Ian Moore, in only his second 800 as a collegian, won his first conference title.
Moore, a Monmouth freshman from Rancocas Valley, won a strategic 800 final Sunday at the Armory in 1:54.96, finishing at the front of a mass finish with teammate Louis DiLaurenzio, the defending champ, second in 1:54.99, Rider sophomore Donny Vineyard from Egg Harbor Township third in 1:55.04 and two more Rider half-milers — Mike Mazzei and Kevin Heredia — next in 1:55.46 and 1:55.94.
So the first three finished in the span of less than 1-10th of a second, and the first five in less than a second.
Moore has run a lot faster — he ran 1:52.76 last weekend at Ocean Breeze — but conference championships are often strategic races that come down to who has the best kick on the final straight.
The top five finishers all ran right around 28.7 for the final lap.
Another Monmouth freshman from R.V., Micah Wood, who ran 1:53.46 last weekend, took the pack through the 400 in 57.1 and was in fourth with less than a lap to go before finishing seventh in 1:56.51.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 