The day after the Penn Relays, Sam Affolder got a text from fellow Pennsylvania resident Dalton Hengst. Hengst, a junior at the McDonogh School in Maryland, asked Affolder what he'd be racing at his home invitational on Saturday.
So the wheels were set in motion for Affolder to race his friend Hengst in a fresh 1600 meters at Stan Morgan.
The highly anticipated race lived up to its billing. The two worked together for the first three-quarters of the race before it was every man for himself coming down the final straight. Hengst swung wide and took the win in a close race to the line, winning in a US#4 time of 4:08.04. Affolder took second in a US#5 and PA#1 4:08.67.
The race also saw Cedar Crest's Jesse Cruise run 4:17.91 and Mechanicsburg's Morgan Cupp and Cumberland Valley's Josh Higgins also dip under 4:25.
Watch the race above and check out an interview with Affolder and Hengst, along with other meet links below:
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | WIND | H# | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dalton Hengst | 11 | McDonogh School | 4:08.04 | 3 | |
| 2 | Sam Affolder | 10 | Carlisle | 4:08.67 | 3 | |
| 3 | Jesse Cruise | 12 | Cedar Crest | 4:17.91 | 3 | |
| 4 | Morgan Cupp | 11 | Mechanicsburg Area High School | 4:23.65 | 3 | |
| 5 | Josh Higgins | 12 | Cumberland Valley | 4:24.96 | 3 | |
| 6 | Jack Wisner | 10 | Carlisle | 4:26.72 | 3 | |
| 7 | Alex Tomasko | 12 | Mechanicsburg Area High School | 4:26.80 | 3 | |
| 8 | Andrew Brown | 11 | Cumberland Valley | 4:27.59 | 3 | |
| 9 | John David Lane | 11 | West Perry | 4:27.93 | 3 | |
| 10 | Andrew Sulon | 12 | Mechanicsburg Area High School | 4:28.00 | 3 |