Hempstead's Anissa Moore on a quest for rare track feat

Anissa Moore is running better than she did at this point last season, finally unencumbered, and she’s on Long Island. Those are three big things.

It’s been a big shift for Moore, who previously starred in the PSAL with Brooklyn’s Robeson High School, before moving to Hempstead with her family last summer. Now, she’s running in Nassau — trying to potentially pull off the rare feet of winning a title in two different sections.

“That’s definitely something that I’m working towards,” said Moore, who won the 600 meters at the city PSAL championships last winter. “But, I have to run the 600 a little more and get into the swing of things.”

Moore's season has been inconvenienced by a hand fracture suffered last month. She didn’t miss any time, but she had to adapt to running with a cast, and then a brace, for a few weeks. The added armor threw off her form.

“I’m trying to get back to what I’m used to,” said Moore, who is now running free, without a brace or cast. “The cast caused me to keep my arms further away from my body, and I would tend not to bring my arm up fully.”

Slowly but surely, she’s getting her proper habits back, and the Vanderbilt-commit is rounding into form. She won the 600 in one minute, 34.85 seconds at the HBCU Showcase at the Armory in Manhattan on Jan. 14. The time was the fastest on Long Island, and second fastest in the state, as of Thursday, according to milesplit.com.

The race was her second with the brace off and is only a few milliseconds shy of what she ran at the city PSAL championships last year. Practically matching that time nearly three weeks before the Nassau championships is a major indicator that Moore is progressing at an accelerated level.

“I know I’m where I need to be, in terms of timing and pacing,” Moore said.

Last winter, that wasn’t necessarily the case. Moore said she jumped out too quickly in the 600 at the state indoor championships. She still finished third but was unhappy with how she got there.

“I definitely ran that race all wrong,” she said. “I got out really fast, and it was a 600. By the time the last lap came around, I just got passed.”

Baumiller wins at Stanner

Sayville’s Mullane Baumiller — fresh off keying her team to a public school state Class B cross country title — is at it again. The junior won the 3,000 in 10:11.28 at the Stanner Games at the Armory on Jan. 15. The time was the fastest on Long Island, and eighth fastest in the state, as of Thursday, according to milesplit.com.

The race featured several Long Islanders, including the Wickard sisters of Northport. Mia Wickard was third in 10:14.89, with Finnley Wickard finishing sixth in 10:24.91, and Emily Wickard seventh in 10:38.11.

“I didn’t really have a plan going into it,” Baumiller said. “I was just planning on staying with Mia Wickard. By the end of the race, I was still kind of far behind, but I felt good and had a kick. I just pushed it in the end.”