The girls of Benjamin Cardozo had a watershed day at the Mayor’s Cup, held at Randall’s Island despite some threateningly wet weather on Saturday, April 11.
Cardozo was tops in 100-meter dash, the 400-meter dash and the 1500-meter run. Chamique Francis sprinted to victory in the former event, courtesy of a 12.57 run that left most everyone else in the dust.
Relay partner Tessa West ruled the 400, with a time of 58.17 that edged out teammate Lateisha Philson (59.1) and Boys & Girls’ Kenesha Abrams (59.36).
And Claudia Francis won dramatically in the 1500. Nearly outstretched by Sacred Hart’s Dana Walsh, who finished at 4:55.82, she took first place with a time of 4:55.8, four seconds ahead of third-place finisher Ashley Armand of Martin Van Buren.
The trio of victories brought Benjamin Cardozo the overall team title for 2009. They doubled the point total of Boys & Girls.
On the boys’ side, it was McKee Vocational that claimed the overall crown, but Queens representative Springfield Gardens still earned considerable notice courtesy of Weymour Johnson. Johnson caught up with and passed Xavier’s Jose Miranda in the final leg of the 4×800-meter relay, which was also run by Tadd Willoughby, Tyquan Ward, and Jamar Jack.
The group’s performance was good enough for an 8:20.97 finish, sparing the winners from second place by about eight seconds.
Campus Magnet’s Xavier Shields threatened in the 100-meter dash, but he ultimately fell to sixth. His time of 11.6 was 0.18 seconds slower than that of Midwood’s Donald Williams Jr.
Elsewhere in New York, Kameron George (East New York) won the 1600-meter run, and Boys & Girls fittingly won the boys’ and girls’ 4×400 relays. Most field events were cancelled as a result of the inclement weather.
