GREENSBORO, N.C. — Peru’s Dan Lennon and Ticonderoga’s Jay Hebert competed in the New Balance Nationals Outdoor track and field meet held over the weekend at North Carolina A&T State University.
Lennon, a senior who will be running for Syracuse in the fall, led the way with a third-place finish in the 5,000-meter run championship. He crossed the finish line in 14 minutes, 37.32 seconds.
“I was happy. I did better than last year,” Lennon said. “I ran like a 9:15 for the first two miles in the 5K and last year I ran a 9.27 in the open two-mile so I’m definitely happy with that — and of course placing third. I like longer distance races so much more.”
He finished the 3,200-meter run championship in 9:12.62, good for 15th place. He won the Division II state title and was second overall in the Federation in the state meet last weekend in the event. Lennon took 16th in last year’s nationals.
Lennon even got to compete against a future Syracuse teammate — Kevyn Hoyos of Carrollton, Tex., who finished sixth in the 3,200.
Lennon, who holds the Section VII 3,200 record, said it was weird knowing the meet capped his high-school career.
“It was definitely a good way to finish, though,” he said.
Hebert, a sophomore, was coming off winning both the Division II and Federation title in the 110-meter hurdles at the state meet last weekend.
He didn’t run as well as he would have liked, finishing in 14.84 seconds to take 15th in the Emerging Elite division preliminaries. He didn’t qualify for the final.
“I was a little disappointed with my time, it wasn’t what I’m used to running,” said Hebert, who holds the Section VII record in the event (14.07). “I think it was just the bigger meet, nerves maybe more than I was used to.”
Hebert and his coach, Walter Thorne, didn’t set any goals coming in.
“This was my first year, so Thorne wanted me to just go, run and see what happened,” Hebert said. “Next year we’ll start setting goals.”
Although Hebert may have been disappointed with his performance, Lennon was impressed.
“He did really well, especially for how young he is,” Lennon said. “I remember he said he wasn’t happy, but I’d kill to run a 14.8. It’s always the same for most people the first trip down … it’s not always the best. It motivates you; it pushes you for the next year.
“I’m sure next year he’ll be placing in the championship.”
The two athletes’ families met up to watch their races.
“We watched him run both nights, and he watched me run,” Hebert said. “That was great.”
