State Champions! (It's What They Do)

by Dayton Flannery

Cornell University, Saturday, March 7th:

“There you go, there you go! Good, good! Don’t forget to smile. Smile!” If you stick around the track until about 3:15, you might be lucky enough to watch the Bronxville Girls Track Team practice. And if you listen to Coach Jim Mitchell well enough, you will be able to hear those words. Practicing with these girls is no joke, I know from experience. The Girls Track Team practices almost all year round. Most of them race all three seasons. With this kind of dedication and hard work there has to be some solid goal they are working for.

Among the countless state titles Mitchell has collected, not a single one of them has been an Indoor 4x800m relay title. This year, especially with three seniors on the team, Mitchell wanted it most of all. At the State Qualifying Meet on the Indoor Track at West Point, Olivia Bruton, Tori Flannery, Henrietta Miers, and Caitlin Hudson accomplished the first step to achieving that goal, trouncing the competition with a time of 9:28.39. The second place North Rockland team crossed the line 14 seconds later. Though the race defined the word dominance, the girls ran about 9 seconds slower than their seed time. The next stop after West Point was Barton Hall at Cornell University for the State Championship Meet.

Squeezed into the indoor track facility on the Cornell campus were hundreds of spectators and athletes ready to watch one of the most exciting meets of the year. Even some of Bronxville High School’s own graduates came to watch in hopes of seeing their home town add to their glory. With so many people watching, it must have nerve wracking, but with Chris Murray and Alex Tarantino there, the girls knew they had to put on a show. Running after some great events like the 3000m run and the 1500m run would be hard, but I promise that these girls did not disappoint.

The 4x800m relay is perhaps one of the most exciting races of a meet. An 800 is not quite a sprint but by no means long distance. It’s just fast enough to have a really exciting race, especially at States. With a stacked race including Fayetteville Manlius, Shenendehowa, Cornwall, Garden City, and of course Bronxville, I had no doubts this relay would be exciting. As the gun went off and Bronxville’s first leg, Henrietta Miers, took off it was clear that it wasn’t going to be an easy victory. Henrietta was boxed out and started off in about 9th place. But as one of the fastest legs on the relay, Henrietta picked herself up and made Bronxville a contender for the title. Bringing the team into second place before the first 800 meter leg was up, Henrietta found herself battling with the 1000m state champion Emily Menges of Garden City H.S. Finally handing off the baton in the lead to Tori Flannery completed Miers’ part but there was still 2400m to go.

Midway through Tori’s leg, she was passed by Garden City but as she later said, “I knew when she passed me that there was no way I would let her beat me.” After that thought, Tori took off and again Bronxville handed off the baton in first. This time it was to Olivia Bruton. With Mitchell and Coach Ed Stickles on the edge of the track calling splits and advising the girls on what to do, there was no reason for them to lose. Olivia completed a fast 800 and for a third time passed Garden City to hand off the baton in first to the anchor leg, Caitlin Hudson. Without hesitation, Hudson took off knowing that the title rested in her hands. Keeping a fair distance from second place, the chances were high. “We knew with about 100m to go that we were going to win,” says Henrietta of their victory.

Without a doubt in my mind, when Caitlin Hudson began her kick I knew it was over. She came down the final stretch and finished it, with Garden city well behind. Caitlin ended the race, bettering their seed time by .2 seconds. Crossing the finish line made it official. Jim Mitchell had won his Indoor State Championship.

The smile on Mitchell’s face went literally from ear to ear. It may seem like an exaggeration, but compared to the farfetched stories he tells it is very possible. The crowd erupted in applause as Mitchell and the parents of the girls ran over to congratulate them. Being awarded their medals on the medal stand was the icing on the cake. Everyone knew they deserved the victory. To celebrate his triumph, Mitchell and friends found the nearest pizza parlor in Owego, New York where Mitch treated himself to two slices of anchovy pizza. A meal well deserved.


Girls 4x800 Meter Relay
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2 Turn Box
State Record: # 8:53.67 3/1/2001 Boys & Girls
A Vargas, K Fernandez, M Francis, S.A. Livingston
Meet Record: * 9:08.18 2003 Bay Shore
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1 Bronxville: Seed: 9:19.46 Finals: 9:19.20
1) 155 Tori Flannery 12
2) 156 Caitlin Hudson 12
3) 154 Olivia Burton 12
4) 157 Henrietta Miers 11

Full Results Here: http://ny.milesplit.us/meets/44505/results/85102