Greany sets Section 1 record in 1,600 at Loucks
Record had held since 1982
05/13/2007
The bell for the last lap sounded. Suffern's Shelby Greany sat jammed in between Suejin Ahn of Ward Melville and Elizabeth Marvin of Rhinebeck.

It didn't matter that the pace was quick. Greany had been itching to make a move. She gave herself the green light - finally.

Greany never has claimed to have a finishing kick. But there she was, high-stepping down the back straightaway at White Plains High School, intent on beating everyone to the final curve in the Loucks Games 1,600 meters.

"I hate running in a pack," she said. "I hate waiting."

So when the opportunity to take over the race presented itself and her legs gave her the go-ahead, Greany stepped on the accelerator and won the 1,600 yesterday in a Section 1-record 4 minutes, 54.49 seconds. Mount Vernon's Desiree Scott had held the record since running a 4:54.9 in 1982.

Greany's time also is the fastest in the state this season.

"Usually, when I don't go out flying is when I run my best," Greany said.

But for some reason, she has a propensity for storming off the starting line. Not yesterday, though. The race offered enough top-notch runners that someone else could be in charge of setting the tempo. So Greany followed, and waited - and ran a better 1,600 than even she thought she could.

Her Suffern team grabbed a lot of attention at the 40th annual meet. Janelle Clayton broke the Rockland County record in the high jump, winning at 5 feet, 8 1/2 inches and topping the height of 5-7 1/2 set by Pearl River's Tara Bach in 1995. It was also a quarter-inch higher than the meet record set by Danielle Legendre of Dawn Case in 1986.

Clayton had never jumped higher than 5-4 before yesterday, and she said she has practiced high-jumping no more than twice this season. Now, she has the season's best clearance in the state.

"I felt like it was going to be an off-day," she said. "I didn't feel like I warmed up properly, and my steps were off."

But when she cleared 5-5, she had the lowest number of misses in the competition, which gave her the win. An official asked her how high she wanted the bar set, then told her that if she cleared 5-8 1/2 , she could break the meet record.

She missed on her first attempt. Then her steps felt off on her second. She tried to pull up before jumping, but she ran too close to the mat and was called for a foul. She had one attempt left at a height she had never ventured to before.

"I didn't really feel any pressure," Clayton said. "The high jump is something I do for fun."

Clayton looked at the trees outside the track to gauge the wind direction. She waited until she felt it at her back, then cleared the bar. The high jump might be an event she does just to make meets more fun, but now she's a threat to win the state championship in the event.

"I didn't even think about that," she said, laughing. "I guess it's a proud moment."

Trisha Hawthorne of Hamilton also set a state-leading mark, winning the 200 in 24.48. She also ran 24.42 in the trials. Hawthorne swallowed the runners ahead of her on the stagger and came off the turn with a commanding lead.

"I knew that the girl on my outside (Ashlea McLoughlin of Uniondale) was fast, and I know she's good in the 400, so I thought she'd be coming after me," said Hawthorne, who has committed to UConn. "I knew I needed to get out hard. I knew I needed to pass her before the curve."

Assata Cowart of New Rochelle finished second in the 400 hurdles in 63.21. Teammate Elizabeth Mott placed third in the 400 in 56.69, with Jen Clayton of Suffern fourth in 57.27. Priscilla Ilarraza of Clarkstown North finished third in the pentathlon with 2,649 points.

Kristin Reese of Carmel was named the meet's outstanding female performer. She set a Section 1 record in the 800 Friday, winning in 2:09.24.

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