The 300 (yards or meters) hasn't been on the program of the USA Indoor National Championships since 1932, but it's back (as 300 meters) on the slate of the 2015 Indoor Nationals coming up Feb. 28 and March 1 in Boston.

The listed qualifying time is 33.49 and Queens resident Lalonde Gordon easily ducked under that Saturday with his meet record-breaking 32.64 triumph in the men's 300-meter Elite/Pro race that was one of many added features to the two-day and 20th annual New Balance Games at the Amory Track Center.

But it won't help him at all.

Not one bit, since he runs for Trinidad and Tobago and Indoor Nationals is limited to USA-eligible athletes.

Looking ahead to the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, that 32.64 sizzler won't aid his ambitions, either.  Indoor Worlds has a 60 and a 400, nothing in between.

The IAAF, as well, doesn't give him much encouragement over that 300-meter distance. It has no listings for that lap-and-a-half route (on a standard indoor 200-meter track), either.

Only USA Track and Field's own stats give a clue to the quality of that 32.64.  It was just 76/100ths off the listed American all-comers record for the 300, the 31.88 notched by Wallace Spearmon in 2006.

Obviously, the 26-year-old Gordon, who represents Nike and has run many blazing races for the Jersey City-based Zenith Velocity club, is in prime shape. 

Obviously, too, it's time he commanded attention. Especially in New York, where he's been a resident since age 7. But so far, he's had little luck.

When he won two bronze medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games – in the individual 400 meters and as a key member of the T&T 4x400 relay team – he joshed that "when (Olympic 400-meter champion) Kirani James got back to Grenada they'll have a big parade and the whole island will be out to greet him" but when he got back to Queens "no one on my block will even know me."

Such is life and Gordon is still coping with his virtual anonymity in his backyard.

He blasted away from Zenith Velocity pals Akheem Gauntlett (the Jamaica internationalist) and Joel Redhead (like Kirani James, a Grenadian) to win it going away. Gauntlett crossed the line in 32.99, Redhead in 33.55.

Gordon set the 300-meter Armory track record at 32.47 at last years NYRR Millrose Games and will be back for the Armory Track Invitational on January 31 with the hopes of lowering that record.

The women's 300 Elite/Pro section saw Central Park Track Club/New Balance teammates Ashley Kelly and Samantha Edwards put on a similar race. Kelly, the former University of Illinois standout, got to the line in 37.71; Edwards, who runs for Antigua and Barbuda, in 37.97. A notable third was Taft Educational Campus scholastic star Arianne Strunkey, stepping into the big-leagues with a 38.60 run.

One more sizzler was the men's 600, where Zenith Velocity's Leoman Momoh, a University of Arkansas graduate who competes for Nigeria, came through in the final strides to edge Central Park's Julius Mutekanga, 1:18.28 to 1:18.33.

"Julius is a very good guy and an Olympian, but I wanted to show him what I was worth...and I did," said Momoh. "I had been working as a financial representative but I want to focus on track and field right now."

"Sure, it's hard hearing about all the troubles they're facing in Nigeria. It's all very unfortunate. I want to keep doing good things in track, and maybe help bring our country back together."

"I didn't realize he (Momoh) was that close, maybe that's why I lost it," said Mutekanga, the LIU graduate and Uganda Olympian.  A social work major, he's working in his field in Brooklyn and a regular visitor to Armory training sessions.

"Central Park Track Club has helped me out a lot, I'm very grateful. Devon (Coach Devon Martin) has helped me out big-time. Hopefully, I'll get back to the World Championships (set for Beijing in August.)"

Kimarra McDonald, a Jamaica internationalist running for Juventus Track Club, claimed the women's 600 crown in 1:29.07 over the Central Park duo of Stephanie Herrick (1:30.58) and Lorain McKenzie (1:31.46).

Back in her University of Findlay (Ohio) days, Stephanie Charnigo was a six-time NCAA Division II All-American but hardly known outside the Midwest circuit.

But look at her now - the 26-year-old New Jersey-New York Track Club member is one of the rising forces in American miling and gave her outlook a major boost with her 4:31.78 win in the women's Elite/Pro eight-lapper, outkicking training partner and steeplechase star Ashley Higginson (4:32.31), and one more 'chase ace, Stephanie Garcia, the 2011 World Championships racer (third in 4:35.24.)

"This was just like practice, with Ashley and I," said Charnigo. "We do that a lot. We're teammates and good friends, we push each other. I made my big move with 110 to go, caught Ashley, held on, and that was the race right there."

Two days a week, Charnigo works in her field of physical therapy. But then she gets back on track, with NJNYTC and coach Frank "Gags" Gagliano.

"I started off as a 400 runner at Findlay, then my coach moved me to the 800. Now Gags has bumped me up again and made me a miler.  Hopefully, it won't go any higher than that. I don't think I could handle it."

"Irish miling is definitely back," declared ultra-promising 23-year-old John Travers after his 3:59.62 win in the Elite/Pro men's mile.  "Eamonn Coghlan and Marcus O'Sullivan, they were among the greatest ever, but we have a bunch of guys coming up now and it's really looking good for us.”

"One race we're all pointing to is that 4x1600 at the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas in early May. If everybody gets in really great shape, we can make that one very interesting."

Outracing Chris Gowell, the former Baylor star from Wales (4:00.13), and a trio of Speed River Club/Canada racers, Ross Proudfoot (4:01.47), Taylor Milne (4:02.83) and Jeremy Rae (4:03.58), Travers delivered the 92nd sub-4 mile in Armory annals.

