PSAL Distance Event Trends

As the PSAL season moves indoors for the winter, we decided to try to provide some coverage. We’ll see how it goes.

As we began, we decided to give a look over the distance events for the last 10 years of PSAL Championships and see which boroughs and/or schools tend to do well in each distance event.

We analyzed how many different runners each school had medal at City Championships since 2015. We think that’s a better sign of dominance than how many total medals, since one runner could win a medal 3 or 4 seasons in a row.

Boys 600m

The event has been dominated by Brooklyn and Queens since 2015. Ten different Brooklyn schools and eight different Queens schools have had a boy medal in the 600 over the last ten years. However, Susan Wagner has had six different runners medal, with Brooklyn Tech being the closest to them with four.

The following schools have had at least two different runners medal in the boys 600m since 2015: Metropolitan Campus, Medgar Evers, Benjamin Banneker, Thomas Jefferson, Erasmus Hall, Paul Robeson, Boys and Girls, Beacon, Bronx Science, Harry Truman, and DeWitt Clinton.

Boys 1000m

Nine different Brooklyn schools have had a boy medal in the 1000m run; 21 different runners from Brooklyn alone have medaled. Staten Island is second with 12 different runners. Brooklyn Tech leads all schools with nine different boys winning a medal in this event. Susan Wagner is 2^nd with six.

Other schools with multiple medalists in the 1000m are Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Banneker, Midwood, Bronx Science, Townsend Harris, MSIT, and Beacon.

Boys 1600m

Seven different Manhattan schools have had boys medal in the 1600m. Stuyvesant and Hunter lead the way with three apiece. However, Susan Wagner (8) and Brooklyn Tech (6) again top the list with number of different boys who have medaled. Bronx Science also boasts six.

Other schools with multiple runners who have medaled are Midwood, MSIT, Francis Lewis, and HS for Construction.

Boys 3200

Brooklyn (13 different runners) and Manhattan (5 different schools) lead the way in this event. Unsurprisingly, Brooklyn Tech (7) and Bronx Science (6) have the most different runners who have medaled.

Other schools with multiple runners to have medaled are Susan Wagner, LaGuardia, Beacon, Hunter, Stuyvesant, John Jay Campus, Midwood, Curtis, and MSIT.

Boys 4x800 Relay

Again, it’s no surprise that the larger schools lead the way here. Both Brooklyn Tech and Bronx Science have had years where they’ve placed multiple relays in the top six at Cities. MSIT has finished in the top six eight different times and Susan Wagner has six medal winning relays.

Other schools with at least three different medal-winning relays are: Thomas Jefferson, Midwood, Townsend Harris, Stuyvesant, Beacon and Hunter.

Girls 600m

Brooklyn absolutely dominates this event. Twelve different schools have had an athlete medal at Cities in the 600m. DeWitt Clinton has had six different athletes finish in the top six and Benjamin Cardozo has had five.

Other schools with multiple different runners to medal are: Susan Wagner, Hunter, Young Women’s Leadership, Paul Robeson, and Medgar Evers.

Girls 1000m

Brooklyn has had the most athletes (14) and schools (6) win medals in the 1000m run. This is a pretty even event. The leading schools are Brooklyn Tech (5), Bronx Science (4), and MSIT (4).

Other schools with multiple different runners to medal are: Benjamin Cardozo, Francis Lewis, Midwood, Paul Robeson, Medgar Evers, Benjamin Banneker, DeWitt Clinton, CSIHS/McCown, Susan Wagner, and Hunter.

Girls 1500

Manhattan (6 schools, 12 athletes) leads the way, followed closely by Brooklyn and Staten Island (both 5 schools and 9 athletes). Brooklyn Tech and Benjamin Cardozo each have five different runners who have medaled.

Other schools with multiple different runners to medal are: DeWitt Clinton, Bronx Science, LaGuardia, Stuyvesant, Hunter, Tottenville, MSIT and CSIHS/McCown.

Girls 3000m

If you follow cross country it should come as no surprise that Manhattan dominates the longest race on the Indoor schedule. Six different schools have had 17 different athletes medal in the 3000m. Stuyvesant has had seven different athletes medal in this race since 2015. The next closest schools (Brooklyn Tech, LaGuardia, and Bronx Science) have four apiece.

Other schools with multiple different runners to medal are: Benjamin Cardozo, Hunter and Tottenville.

Girls 4x800 Relay

Brooklyn has had the most schools (6) win a medal in the relay since 2015. Brooklyn Tech has not medaled only once in that span. They had two teams medal one year, so they have an even ten teams that have medaled in ten years. The closest pursuer is Hunter with six.

Other schools with at least three different medal-winning relays are: Defending Champs James Madison, Benjamin Cardozo, MSIT, Susan Wagner, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant.

The PSAL season kicks off this weekend with the Gobbler Classic at the Armory. All of the distance races will be run except the 1500m/1600m. We assume that most of the top distance runners will not be competing as they have just finished their XC season last weekend at the Federation Meet. But I guess we’ll see.