Nick Steele (right) races in a previous meet. (Photo by Sam Jackson)
Bromfield junior Nick Steele added two more first-place finishes to his list of 2015 accomplishments last week, setting a meet record in the 2,000-meter steeplechase at the Irv Black High School Invitational in New Britain, Connecticut, on Friday, May 8, and taking first place in its 1,600-meter event, commonly referred to as the metric mile, the following day.
Steele’s steeplechase time of 6 minutes 8.03 seconds was approximately 3 seconds faster than the event’s previous record of 6:11.12. Steele’s time gave him a meet record, and moreover, according to DyeStat.com, his performance was the third fastest this year in the United States, just 8 seconds behind the leading time. Steele won the “metric mile” with a time of 4:15.87.
The annual Irv Black High School Invitational is a multiday meet that offers a number of nonstandard events. According to the event’s website, the meet is named in honor of Irv Black, the former meet director and head coach at New Britain High School, who created the event in the 1970s. Today the competition draws teams from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. Steele was Bromfield’s only entry this year.
The steeplechase is a track and field event in which athletes must jump over barriers that are similar in height to hurdles, some of which are followed by water pits. Steeplechase is not typically offered at the high school level and is not included in MIAA league or championship meets. However, many invitationals like the Irv Black offer the steeplechase and other nonstandard events to let high school athletes test their skills in less common formats.