He's run 3:55 outdoors but breaking 4 inside was huge to him because it was a 2-second improvement on his indoor PR and an automatic qualifier to March's

European Championships in Prague  (where he's a 3000-meter candidate, too.).

First American over the line was former Rider University star Christian Gonzalez, running for NJNYTC, sixth in 4:05.30.

Meanwhile, the high school boys and girls who are the heart and soul of this meet, delivered some rousing performances of their own.

A topper was Mount Vernon's Rai Benjamin with his nation-leading 33.40 300-meter decision over teammate Cody Housen's 34.74.

"It's great to have so many teammates competing at a high level," said Benjamin. "We all get better that way. We keep pushing each other."

"I keep chasing Rai all the time," said Housen, smiling. "Maybe I'll catch him....sometime."

Clinching his place in the New Balance Mile at the NYRR Millrose Games on Feb. 14 was Wilton (of Connecticut) senior Spencer Brown on a 4:15.94 win with three New Yorkers going sub-4:20 behind him – Tappan Zee's Luke Gavigan (4:17.25), Saratoga Springs' Aidan Tooker (4:17.42) and East Meadow's Michael Grady (4:18.31.) Next in line were Regis's Sean Phillips (4:20.37) and Jackson Memorial's Ryan Rafferty (4:20.62), delivering quality races of their own.

"I knew Gavigan's a great closer, so I had to make my move earlier than usual," said Georgetown-bound Brown, who picked it up, and picked it up some more, and kept on rolling.

"I started off (first 400) 68ish, then finished around 58. My strategy worked perfectly."

He might have been faster: "We had a school dance Friday night, my legs were still feeling a little tired.  I'm just happy I was able to pull this one out."

A 4.11 miler outdoors, he didn't even know this was an automatic Millrose qualifier, until event coordinator Tim Fulton delivered the good news.

Pennsbury's Olivia Sargent clinched her Millrose invitation, too, with her 4:55.17 Girls mile win over Friends Academy's Paige Duca (4:58.95).

"My sister (Sarah, now a sophomore at the University of Virginia) ran at Millrose a couple of times, so I know how great a meet it is," said Sargent. "It definitely made me hungry for it, too."

The two-mile winners: Charter School's Kieran Tuntivate for the boys (9:28.11) over teammate Kevin Murray (9:31.16), and Saratoga Springs' Spencer Hayes for the girls (11:10.00).

Others boys winners: CFS's Osiris Nicholson in the 55-meter dash (6.44); Farmingdale's Michael Outing in the 55 hurdles (7.674); Lynbrook's Luke Germanakos in the 600 (1:19.82) and Clara Barton's Kareem Joseph in the 1000 (2:31.07), arriving exactly 2/100ths ahead of Shenendehowa's Collin Rowe (2:31.09).

Meanwhile, girls wins were being snared by the Medgar Evers tremendous trio of Brenessa Thompson (7.01 55 dash), Shayla Broughton (8.09 55 hurdles) and Ja'Nai Cameron (40.09 300.)  Von Grove's McKeena Keegan outran the 600 field (1:34.96) and Weston's  Jillian Howard led the 1000 pack (2:58.44.)

One-mile steeplechase crowns were snared by Trinity School's Giacamo Taylor (4:48.12) and Weequahic of Newark's Yahminah Smith (5:29.76).

"I've run the steeplechase (3K) a couple of times outdoors but never indoors," said Manhattanite Taylor. "This (indoors) is probably more fun. No water jumps, for one thing.

"The race couldn't have gone better for me," said the Johns Hopkins-bound Taylor. His eventual major: "I have no idea yet....but then again, maybe engineering."

"I led from the first couple laps on, and kept right on pushing," said Smith, who'd won the event here at the Marine Corps Classic. "We train through our hallways," she said. "Sometimes we set up a few hurdles.  But that's the best we can do.  I guess it's working."

"My goal is to go to college and continue running." Her likely destination: LIU in Brooklyn, to study animal science for a career in veterinary medicine.

Paul Robeson were the fastest in the girls 4x400 meter relay (3:51.81). Penn Wood took the win in the boys section, running 3:21.66 ahead of Paul Robeson's 3:21.94 effort. The fastest split, however, went to of Amsterdam's Izaiah Brown, who anchored his team with an in amazing 46.49 clocking.

Only the girls get to show their race walking skills in New York state federation meets, and tops in the 1500-meter heel-and-toe event was Colonie's Meghan Podloski in a quick 6:47.24.

Moving over to the field events, boys winners were Thomas Jefferson high jumper Collis Cameron (6-4); Nansemond River long jumper Kadeem Middleton (22 feet even); Amsterdam triple jumper Omahri Sturdivant (46-4); Saratoga Springs pole vaulter Thomas Conboy (13-0); Chapel Field shot putter Robert Detz (57-6 3/4), and Barrington weight thrower Adam Kelly (with a huge 82-5 toss.)

Taking girls field titles were Weston high jumper Samantha Thompson (5-4); Middletown pole vaulter Ashley Bailey (11-6);  Nansemond River long jumper Kara Lyles (18-7); Freehold Township triple jumper Dominique Panton (40-4);  Westwood shot putter Jessica Molina (46-11 1/4), and North Shore weight thrower Monae Cooper (49-7 1/2) with Molina second.

When all was said and done over the two-day non-stop program, it was Farmingdale (38 points) over Saratoga Springs (24 1/3) and Mount Vernon (23) in the boys scoring race, and New Rochelle edging Pennsbury, 43-42, with Benjamin Cardozo (37) third in the girls team battle.

There was honor it for many-many - 98 schools broke into the boys scoring column and 89 girls team had scorers.

By Elliot Denman // Photos by John Nepolitan