Villanova Signee Ben Malone Wins Millrose Trials Mile

Villanova signee Ben Malone was the highest seed in the boys' mile today at the Millrose Games Trials held at the Armory. The form chart held true as Malone won the event, thereby qualifying for the Millrose Games scheduled for February 16th. Here are the combined results of the mile heats:

Boys 1 Mile Run Invitational
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    Name                    Year School                  Finals  Points
=======================================================================
  1 Malone, Benjamin             Pascack Valley         4:17.96  
  2 Navin, Jay                   Saratoga               4:18.49  
  3 Moran, Kris                  No. Babylon            4:18.78  
  4 Harriman, Connor             Pennsbury              4:20.32  
  5 Shine, Stephen               Briarcliff             4:21.87  
  6 Swift, Cameron               Oxford                 4:22.24  
  7 Tobias, Louis                Cromwell               4:22.56  
  8 Gavigan, Luke                Tappan Zee             4:23.38  
  9 McGann, Ryan                 St. Peter's N.J.       4:23.91  
 10 Ball, Ronaldo                Curtis                 4:24.04  
 11 Muniz, Benito                Carmel                 4:24.53  
 12 Burke, James                 Port Jefferson         4:24.67  
 13 Flannery, John               Bronxville             4:25.27  
 14 Cooney, Ryan                 Massapequa             4:25.51  
 15 Quinones, Evan               Saratoga               4:27.24  
 16 Baig, Saad                   Curtis                 4:28.23  
 17 Devenezia, Ben               Mountain Lakes         4:29.06  
 18 Hirdt, Nick                  Miller Place           4:33.51  
 19 Hogarty, Tom                 St. Joe's (N.J.)       4:35.47  
 20 Cullinane, Seamus            Winnacunnet            4:37.07  

Here's how the folks at Mile Split described the race:

Ben Malone not only wanted to make the Millrose Games mile but do something special when he gets there.

Malone, who set the high school track world aflame last year when he dipped under 1:50 indoors and won the New Balance Indoor Nationals 800, said he'd like to break the long-standing Millrose Games high school mile record. Kevin Byrne of Paramus Catholic (N.J.) ran 4:08.0 in 1977 and nobody has run faster since.

On Wednesday, Malone of Pascack Valley, N.J., kicked to the lead with 200 left and sped away to win in 4:17.89.

"I'm good friends with Kevin Byrne and friends with his son. (Kevin) ran against my dad," Malone said.

That personal connection to the record-holder could serve as motivation over the next month.

Is he ready to chase after the 36-year-old mark?

"Right now, no," Malone said.

The Villanova recruit didn't turn out for cross country last fall, but he said he is hoping to run faster than ever this winter.

"I had a lot of illness and injuries in the fall," Malone said. "I took some time off but now I'm hopefully ready to have the biggest season of my life."

It was the third appearance of the season for Malone at the Armory. He competed with his teammates on a sprint medley relay at the Hispanic Games and then ran a somewhat relaxed 400 meters on Sunday in New Jersey's Big North Championships.

He was gearing up for his Millrose qualifier.

"I didn't know what to think when Millrose left the (Madison Square) Garden, but now I think that moving it here is making it better than ever," Malone said. "I definitely wanted to run Millrose so that I could be a part of it."

Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) junior Jay Navin charged past North Babylon's Kris Moran to take the second automatic qualifying berth, clocking 4:18.49.