Brody Watt, Benjamin Berman Lead Boys Mile Field, Adriana Pettinelli, Zaria Hall And Sloan Wasserman Among top Girls In Wednesday's Miles At The Armory

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

John Nepolitan photos

Some of the New York metro area's top high school athletes will flock to the Armory for the Millrose Games Trials on Wednesday, looking to nab qualifying spots for the Millrose Games on Feb. 1.

WATCH THE MILLROSE GAMES TRIALS LIVE ON WEDNESDAY WITH RUNNERSPACE+

The mile fields headline the meet. Brody Watt (Bernards NJ) and Benjamin Berman (Bronx Science NY) are tied at 4:12.78 for the fastest personal best in the field. Berman, a Yale commit, is carrying plenty of momentum into this meet from the fall; he finished second at the New York Federation Championships and sixth at the Brooks XC Northeast Regional in late November. 

He hasn’t done much this indoor season, though; his lone performance is a 42.41-second 300-meter dash at the PSAL Night of Sprints on Dec. 19.

Watt, a Penn commit, has run 4:16.07 in the mile, 9:31.21 in the 3,200 meters, and 1:55.98 in the 800 already this winter.

Liam Luff, a senior from Trinity NY, is another contender. Last weekend, he dropped his mile PB to 4:15.39 at the Apple Bank Hispanic Games. If he can continue his steady improvement, he’ll earn himself a spot on the very same track among the sport’s biggest stars.

Other top names include Luke Cushing (Amity CT), Clay Stevens (Manalapan NJ) and Jayden Lloyd McKenna (Pearl River NY).

The girls field is just as stacked. Sophomore Adriana Pettinelli (Scarsdale NY), last year’s defending champion, is back for this year’s edition. She’s undefeated in three individual performances this year, including a 5:01.32 mile at the Coach Saint Invitational on Dec. 12.

She’ll be battling East Meadow NY senior Zaria Hall, who comes in with the fastest PB in the field — 4:44.8, which she ran  at New Balance Nationals Outdoor last summer.

John Jay NY senior Sloan Wasserman could be the favorite. She ran a new US#1 9:47.59 on Monday in the 3,000 mters in a league meet. She is coming off an exceptionally strong cross country season, winning all but two of her races and taking second in the Eastern States Championship race at the Manhattan Invitational in October.

Horace Greeley NY sophomore Malina Santee, who ran 5:07.59 in the mile at the Hispanic Games, is also in the field, as is Wall NJ senior Cali Buxbaum, who’s opening her season at this meet but has run 4:52.96.

Meanwhile, Nia Nelson (St. Ann’s NY) headlines the 55 meter dash field with a seed time of 7.11 seconds. She’s a frequent performer at the NYCAL meets at the Armory, and she ran 7.29 to win the Coach Saint Invitational on this track in December. 

Jevon Ledgister (St. Peter’s Prep NJ) is one to watch; in December, he set a massive PB of 6.31 at the Bishop Loughlin Games.

The weight throw will also feature top talent. Charles Sullivan (Somers NY) boasts a PB of 76-1 and broke 70 feet for the first time this winter at the Hispanic Games, throwing 70-2 for the win. Kane Poje (Tri-Valley Central NY), meanwhile, recently set a PB of his own with a 73-6.50 toss that earned him the win at the Beantown Winter Classic on Dec. 20.

Danae Morgan (Hastings NY) headlines the girls weight throw. Like Sullivan, she had a breakthrough performance at the Hispanic Games last weekend, throwing over 50 feet for the first time (50-4.75) to come away with the win.

Many of the high school relay fields for the Millrose Games will also be set by Wednesday's outcomes at the Millrose Trials.