Mearns Wins National Mile in Upset; Grafton Boys Strong in Boston

By Jim McGrath Sunday, March 14, 2010

After his double victory performance at the AA state indoor track championships two weeks ago, Jamestown’s Colin Mearns spoke of the feeling of relief that came with becoming his school’s first individual state track champion. He also spoke of the satisfaction from completing his indoor season undefeated.

And to think the best was yet to come.

Mearns had forgotten to mention that his season was not quite over. Either that, or at the last second, he decided to parlay his good fortune into opportunity by entering in last weekend’s National Scholastic Indoor Championships, held at the fabled Armory Track and Field Center in New York City. Regardless, the Eagle senior entered Sunday’s open mile as a huge underdog, with his best time of 4:18 in the 1600 meters translating into a 4:20 for the full mile, leaving his chances of winning somewhere between slim and none. Given the number of runners boasting times in the 4:10’s, it was more likely that Mearns would shoot for a finish in the top six out of the 26 milers to earn All-American honors. Even that was going to take a tremendous effort.

In a huge shocker, Mearns pulled off the impossible, knocking an improbable seven seconds off his previous best mile, while out-kicking Eric Dillon from Oshawa, Ontario, to score the biggest win of his young running career and a national championship. His victorious time of 4:13.08 translates to a 4:11.66 for the more common 1600-meter run and makes the Williamsburg resident the 12th fastest in Virginia history at that distance.

Mearns’ effort headlined a weekend that also saw another former Jamestown runner, Russell Hornsby, also earn a national title as the anchor leg of the Georgetown Prep “Little Hoyas Track Club” 4x800 relay, that won their event at the NSIC with a time of 7:48.99. Hornsby transferred to the Maryland private school after last year and was eligible to run in this meet as well as the upcoming outdoor season as a junior after being injured for most of indoor and all of last year’s outdoor season. The Prep team has a long history of success in the Washington metropolitan area and is currently coached by Greg Dunston, who came to the Rockville campus after a long successful tenure with Bethesda’s Walter Johnson HS.

Not to be overlooked this weekend was the emergence of the Grafton distance program into the national spotlight. Competing at the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston, the Clippers were notably successful on all three days, earning national rankings and newfound respect in the process.

Beginning on Friday night, the distance medley team of Brian Gorwitz, Conor Wallace, David Gunnerson and Kyle King were happy to take the last spot of the event’s fast heat and made the most of the opportunity. With each leg recording personal best times, Gorwitz (3:08.05 - 1200), Wallace (50.55 - 400), Gunnerson (1:55.65 - 800) and King (4:15.15 - 1600) rocketed to a 10:09.40 performance, good enough for #7 in the national high school rankings. Unfortunately, the first through sixth rankings were all earned in the same race and the Yorktown foursome missed All-American honors by one place and a mere .15 seconds. Amazingly, the winning team from Hamden (CT) was only 1.82 seconds ahead of Grafton, more significant considering that the total race distance is 4000 meters, almost 2.5 miles.

Not to be disheartened, Gorwitz, Gunnerson, King and Brian Wilmer returned to the Reggie Lewis Center on Saturday determined to make the most of their next chance, in the 4x800 relay. Although finishing eighth, and missing All-American honors by two places, the quartet did accomplish one major goal as they broke the coveted eight minute barrier, with their time of 7:59.75 good enough to finish the indoor season with the #3 ranking in Virginia and in the top 30 nationwide.

Proving that rest is overrated, Gorwitz, King and Gunnerson emerged trackside on Sunday, ready to run their third event in three days, as each was entered in the open 800. Gorwitz and King had the worst of the deal, with their entry times forcing them to run in the unseeded sections at 8:45 AM. However, both recorded personal best times. King’s 1:59.40 was particularly impressive for a runner known more for his prowess as a cross-country runner. Gorwitz’s 1:57.75 broke his best open 800 time by two seconds. Six hours later, Gunnerson competed in one of the two fast heats, and his 1:55.21 effort was a best time ever (indoor or outdoor), setting up the middle distance specialist for several realistic attempts at reaching the 1:52 plateau during outdoor season.

In all, the Grafton distance crew should remain tough come outdoor season. In an earlier interview, distance coach Matt Gutridge had acknowledged keeping the “volume and intensity” up after the prolonged snow absences, but the former University of Virginia runner “likes to use the indoor season to set up the outdoor season.” The return of junior Matt Garcia will add to the list of available 800 runners. The continued improvement of sophomore Wallace will help the distance medley and 1600 relays.

Bay Rivers teams have begun preparing for the outdoor track season and the first major invitational involving local squads will be the 30th annual Conn-Madden Relays, held on the 26th and 27th at Todd Stadium in Newport News.