defining moments of the girls and boys high school One Mile Run.  Our hope is that these stories encourage others to look up the history of this rich event and discover how many amazing athletes have run this 11-lap-to-the-mile track and emerged with fast times and incredible stories.

NEW YORK – It wasn’t that Chelsea Johnson hated the pole vault. She just wanted no part of it. That was her dad’s thing. She wanted her own thing.

The press conference just ended which is always a good time for a photo op. So Willie Gault backed up in front of a wall of Millrose Games and Visa logos and put his fist up, then Tim Dwight joined him in a fight stance, like two boxers poising for flashing cameras before a Vegas main event.

Bernard Lagat barely remembers his first Wanamaker Mile win at the Millrose Games in 2001. What he does remember is being enchanted by New York City and Madison Square Garden so much so that he didn’t even realize that the track would be, well, umm, weird.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson and 2006 World Indoor champ Reese Hoffa will each look to win a third Visa men's shot put title, and all-time Jamaican women's sprint great Veronica Campbell-Brown will look to scorch the track in the Visa women's 60 meters January 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York City at the 103^rd Millrose Games.

Then the race concluded, Natasha Hastings walked in the media room and sprawled across a black couch in the corner and settled in.  She’s always been comfortable at the Armory.

The crowd keep buzzing afterward, the way an audience sounds when they are still trying to accept the moment into reality. That’s how it sounded after the boys 4x200 at the New Balance Games – a buzzing that signified both awe and admiration.

American women's pole vault record holder Jenn (Stuczynski) Suhr and 2004 Olympic men's pole vault gold medalist Tim Mack will attempt to reach new heights at the 103rd Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden.

In the ol’ movies there was a collection of riff-raff called the East Side Kids.  The movie plots were about bullies, the powerful gangsters and cops being outwitted and downsized by these street wise, mother loving kids.  Well, here’s the country version - the Juggernauts! They didn’t need much inspiration to train, and they trained laughing, and when their idol Steve Prefontaine died, they trained crying but they trained.  They ran for the love of it, they ran for the fun of it and they won because they were brave enough not to let each other down.

The Suffern senior chose her dream school, even when it seemed like it would turn into a nightmare. Clayton, who leaped 20 feet, 5 inches at the Hispanic Games Jan. 9, made a verbal commitment to Louisiana State University two weeks ago.  Her jump was the ninth-best all-time in the country and the top attempt in the nation this season.

Did you know that after the Armory Webcast's end, we load the entire file to the website so you can watch it on demand.  There is even a pull down menu so you can jump to the event you'd like to see.

An outstanding lineup of athletes who will be competing in the Millrose Games and New Balance Games will be present when the Track Writers meet on Tuesday, January 19 at 5 p.m. at the legendary Coogan’s on Broadway between 168^th and 169^th Streets. This is the first time the Track Writers are meeting at this time.

Before the start of every season, there are those people that look at the class that just graduated and those that returned to their team and they ask, who will be stars this year? Who will make an impact?

Coaches are reminded that entries will close at Noon EST Tuesday,  January 26. 

MAKE SURE YOU FINISH BEFORE THAT TIME.

Photos courtesy of PhotoRun.net

Delbarton’s Pat Schellberg had led the entire race. He controlled every aspect. He decided the pace and when the field would move. But when Marco Bertolotti of Port Washington tried to relieve him of that burden with three laps remaining in the boys mile, Schellberg felt that he had let the field hold on to him long enough.