Spooner's Play Wins Mile

W. Springfield Junior Takes Chess Match vs. Fellow All-Met

As the familiar scenario began to play itself out in the mile run at yesterday's Montgomery Invitational, West Springfield junior Mike Spooner took it upon himself to change the results.

After Chantilly senior Brad Siragusa used his kick to take the lead with 150 yards to go, Spooner fought back with a kick of his own and outsprinted Siragusa to win the race in 4 minutes 21.30 seconds, less than two-tenths of a second ahead of Siragusa.

"I played it out in my head over and over again last night, Brad passing me and winning the race," said Spooner, describing how he lost to Siragusa at the Virginia AAA cross-country meet in November. "I just knew what to expect and was ready to do what I had to do to win."

Yesterday at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex in Landover, another exciting chapter was added to one of the area's best track rivalries -- the front-running Spooner and late-race-kicker Siragusa engaging in a distance-running chess match.

Spooner was the Northern Region champ for cross-country, as he took a lead so large that no one could catch him. At the state meet, Siragusa stayed close enough early to be able to use his kick to race by Spooner and win the state championship.

The two All-Mets admitted each had made the other a better runner, with Siragusa trying to hang with the lead pack and Spooner trying to find a kick.

"Spooner's such a smart runner, he pushes us both a lot," Siragusa said. "It's great to have a friendly rivalry like this. It makes us do things we aren't necessarily used to doing."

The mile, a qualifying race for the Feb. 3 Millrose Games in New York, was one of the highlights of the area's biggest regular season meet of the year.

Several area girls made good showings in field events. West Potomac sophomore Katherine Lee won the long jump with a leap of 17 feet 10 1/4 inches, beating by an inch Long Reach senior standout Tiffani Long. In the high jump, Brooke Point senior April Sinkler reached 5-4 to win.

Westfield's Aimee Kodat won the shot put with a throw of 39-6 3/4 . In the pole vault, Chantilly senior Nicole Kazuba won by a foot, climbing to 10-6.

Along with the mile, several boys put on strong performances. Stonewall Jackson senior Jared Simmons won the 55-meter dash with a personal-best time of 6.52. He beat McNamara senior Aaron Anderson, who had been unbeaten this season in the 55, by less than a hundredth of a second.

"A lot of these guys had beaten me already this year," Simmons said. "I was feeling really good today during the semifinals [when he ran 6.56]. I really wanted to have a good performance."

In the 400, Carroll senior All-Met Randy Lee edged out All-Mets Jaumale Sykes of DeMatha and Christopher Richardson of Hayfield to win in 49.95 seconds. Gonzaga junior Aaron Taylor won a tough 800 race in 1:59.84.

Montgomery Invitational Large Fields: Hosted by the Montgomery County schools, the invitational is the area's biggest of the year. There were 141 schools in attendance and more than 2,100 athletes. New Heights: Great Bridge senior Michael Morrison walked out with a new meet record in the pole vault, reaching 15 feet 6 inches, one of the top vaults in the nation.