Photos by Q PHOTO NYC
Rarely in this city can any one person claim to be 'the best' at anything.
In a city this big, there's always someone, somewhere, taking it one step farther, doing whatever it is just a little better, a little quicker.
Nonetheless, over 5,000 New York City high-schoolers gathered at the Armory Track and Field in Washington Heights on Saturday for a track meet that aims to determine just that: who's the very best.
The meet was part of the Mayor's "Best in the City" events, and it was the first year that the indoor meet was marked on the Mayor's list.
The meet has been held for years before it made the Mayor's list, and it has always been a significant race for high-schoolers around the city. It is one of the only meets where public, Catholic, and independent schools all compete together.
Hence, its claim to fame: since the meet includes all types of schools, athletes can presumably claim to be "the best" if they win.
"They look forward to it," said Mike Hopper, Vice President of Sports Marketing for NYC and Company, the marketing and tourism organization for the City of New York. "They put out the bragging rights because they want to be able to say they're the best in the city."
Before the meet, high school track coaches must submit their athletes' 'seed times,' meaning the athlete's best time in a race so far, usually for that track season.
Only the top times qualify.
This is one reason why being 'the best' may be a malleable accomplishment. The meet happens near the beginning of the season, when most runners have yet to reach their peak. Some runners improve only a little from beginning to end. Others improve significantly. Those who finished first at the start of the season won't necessarily finish first by the end.
While the meet doesn't include every single high school in New York City, it does have every major high school with a track team, including teams from as far away as Staten Island and as close by as George Washington High School.
According to Hopper, another draw of the meet is its location at the world-class track in the Armory.
"High school kids get to compete at the same track as Olympians," said Hopper.
The track itself is known for being a 'fast' track and many records have been set there.
But for some high school runners, being 'the best' or the fastest is not necessarily the reason for competing.
Elster Aguilera from Christ the King High School in Queens is a junior and has competed at this meet all three years. While his team wasn't the top track and field program at the event, he said that they did better than they expected.
Elster competes in the 55m dash, the 200m dash, the 300m dash, and the 4 by 200m relay. His 4 by 200m relay team had never run together before, but according to Elster, they did well.
"We have to win as a team," said Elster. "It's not individual."
