Indoor Track: John Jay’s Condon finishes strong to win NY State title

John Jay’s Andy Condon (left) makes his move to win NYSPHSAA state title in the 3,200-meter race at state championships. Damion Reid Photo

Sloan Wasserman of John Jay was eighth in 3,000-meter race. Jim MacLean Photo

Mia Haimelin was part of Section 1 Distance Medley relay team that finished second. Jim MacLean Photo

By JIM MACLEAN

Andy Condon picked a good time for a strong finish to a strong race.

The John Jay senior was competing for the first time in the New York state indoor track and field championships and he found himself back in the pack. Most people expected him to be there. He was seeded 10th coming into the race, but Condon had a plan. He found himself in 12th place with a thousand meters to go and he made his move. In one lap he moved up to fifth place, and that set the stage for the final two laps.

After a blistering pace for two laps and a furious sprint down the stretch, Condon had crossed the finish line at 9:07.24, a 12-second personal best, and he was a New York state champion.

“Now is the time, I gotta go now, this is for everything,” explained Condon. “They made the move and I was just trying to hold on. The final 200 meters we were three-wide, just fighting for position, giving it everything we got. I didn’t see the time until coming through, just focused on trying to stay with them, and when we came across and saw that I ran 9:07, I was like wow, I was so happy. That’s a new county record and I never thought that could happen, just an amazing feeling.”

It took two incredible laps to finish it off. After running split times between 34-35 seconds throughout the race, Condon ran 30.91 and then 29.83 on the last two laps to kick his way to the title. It was a three-man race the final two laps, with Ben Berman of Bronx High School of Science crossing the line at 9:05.54 to win the New York State Federation title. Condon was close behind to claim the New York State Public High School title at 9:07.24, while Ryan Tuohy of North Rockland pushed him to the limit, finishing at 9:07. 55.

“Racing against the best in the state is always fun, great competition, great people,” Condon said of the state finals. “Coming in I was seeded 10th, but coach Dey has been giving me great workouts and I knew I was in good shape to go for it. I tried to stick for the first mile, after that it started to break up a bit and I noticed I was falling back from the front pack, so I had to surge up. Then with 500 to go, Tuohy made a surge and broke everything open, the three of us broke away and it was all out down the stretch to the finish. It was so much fun, running against amazing people really brings out the best of each other.”

While his final time was an incredible 12-second personal record, ironically it was not his fastest kick on the final lap. That happened in his last race at the Section 1 state qualifying meet where he needed to kick home in order to meet the qualifying time at 9:19 finishing second to Tuohy. That earned him the chance to compete in the state finals at Ocean Breezes, and he made the most of the opportunity.

“That was the plan, to sit behind for the first mile, then, last mile, make a move,” John Jay coach Dey Dey said of Condon’s race strategy. “That’s what I love about the sport of running, you never know. It comes down to people who do the right thing in training, only the best come out on top. Andy for his first time at states, coming out on top, being a state champion, I’m happy for him.”

Condon came back again later in the day to compete in the 1,600-meter race and he finished 12th with a time of 4:20.39.

John Jay junior Sloan Wasserman was back for the third-straight year to compete in the New York state championships, and she also earned a place on the podium in a competitive 3,000-meter race, crossing the line with a personal best time of 9:50.97 to finish eighth overall.

Wasserman kept with the front pack through much of the race against a tough field, as just five seconds separated the fifth through ninth place runners.

“I was definitely less nervous this year, third time being at indoor states, and I was excited competing against such fast girls in my heat so I knew I was going to run a pretty good time,” said Wasserman. “I didn’t run a smart race, I went out fast and I went for it and I don’t have any regrets. The girl who won has the number one time in the U.S. for the 3K; she’s amazing, and so many girls right there together. They push me to run my best race. The atmosphere is amazing, the girls are super nice, it’s such a fun meet and an honor to be there.”

John Jay Mia Haimelin also earned a chance to compete at the state meet as a ninth grader, and she also earned a medal competing as part of the Section 1 4,000-meter distance medley relay team. Haimelin and her teammates finished second with a time of 10:14.62.

“Sloan improved a lot on her time, she did well, I know how competitive she is and how good she can be and she has that mindset to do better next year,” Day said of Wasserman. “Mia is still a ninth grader, she was not even running in middle school, and we see the potential she has.”

Both Condon and Wasserman were scheduled to compete in the New Balance Nationals on March 13-16 in Boston, Mass.