By Elliot Denman // Photo by John Nepolitan

The parades are over. No more proclamations, for a while. No invitations to the White House, for a bit (and the incoming occupant seems to have a lot of other things on his plate right now.)

So it's back to business for the universally-saluted Sydney McLaughlin.

The glory of her record-smashing junior season and the run to Rio are behind her now.  The Union Catholic Regional High School sensation is ready to settle down to the role of enjoying her final season of scholastic competition and the familiar challenge of competing against her contemporaries.

She's already made one huge decision -- choosing the University of Kentucky as her undergraduate destination.

And that followed an even bigger one -- telling the corporate contract-wavers, who are surely out there, that she's not really ready to go pro, meaning that she wants to be "a normal high school kid" and, at this juncture of her life, doing "normal" high school things.

Like being a "regular  kid" on the Union Catholic track team.

That said, McLaughlin made a powerful statement in her first visit to the New Balance Track and Field Center this winter, for Saturday's A&T Hall of Fame Coaches Invitational.

The long jump -- staged in the infield while the action circles around her on the world-famous Armory track -- is an often overlooked facet of these all-day competitions. And so you had to be as quick in your spectating schedule as McLaughlin was quick in her record-smashing intermediate hurdles, solo and relay assignments through her brilliant and global 2016 campaign.

But if you were alert to all this you would have seen Sydney -- no, she wasn't named for the host city of the 2000 Olympic Games, she'll always tell you -- take three jaunts down the long jump runway and emerge with a brilliant win at 20 feet, 7 1/4 inches (after going identically 19-10 1/2 in the first and second rounds.)

She'd never really been known for her talents in this field event but here she was popping a performance that had some knowledgeable folks in the audience saying "hey, if she'd ever focus on the long jump, she'd be right up there on the charts with Carol Lewis and Keturah Orji."

Willingboro's Lewis, another member of a New Jersey royal track family, had LJ bests of 21-7 3/4 outdoors in 1980 and 21-7 1/2 indoors in 1981.  Mount Olive's Orji might have approached those marks if she hadn't also concentrated on the triple jump, a great decision backed up by her historic/sensational TJ fourth place at the Rio Games.

Will we see more of Sydney McLaughlin in the LJ this senior season?  Well, that's one we'll have to wait on but the thing that's perfectly clear is that she's absolutely primed to close out high school career in blazes of new glory. Did we mention that this was a meet record, too? Of course, it was -- and by far.  Asia Young of Holy Spirit had held it with her 18-1 here last year.   

Speaking of glory, there was plenty more of it to share in this biggest Armory event of the still-so-very-early phase of the season.

Rahway's Jordan West, another sterling senior performer out of New Jersey's Union County, grabbed a double share of it with two mighty performances in the throwing circle. The weight throw isn't yet an official event on the NJSIAA championship schedule but West continues mastering it and "bombed one out" to 59-8 1/2 to win easily. Then, when he reached 61-0 3/4 to win the shot put, he had himself one heck of a daily double.

Meanwhile, back on the track, the array of New Jersey stars continued at the Armory with two big-wins by Cory Poole of East Orange Campus High. Which was more impressive, his blazing 1:04.75 win in the 500 meters, or his 7.32 victory in the 55 high hurdles (following a 7.33 qualifying heat), both meet record-breakers? Tough call, obviously.

We now know where we'll see Josh Hoey on the 11th of February, 2017. It's the NYRR Millrose Games at the Armory, of course, and his 4:17.63 win in the boys invitation mile, punctuated by a 28.63 last lap that separated him from the field, served as his admission ticket. With a sub-4:20 required, the Bishop Shanahan star got there easily, with Tristan Forsythe of Winchester his closest pursuer at 4:20.46.

Further invitational event records fell in girls events to John Jay's Brooke Nohilly, zipping a 1:16:13 500, and Unionville's Anna Juul (4:52.44 mile.)

Moving back to the field event zone, another early season eye-popper was Kyle Garland's 6-10 small-schools high jump triumph for Germantown Academy. Competing in the large-school category, James Mirfield's 6-7 leap for McKee Vo-Tech was impressive, too. Likewise for Alex Parks' 5-8 clearance for Palisades to top all the girls.

Fast-stepping boys small-schools relay wins went to South Shore's 4x200 team (1:30.90 after a 1:31.39 heat), Amityville (3:31.20 4x400) and Union Catholic (8:11.83 4x800.)

Girls small-school baton titlists were and Paul Robeson's 1:44.31 4x200 team, and two Tatnall units in the 4x400 (4:11.51) and 4x800 (9:43.35.)

Boys large-schools relay wins were snapped up by Uniondale's 4x200 team (1:31.77), Elmont (3:28.06 4x400) and the Massapequa 4x800 team (8:32.51.)

Girls large-schools foursomes leading the way were Elmont Memorial (1:45.35 4x200), Susquehanna Township (4:05.62 4x400) and Danbury (10:07.59 4x800.)

Although they ran in separate sections of the girls small-schools 400, Lauren Morgan of Elizabeth Seton (1:00.083) and Union Catholic's Cassandra Lamadieu (1:00.05) were as close as you may ever see. Even faster, in the large-schools bracket, was Christopher Columbus's Dylann Core at 58.51. Sha Heem Hunter of Boys and Girls sped a 51.13 400 to lead the boys.  Other boys large-schools field event standouts and meet record-smashers included Union Catholic's Isaac Eason (22-2 long jump) and Danbury's Tumani Edwards (45-3 triple jump.)

Now, back to the hurdles.

The boys small school barrier event went to West Side's Isaiah Greene in 7.56, with a promising Union Catholic athlete fifth in 7.90 as the first sophomore. His name is Ryan McLaughlin and he's the kid brother of Sydney and Taylor McLaughlin (now starring at Michigan.)  So, all going well, look for that familiar name -- McLaughlin -- to be in the HS news clear through to 2019. When all was said and done, it was time to award the team championship hardware.

It was New Rochelle (73 points) and Susquehanna Township (45) 1-2 in girls large-school scoring, and Elizabeth Seton (79 1/4) over Tatnall (57) in the small-schools division.

On the boys side, East Orange Campus nosed out Uniondale, 48-47, for the large-schools crown, and Union Catholic edging Rahway, 55-51, for the small-schools trophy.

Next big meets on the busy-busy Armory slate are the New Jersey Spiked Shoe Holiday Festival (Monday,Dec. 19), the PSAL Holiday Classic (Tuesday, Dec. 27) and the Marine Corps Holiday Classic (Thursday, Dec. 29.)

Check out the AT&T Hall of Fame Invitational meet page for full results, videos, photos and news HERE.