Andrews ready for hot mile at Penn Relays
Linnell running girls mile
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
It's been quite a year already for Manalapan's Robby Andrews. During the indoor season, Andrews captured his first NJSIAA Meet of Champions track championship (800 meters) and finished second in the high school mile at the prestigious Millrose Games.

Friday, Andrews will compete in another of the legendary track and field meets, the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. He'll line up against some of the finest scholastic milers in the nation in the boys mile.

"It's a great time to test how my training is going and see how I do against the best runners in the country," he said. "Two national champions will be there."

The boys mile will be one of the highlights of the meet, featuring the Nike Indoor Nationals champion Kyle Merber from Half Hollow West in New York and the National Scholastic Indoor Championships winner, Charles White, from Cherry Creek (Colo.), plus Andrews, whose 4:12.42 was one of the fastest times of the indoor season.Also in the field is another New Jersey star, Doug Smith of Gill St. Bernard's, who recently ran a 14:30 for 5,000 meters in Arcadia, Calif.

Andrews is especially looking forward to racing Merber again. It was Merber who edged Andrews at the Millrose Games in January. ThatMillrose race was Andrews' first on a banked track. The Braves junior will benefit from the longer straightaways on the 400-meter track.

Merber is the No. 1 seed and Andrews is No. 2.

With the quality of runners in the field, Andrews does not expect the mile to turn into a tactical race, especially with his closing speed. No one in the field will want to test their finishing kick over the final lap off a slow pace against Andrews.

To avoid getting stale at the 800 and mile, Andrews has run a variety of races, from the 200-meter dash to the 400 hurdles during the dual meet season. He even ran a 3,000 steeplechase down at Rowan University, where he won in ameet record 9:52.77. All this keeps him fresh and, in the end, is good preparation for his two best events.

Colts Neck's Allison Linnell, one of the biggest stories of the 2008 track and field season, will be competing in the girls mile run tomorrow night. Linnell earned All- American honors indoors when she finished fourth in the mile at the NSIC, running a Freehold District record 4:55.56.

Linnell, who recently committed to the University ofWashington in Seattle, is an example of how far commitment can take you. A year ago at this time her personal best in the mile wasn't under 5:20.

"Honestly, I never thought I'd be doing this [Penn Relays]," she said. "It took a lot of hard work and training over the summer."

Linnell is the fourth seed in the girls high school mile. One of the seeds ahead of her, Kristen Reese from Carmel, N.Y., was second in that NSIC mile (4:54.68).

Freehold Township's Dan Mularz, one of the top returning 400-meter intermediate hurdlers in the state, will look to put down a fast early-season time. Mularz is seeded 11th in the boys high school 400 meters. He races on Saturday morning.

Mularz's teammate Marcus Goode is also competing on Saturday. He's in the boys high school triple jump. Goode holds the Shore Conference record in the event, 46-10¼. He wants to push his mark to the neighborhood of 50 feet this year. He'll certainly have the competition to push him Saturday. He's seeded 15th.

Marlboro's Ada Unachukwu was the best girls triple jumper in the state this winter, earning All-American honors at the NIN, where she placed fifth (38-1 ¼). Her outdoor best is 38-10 ½. Unachukwu, a junior, is seeded sixth.