Anissa Moore showcases middle distance strength in Nassau Class A track championships

Turns out, Anissa Moore is just as fast west of New York City — maybe even faster. Moore, a Hempstead senior who stared in the PSAL at Brooklyn’s Robeson before moving to Long Island with her family last summer, showcased her middle distance prowess yet again Thursday night, winning the 600 meters in 1 minute, 33.98 seconds and the 300 in 39.75 seconds at the Nassau Class A track and field championships at St. Anthony’s.    

Moore, who is committed to Vanderbilt, won the PSAL championship in the 600 meters last winter, giving her the unique distinction of having won a championship in two different state sections.

Moore, who is uncomfortable running in front, led practically the whole way in the 600. MacArthur’s Carly Koprowski hung with Moore early in the race, but the Hempstead senior gained separation late. Koprowski was second in 1:39.48.

“I just struck to my strategy, but I didn’t know she was close to me,” Moore said. “I did hear her teammates by the last 100, so I had some idea of it.”

Moore is right in the mix for a state championship in both the 300 and 600.  She has the second-fastest time in the state in both events, according to milesplit.com.

With the state championships a little less than a month away, Moore said that she wants to work harder in the first 200 meters of her 600, hoping that will lead to less stress at the end.

“I realize that if I keep trying to improve the last two laps, I’m going to be tired,” Moore said. “I should get out hard and be more aggressive.”

She’ll be able to test this new strategy this weekend when she runs in the Debevoise Invitational 600 at the Millrose Games at the Armory in Manhattan.

“I definitely have to get out hard,” she said. “But, I can’t let other people’s paces dictate mine.”

Port Washington won the girls team title with 86 points. Syosset was second with 83. Port Washington’s Samantha Benson-Tyler won the 1,500 walk in 8:02.03 and Isabella Lucas won the triple jump, flying 35 feet, 2 ½ inches.

Elsewhere, Syosset’s Jessica Alessi won the 3,000 in 11:08.71 and the 1,500 in 5:06.4.

Freeport won the boys team event with 83 points. Massapequa was second with 75.

Freeport’s Jordon Quinn won the 55-meter hurdles in 7.55. Quinn is the top hurdler in the state, after running a 7.53 in early January. Thursday night, he noticed his trail leg was off and had to fix it mid-race to outpace Massapequa’s Christian Primavera, who was second in 7.66.

“My trail leg was coming in way too slow,” Quinn said. “I had to pull it down a little faster, which allowed me to get ahead of him ... It was coming in kind of vertically, and it needed to be more horizontal.”

Quinn said he realized he needed to make that adjustment after the third hurdle.

“I think I got a little too comfortable in my lane,” Quinn said. “After I realized I needed to get more competitive, I started to get the trail leg (right).”

Primavera is also one of the top hurdlers in the state — ranked fifth after running a 7.72 last month. The two were close at the final hurdle until Quinn gained the final edge.

“Normally, if you go between a hurdle, you put your chest up,” Quinn said. “But, off the last hurdle, I stayed down to get my chest to the finish line.”

Quinn’s teammate, Kazeem Scott won the 55 in 6.56. After running the trials out of starting blocks, Scott decided to go without them in the finals.

“I didn’t feel comfortable,” Scott said. “It wasn’t giving me the stability that I needed to take off.”

Scott said he was a lot more comfortable in the finals, knowing that the blocks were no longer in his way and he could get what was, for him, a smoother start.

“It was just something about knowing that nothing was going to stop me and I was going to support myself,” Scott said. “…It starts and finishes at the beginning of the race. It’s such a short race, everything happens in the first and second step.”

Danzil Monk Jr, a Freeport senior, won the 1,000 in 2:32.65. Monk Jr. was on the 4 x 400 relay team that, along with Yvan Neas, Lucca Noboa, and Chase Holt, won in 3:32.91.

Elsewhere, Syosset’s Jordan Altman won the 3,200 in 9:59.01 and the 1,600 in 4:37.9.