Inside the 2019 Mayor’s Cup Track-and-Field Championships

On April 13, hundreds of high-school students competed at the 2019 Mayor’s Cup at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island for the title of best in the city.

Rachel Richards, Junior, East Harlem Pride, Triple Jump Photo: Kyle Dorosz

You’re just about to compete?
Yes, the triple jump, which I won sixth place in at the Junior Olympics last year. I get nervous with other events, but this one’s peaceful for me.

Let’s talk about the competition.
These girls from Clinton High School in the Bronx, they’re really muscular and really tall. I used to train with them, but then I switched schools. So there’s a little tension. The boys on our team have some tension with Stuyvesant. And then there are these two Briannas. They’re from the Bronx too, and they’re really intimidating.

Are there any boy versions of the Briannas?
Oh, not really. The girls are more competitive. In my opinion.

Ava Hosking, Freshman, Millennium High School, 4x100- and 4x400-Meter Relays Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Israel Abanikanda, Junior, Abraham Lincoln High School, 100-Meter Dash Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Shane Cruz, Sophomore, La Salle Academy, 4x800-Meter Relay Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Dale Dolan-Zalaznick, Junior, the Dalton School, High Jump Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Maria Flores, Freshman, the Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria, 4x100-Meter Relay Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Julian Rivera-Williams, Sophomore, Trinity School, 4x800-Meter Relay Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Natalie Weiner, Freshman, the Brearley School, 4x800-Meter Relay Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Are you chummy with the other runners?
Right before the 4x8 relay went off, this girl put her hand out for a high five. I didn’t notice. Her arm was just hanging there.

Shanya Mohamed, Sophomore, High School for Construction Trades, Engineering, and Architecture, 4x100-Meter Relay Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Jakob Morrissey, Senior, Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy, Discus Photo: Kyle Dorosz

What’s your pump-up music?
Um … Nordic music. Or more specifically, Viking music. I’m Irish, so I feel like there’s a sort of ancestral connection.

Shawnakay Peart, Senior, Paul Robeson Campus High School, 100- and 400-Meter Dash Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Isaac Stamper, Senior, Brooklyn Technical High School, 800-Meter Run Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Dhiren Dhamecha, Senior, Forest Hills High School, 3,000-Meter Steeplechase Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Chioma Gregoire, Eighth Grade, the Chapin School, 100-Meter Dash Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Do you watch the other runners?
Actually, yes, I watched the 4x100 relays with my coach. We chatted about what they did wrong. Like their handoffs: really bad.

Joanna Nieh, Junior, the Beacon School, 800-Meter Wheelchair Race Photo: Kyle Dorosz

Clyde Dwyer, Sophomore, Bard High School Early College Manhattan, 4x100-Meter Relay Photo: Kyle Dorosz

How’d you do today?
To be perfectly honest? I’m a terrible runner. I showed up two minutes before my event started with a piece of pizza in a paper towel.