Twin wins for Plainsmen
Jada Dennis edges her sister, Collins in 800; Shen sweeps team titles at own invitational
As the runners crossed the finish line, the only certainty was that one of Shenendehowa’s Dennis twins had crossed the line in first place with a narrow win in the 800 meters over hard-charging Quinn Collins of Greenwich.
Outside of any on-looking family members and those paying attention to the lane assignments during the pre-race introductions, very few in the crowd at Friday’s Shenendehowa Invitational knew for sure that it was Jada Dennis who’d finished with a winning time of 2:19.29, just ahead of Collins (2:19.33) with Jada’s identical twin Jade running third in 2:20.49.
The Dennis twins dictated the early pace of the race before Collins made a late bid in the closing 100 meters before Jada Dennis found an extra gear near the finish to hold on for the win.
“I knew my sister would be behind me so we could work together and push each other,” Jada Dennis said. “Around the last 100 meters, she (Collins) started to push. I could feel some steps on me so I decided to go. I got so competitive and got anxious. I really tried to close it and deliver.”
The Dennis twins describe themselves as very close and are similarly talented runners on the track.
“I love running with my sister, it is so much fun,” Jada Dennis said. “It’s not really a one-on-one, it’s us together, we’re always together, us versus everybody else.”
While preferring a win, Jade Dennis was pleased that Jada crossed the line first.
“I love my sister so much, she motivates me to be the best I can be,” Jade Dennis said. “I’m so proud of her. She’s a great competitor. I’m happy that she’s able to push me and pace me throughout the race.”
Running in Lane 1 of the boys’ 800, Schenectady High senior Maazin Ahmed got pushed off the track going around the opening turn in a battle for position before race officials called for the race to be restarted.
“I’m not a very aggressive person, have never been and probably never will be,” Ahmed said. “Then, they just pushed me off (the track). I didn’t really like that, it made me mad.”
Once the starter’s gun went off the second time, Ahmed made sure to claim his space heading into the first turn, taking an early lead and never looking back, finishing with a time of 1:56.85.
The usually mild-mannered Ahmed carried a determined look on his face for the entire race.
“I was definitely going to push the pace,” Ahmed said. “I wasn’t happy with the first start, I wasn’t happy with the way they were trying to race me like that and I didn’t want to give the race to anyone else.”
Ahmed wasn’t sure which competitor bumped him off the line but it enhanced his focus once the race began.
“I had to. I wasn’t going to get pushed around just to come back and lose,” Ahmed said.
Wins in the long jump and triple jump by Alexandra Tudor led Shen to the team title in the girls’ division, and field event wins by Casey Gribben (pole vault), Jonathan Ray (high jump) and Jacob Pishkula in the long jump helped Shen win the boys’ crown.