* Recent Marianapolis Prepatory graduate Sydney Masciarelli traverses a water barrier in the 2K steeple
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Sydney Masciarelli had done many things over her high school cross country and track and field career prior to the New York Showcase this weekend in Accord, New York.
She won a Foot Locker National Championship in 2018. She secured two national outdoor track and field titles in 2019 in the 2-mile and 5K.
And in 2020, she even broke a World Record for fastest woman dribbling a basketball over the mile distance -- before that attempt was broken a few months later.
And yet, even after she graduated from Marianapolis Prepatory School, she wasn't finished.
On Saturday, the 18-year-old Masciarelli clocked a high school national record in the 2K steeplechase, producing an incredible time of 6:25.35, which currently ranks No. 15 in the world and is the top U20 performance of the year thus far.
Few had expected that kind of performance, if only because it was her first attempt at the event.
But she covered the hurdles confidently and ran the distance with ease. She was 39 seconds ahead of Cicero-North Syracuse's (NY) Kate Putnam, who clocked a second-place performance of 7:04.34.
Interestingly enough, the effort surpassed Masciarelli's future-teammate at the University of North Carolina. FDR (NY) graduate Sarah Trainor had last set the mark in 2019 at the Race at the Oval Office in 6:29.08.
Only four girls in high school history have now broken 6:30 for the 2K distance. Three of the top six performances in event came at either World or national competitions.
The last two -- both being national records -- were recorded in relative anonymity.
But Masciarelli makes for an interesting case study. The 5-foot-11 distance runner has a background in basketball.
That pure athleticism likely aided in her ability to smoothly transition over the 20-hurdle race.