Ernst Opens With A 1:50.95 At Dogwood Classic !


         


Dogwood Track Classic (Charlottesville, VA) 

Making the long journey down to his future home, AJ Ernst of Marblehead went down to Charlottesville,VA and toed the line with some of the nations finest runners over 800m. It was definitely a race that did not disappoint, as we saw the Top 3 finishers go US#1 1:48.58, US#2 1:48.64, and US#3 1:48.67. Despite being slightly over that trio, AJ Ernst still turned in a sensational performance and closed extremely well over the last 150m to run US#10 / MA#1 time of 1:50.95. Not only was that an incredible PR for Ernst, but we believe it moves him up to #9 All-Time on the MA Outdoor list. 

Given the number of weeks still left in the high school season, we could see Ernst make a very good run at Darren Dinneen's state record time of 1:49.00 set in 1996. 

We caught up with Andrew Ernst today and got his take on this weekends big race: 

"Before the race I was hoping to hang on for dear life in the first 600m, and then hoping to slingshot and maybe pick off the leaders. After I was ecstatic with a big PR. My goal going into this race was to run under 1:52, but now I feel like the state record is within reach. The Dogwood Classic was really a great experience. I don't know if there'll be too many more 800s like this year." 
-AJ Ernst post 1:50.95 at the Dogwood Classic in Virginia 

Boys 800m [Outdoors] All-Time -- Massachusetts
1:49.0      Darren Dinneen, Phillips Academy, Andover             1996
1:49.55     Jon Mann, Wayland                                     1983
1:49.68     Garrett O'Toole, Middlesex School, Concord            2014
1:50.2      Paul Neves, Brockton                                  1980
1:50.46     Said Ahmed, Boston English, Jamaica Plain             2001
1:50.5+     Billy Martin, Catholic Memorial, West Roxbury         1975  [1:51.1y]
1:50.79     Victor Gras', Belmont                                 2004
1:50.9+     Bill Spierdowis, Foxboro                              1998
1:50.95     Andrew Ernst, Marblehead                              2016
1:51.40     P.J. Garmon , Billerica                               2015
1:51.54     Joe Luongo, St John's Prep                            2015
1:51.58     Abdirizak Mohammed, Boston English, Jamaica Plain     1998
1:51.8#     Omar Simmons, Boston Technical                        1988
1:51.9+     Keith "Big Bird" Francis, New Bedford                 1972  [1:52.5y]
1:51.92     Russell Dinkins, Wilbraham & Monson Academy, Monson   2008
1:51.96#    Lance Campbell, Rindge & Latin, Cambridge             1997
1:51.99     Josh Lampron, Mansfield                               2012
1:52.00#    Fin Kelley, Groton-Dunstable, Groton                  1997
1:52.25     Kevin Murphy, BC High, Dorchester                     1993
1:52.3+     Mike Mahoney, Randolph                                1974  [1:52.9y]
1:52.31     Andrew Rolim, Somerville                              2013
1:52.32+    Jonathan Riley, Brookline                             1997
1:52.33     John Bauer, Concord-Carlisle, Concord                 2002
1:52.66     Nick Wade, Attleboro                                  2009
            Joel Hubbard, Marshfield                              2012
* 800 statistics above were provided by Larry Newman. Mr. Newman is one of only a handful of Track statisticians from around the country. He has been a valuable resource for Milesplitmass over the years. Without people like Larry and other diehard statisticians, our athletes would never have those records to chase. Larry's contact information is below.
 
Larry Newman

Editor/Publisher

New England Track

Athletics Press & Public Relations

978-821-9800 -cell

978-374-2626 - h/o

Netrack@aol.com


Senior New England Correspondent: T&F News, Eastern Track, FAST, ATFS, NUTS.

Chief Announcer: IC4A/ECAC Championships, New England's, Jay Carisella Invitational, Joe Donahue Games, Providence Friar Invitational...and more