Roosevelt's Parker wins 55 at Loughlin

Erin Parker knew that the stakes were high Saturday night at the Armory.

Parker and Roosevelt coach Evan Guild spent the two weeks leading up to the 58th Bishop Loughlin Games simply preparing for the heightened level of competition from across the Northeast.

"Coach kept telling me to focus on just running well this weekend," Parker said.

Then, a few days before the meet, Guild broke out the "w" word. "I told him, 'Hey, let's go out and win this thing,' " Guild said. "And we both agreed that he could win, and that's what he did."

Parker put his blazing speed on display Saturday night, winning the 55 meters in 6.51 seconds. He outpaced Donato Dixon of Sheepshead Bay (6.58) by .07 seconds for the victory.

The Roosevelt senior was one of the favorites to win from the beginning of the event. Parker ran a 6.54 in the semifinals, which was the fastest time of the eight qualifiers.

"Right then, I knew I had a good shot at winning in the final," he said. "I ran exactly the race that I wanted to run."

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In the final, Parker was able to get off the blocks with the same explosive force that he showed during football season. Parker took the lead from the gun and was able to hold on for the victory.

"Once he got out, I thought it was clear that he'd win," Guild said. "He has such great reaction and acceleration."

Parker made sure to note that his football speed was different from his track speed, saying that it's easier to run without the weight of pads and other equipment.

"In track, it's just you, yourself, and your body," he said. "You can just focus on getting out and running as hard as you can without anything slowing you down."

Mike Brunoforte wasn't going to let a bum leg stop him from vaulting to the top.

Fighting a nagging hamstring injury, Brunoforte took home the gold medal in the pole vault with a height of 14-6.

The St. Anthony's senior finished tied with Greg Gallagher of Iona Prep, but earned the victory because he fouled less than Gallagher.

Brunoforte said he had suffered a "twinge" in his hamstring earlier in the week, which hampered his jumping ability during practice.

"I was just trying not to think about the pain," he said. "I just wanted to jump through it."

Friars pole vault coach Jim Henderson said that he gave Brunoforte the option to rest, but Brunoforte said that he felt OK enough to give it a go.

"I didn't want him getting hurt badly this early in the season," he said. "It was pretty gutsy of him to do what he did."

Elmont's Valencia Hannon was narrowly edged out at the finish line in the girls 55 meters by Lateisha Philson of Cardozo. Philson clocked a 7.06 for the victory, .07 seconds ahead of Hannon's 7.13.

"I came out and missed a few steps at the start," Hannon said. "It was definitely a little disappointing, but you just have to keep on going."

Hannon, who was making her indoor season debut, said that the level of competition helped her stay focused before the race.

"There's always a lot of competition at the Armory, so I had to be prepared mentally and physically," she said.

North Shore wins. The North Shore girls team was at it again. The Vikings star quartet of Samantha Nadel, Brianna Nerud, Elizabeth Caldwell and Jessica Donohue set a national record in the 4 x 1,500-meter relay at the Jim Mitchell Invitational at the Armory on Friday night, taking first in 18:50.91. North Shore bested the previous record of 19:16.43 set by Greenwich in 2006. Greenwich finished second in the race, followed by Northport (Anna Corrigan, Brigid Brennan, Sarah Zieve, Jackie Thorne).