Wasserman wins state title with big finish

Sloan Wasserman raises her arms in triumph as she wins the 3,000-meter indoor track New York State and Federation championship titles at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island. Damion Reid photo

John Jay sophomore Mia Haimelin competed at the state championships for the second-straight year.

Sloan Wasserman

By JIM MACLEAN 

She came in with something to prove, and she proved it in dramatic fashion.

She was flying around the track, pulling away from the field, crossing the finish line with a big smile in first place to win the New York State and Federation indoor track and field championships March 7 in the women’s 3,000-meter race at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Center on Staten Island.

It was redemption for Sloan Wasserman after a disappointing finish to her cross-country season in November. She won the New York State Class B title with the fastest time on the course, but every girl knows who the fastest runners in the state are and she would have to prove it against them all the following week in the Federation meet. She got sick a few days before the race and it was a disaster as she faded and didn’t even qualify for the Nationals.

The 3,000-meter race would be the first time since the cross-country season that she would be racing against all the top runners who pulled away from her at the Federation meet. And this time she felt great as she sprinted away from the field to finish first with a time of 9:27.39, five seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

“I was so happy, such an amazing feeling, indoors is so different, there’s no divisions, everyone in the state in the same race, so this felt really great to cross that line and win this race,” explained Wasserman. “Missing out on Nationals last fall hurt a lot, that really helped me get motivated because I was angry. For sure, I had something to prove and it felt good to win and show people that the Federation race was a fluke and this is who I am. I was eighth in this race last year and a lot of these girls beat me. That was the first time I’ve ever won a race against some of these girls, so it felt good to see all my hard work throughout the year has paid off.”

It didn’t start out well as Wasserman got boxed in at the start and was next to last on the first lap in a field of 31 runners. All season long she was the one sprinting to the lead and pulling away from the field. This was different being almost last, but she didn’t panic and stayed calm.

She worked her way up, and with two and a half laps to go she was in third place trailing only Leyla Bhusri of Shenendehowa and Tsadia Bercuvitz of Ithaca, the two girls who had finished first and second at the Federation cross-country race.

Wasserman saw her opportunity and she took off, sprinting her way to the finish line closing out the final 400 yards in 68 seconds to pull away for a dramatic finish and win the state title. Bercuvitz was second at 9:32.94, and Bhusri was third at 9:36.42.

“I was sprinting for my life, the last two laps I had no idea where anyone else was behind me, I had no clue, so I just started sprinting,” said Wasserman. “The state meet is all about winning, and at the start I just wanted to get into a safe spot and not get boxed in and run as consistent as possible. With about 1K to go, I felt very calm and I heard other people breathing and struggling and I felt comfortable and knew I had to sprint if I wanted to win. About two and half laps to go I took off and I was surprised how fast my finish was. Closing in a 68 for the last 400 maybe I could have gone faster, but I was happy with my close win that race.”

She entered the race with the fastest time for the season, but with that close she cut almost 11 seconds off her personal best time. Her time was the sixth fastest in the nation this season for high school girls in the 3,000, and it was the second fastest time ever for a Section 1 runner.

It was an impressive performance; good enough for a big win against some really good runners. Wasserman will not be running against Bhusri and Bercuvitz at the state meet in the spring since she is in Class B and they are in Class A, but she knows she will be seeing them again in the future. Next year Wasserman will be running at Boston College, competing against Bhusri at Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“All those girls are super nice and they’re all really great runners,” Wasserman said of the competition. “It felt amazing to win that big title. We all push each other pretty hard to be better. We’re all just running in circles on the track, and the people you’re running against are almost like teammates, they’re pushing you and you’re pushing them to do your best.”

Wasserman knows there is another person pushing her to do her best, and gives the credit for her improvement to win the title to John Jay coach Dey Dey. They have worked hard together all year long since last summer to get ready for her senior year.

“Without Dey I wouldn’t be where I am,” Wasserman said of her coach. “Training is how you get better. If you don’t have the right training you’re not going to get better, you can’t just come out here and run. There’s specific training. Dey knows everything and I wouldn’t be here without Dey. At the end of the day I am out there alone, but I have so much trust in Dey that if I go out there and do what he says and give it my best, it will all work out. I want to make Dey proud because he has sacrificed so much for me and helped me so much to get better.”

So far the results have been amazing. She became the first John Jay runner in school history to win a state title in cross-country, and she led the John Jay girls to the state team title. Now, she is an indoor track state champion.

As a competitive runner himself, Dey has had an impressive career at the collegiate and international level, and he knows what Wasserman has been able to achieve. He could tell she was in a good position to win the race despite the slow start.

“She did a fantastic job, it’s been a while since a girl in New York state ran the time that she did, and to be a state champ indoors, in a race where she was eighth last year shows how hard she worked all year long,” Dey said of Wasserman. “As a coach I felt good, I know how good she is and what she can do. There was a lot of bumping and she almost fell, but I know when she’s tired and when she’s not and everything was good. With about six laps to go I told her to pick it up and then she made her move. I was really happy for her, she did very well.”

Unfortunately for Wasserman, the second day of the meet would not go as well as the first. She was selected as the Section 1 sportsmanship award winner, and after receiving her award, a runner warming up on the infield ran into her and she was injured and had to withdraw from the 1,500-meter championship race she was about to run. The injury also might force her to miss the New Balance National indoor meet she had earned the chance to compete in on Saturday, March 14, in Boston.

John Jay sophomore Mia Haimelin also earned a chance to compete in the state meet as part of the Intersectional 3,200-meter distance medley relay team and the Section 1 quartet finished second overall with a time of 10:16.29, less than a second away from a state title behind Section 11 at 10:15.68.

“Mia ran very well,” Dey said of Haimelin. “They came in second and it was the second year in a row that she made the relay. Now, the goal is for her to make it in an individual event next year.”

“We’re coming to an end, she has one more outdoor season,” Dey said of Wasserman’s career at John Jay. “As a coach. It’s always good when you get kids who are really into what you are trying to do to help them and listen to what you are saying. As a runner, I know when things are good and I knew she was going to run a good race. This indoor season she has been amazing, just keep it up and see what she can do outdoors.”