Triple crown finish for Wasserman at state track championships

By JIM MACLEAN 

John Jay’s Sloan Wasserman on her way to New York State and Federation titles in the steeplechase. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

Three seasons, three times a state champion, and a triple crown finish with three titles in her final New York State high school meet made it a storybook ending to an amazing senior year for John Jay’s Sloan Wasserman.

After winning her first New York State title in cross-country in the fall and leading John Jay to the team title, Wasserman then won the Federation and state titles in the 3,000-meter race at the indoor state championships. She capped off the year by winning the Federation and State titles in the 3,000-meter race, the 2,000-meter steeplechase race, and the State Class B title in the 4x800-meter relay race at the New York State track and field championships, June 13-14, at Victor High School near Rochester.

With her three state titles, she now has five state titles and a team state title, she owns just about every distance record in John Jay school history, and she has one last high school meet before heading off to compete at Boston College next fall. 

The John Jay 4x800-meter relay team of (clockwise from top left) Wasserman, Mia Haimelin, Lila Rotter and Maya Serai pose with their signs as New York State Class B Champions.

“In the steeplechase, I just took off and had a lot of fun; I was literally smiling for the last 100 yards, the crowd was cheering, it was definitely a good, fairytale ending,” admitted Wasserman. “It was really special to win both the 3K and steeple Federation and state titles in both races. I’ve had my share of ups and downs, but it was all worth it in the end and I’m really glad I was able to get this fairytale ending.”

First up at the state meet would be the 3,000-meter race on Saturday, and she would be facing a lot of familiar faces from the same race she had won in March for the Indoor Federation and State titles. The Federation title is the combination of all the runners from Catholic, private and public schools in Class A, B and C, across the state.

Wasserman stayed with the pack and then finished with a strong kick to pull away and cross the finish line with a time of 9:28.99, about three seconds ahead of Hannah Governor of Williamson in second place.

“It was pretty much the same girls from indoors, and it was hot,” Wasserman said of her 3,000-meter race. “In the winter I was not nervous at all for the state meet, because I had never beaten those girls and I had nothing to lose. Definitely coming around to this state meet I was a little nervous to defend my title. Once I started the race I felt good, ran a tactical race, I only took the lead with about a lap to go and I took off, and it felt really good to win that race.”

Next up would be the 2,000-meter steeplechase June 14, another hot and humid day. Wasserman came in as the top-seed and she pulled away from the field, crossing the finish line at 6:38.36, almost 10 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Anna Furman of Tri-Valley.

She wasn’t finished yet as she would come back later in the day to anchor the 4x800 relay team to win her third state title in two days. It was a big change from last year’s outdoor state meet, where she was disappointed with a second-place finish in two races.

“I hung the medals up on my door from last year to remind me every day,” admitted Wasserman. “It was a hard loss, hurt my spirits a lot, but it gave me so much drive, a burning desire to come out and win and I was able to beat people who beat me last year. It took a lot of hard work. I had not won anything at the state level. I’m most proud of myself for sticking with it. I haven’t quit a workout all year even when it was not going well. I realized that special things take a lot of hard work and time. That’s what I learned from all the wins and losses, special things take time, it took me four years to win a state title, and this year I won five.”

Mia Haimelin takes the baton from Maya Serai in the 4x800 relay at the state championships.

Wasserman had qualified to compete in three events at the state meet, but she elected to withdraw from the 1,500-meter race so she could concentrate on the relay event with her John Jay teammates on the final day of the two-day meet in Rochester.

After a long rain delay, the quartet of eighth-grader Lila Rotter, ninth-grader Maya Serai, sophomore Mia Haimelin, and Wasserman were able to finish with a time of 9:15.71 to earn the New York State Class B title, about half a second in front of second-place finisher Cornwall.

“It was a hard 800, and I was just happy we were able to win,” Wasserman said of the relay. “Mia ran a phenomenal race, she just kept picking people off and was incredible. The girls really carried us and I was happy I was able to bring us home.”

Rotter ran the first leg of the relay for John Jay and finished with a 2:21.54 split. Serai followed with a 2:20.77 to move the Wolves up four places overall. Haimelin then turned in a personal best time for the 800 with a split of 2:15.14 to move the Wolves up six spots. That left it up to Wasserman in the anchor leg and she ran a 2:18.28 split to give the Wolves the Class B title in fifth-place overall behind four Class A schools.

“It was like 10 minutes before our heat, and they said we’re going to run this heat, but everyone else has to go in the gym and wait,” Haimelin said of the delay. “I’m always the third leg and my job is to make up ground for the team. Maya made up a lot of ground and when she handed off to me it felt really good. I went out fast and somehow did a P.R., and I was shocked. Our goal was to win Class B and we were really happy. We were all locked in. The day before we came to watch Sloan race, she’s such a huge role model for us all, the whole team bonding experience carried us through.”

“The relay has a lot more pressure, it’s for the team and not just myself and I don’t want to let them down,” added Serai. “Sloan is such a role model, her work ethic is incredible, seeing what she does. We push each other a lot and I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve done without my teammates. My first time going to states and it was kind of nerve-wracking with all the rain delays. I was really nervous and just kept pushing, thinking about our team and our goal to win our class and it was definitely a great experience.”

Despite the rain delays, the young John Jay team didn’t break their concentration and were able to get the job done to win the title.

“They did a great job, I had a feeling that they would win and they did exactly what we planned,” John Jay coach Dey Dey said of his relay team. “The weather takes its toll, it was cold, they had already warmed up and the first heat was already done, but then they had to wait. The second delay was about two hours. The track was wet. Mia was the one who got us back into position. They all did great.”

It was a perfect ending to a perfect year for Wasserman. With the victory in the relay, the Wolves also earned the chance to compete again at the New Balance National Championship meet on June 19-20 at the University of Pennsylvania. Wasserman was originally scheduled to compete in the U.S. under-20 championships in Oregon, but she will compete in the steeplechase and relay event instead.

“The jump she made from last year is a lot,” Dey said of Wasserman. “She does everything right. In running, everything is based on training and I know she works so hard and she always tries to do extra and I have to stop her from doing too much. She did a great job in her races. They all did great. It was worth the wait. It was a great weekend and I’m happy for them.”