Erik Allen anchors Uniondale to 4 x 400 win in Millrose Games

Erik Allen doesn’t run anchor. So imagine his surprise when the Uniondale junior was thrust into a neck-and-neck home straightaway battle at arguably the biggest meet of the season. But Allen wasn’t put in that position to wilt, and wilt he did not.

Allen made up two places and ran a 50.64-second final leg to give Uniondale the victory in the Long Island 4 x 400-meter relay at the 111th Millrose Games at the Armory in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon.

Allen, along with Tyler Edmeade, Chris Borzor and Malik Barrett, ran 3:23.63 and topped Elmont, which was second in 3:24.34.

“When I got the baton in third place, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” Allen said. “But at the beginning of the second lap, I just felt motivated. I just felt a kick and finished the race strong. I was hoping for first and I got first.”

Uniondale moved Borzor, the usual anchor, to second position, hoping to secure an early lead that would prove insurmountable. When that lead failed to materialize, it was up to Barrett and Allen to make or break Uniondale’s title hopes.

“I just wanted to run hard,” said Barrett, who ran the third leg in 51.47 seconds. “I knew Borzor was going to give me either somewhat of a lead or [put us] right back in the pack, so I just tried to do my job and it worked well.”

Allen said he was nervous while waiting for the baton. But once he gripped the stick, the nerves and eventually the Uniondale deficit, went away.

“I usually don’t have all the pressure on me to finish the race,” Allen said. “As soon as I got the baton, all the nerves just stayed where I started and I just ran my race.”

Ward Melville’s girls relay team, composed of Allyson Gaedje, Elizabeth Radke, Samantha Rutt and Samantha Sturgess, won the Long Island 4 x 400 in 3:57.84. Westhampton was second in 3:58.02.

Ward Melville and Westhampton handed the batons to their anchors at virtually the same time. Gaedje ran anchor for Ward Melville and clocked a 58.28 leg to hold on to the Patriots’ slim lead.

The Kellenberg girls — Camryn Beckford, Gabby Baissereth, Chrissy Foster and Maureen Lewin — set a school record with a 4:06.28 victory in the John P. Prendergast CHSAA sprint medley relay. The previous record, 4:06.80, was set at the 2013 Millrose Games, coach Marty Brown said.

Lewin’s 2:12.92 anchor leg helped Kellenberg catch Sacred Heart, with Lewin inching up to Maggie Maier, Sacred Heart’s anchor.

“My goal was to not go out for it all at once, just to catch up to [Maier] gradually,” Lewin said. “I didn’t really have any splits in mind. It was just to run and try to get the win in the end.”