It has been quite an eventful extended week for freshman Kelsey Chmiel (Saratoga). It started two Thursdays ago, where Chmiel won the Loucks Games 3200m uncontested, in a new State Record. Flash forward exactly one week, this past Thursday at the Suburban Council Champs, she ran NY #3 for 3000m, taking home the title in 9:35.63. However, that wasn't even the highlight of the day. One hour later, Chmiel hit the track again, surpassing Jessica Lawson (Corning) on the leaderboards in the 1500m, winning again in 4:28.73.
Lawson wasn't going to give up the designation that easily, as 24 hours later, she retook the State Leader at her own League Championships, running 4:27.74 to win the STAC Champs.
And yet, the story doesn't end there. 24 hours after Lawson had retaken the mark, Chmiel answered back at the Eddy Games. With the 1500m up first in the schedule, the frosh hammered a 4:23.81 winning performance, to once again reclaim the State Leader. And again, just an hour later, came back and paced a 9:48.25 in the 3000m as a cool down.
The combined efforts over the past week not only make Chmiel a major threat in any championship race, it also puts her in rare company. She is now NY #5 All-Time in the 1500m, a new Saratoga School Record (nothing to scoff at). The only people to have run faster were, in order, Mary Cain, Aisling Cuffe, Courtney Chapman, and Christine Curtin. That list includes a Foot Locker Champion, a 5x Nike Cross Nationals Team Champion, a girl who went pro as a junior, and the first underclassman to ever win a Kinney National Championship. Not bad company for a freshman.
Speaking of underclassmen, the freshman record wasn't the only one under fire. Katelyn Tuohy (North Rockland) took a swipe at the 8th Grade National Record, falling just short with plenty of time left in the season. As a seventh grader, her best of 4:37.40 fell just short of the seventh grade record, although her mile time did grab Cain's 7th grade record. One year later, and Tuohy is once again on pace to grab records, as Tuohy won the Rockland County Title in 4:32.33, coming within a second of Maria Lamontagne's 8th grade State Record. With Sectionals and State Quals still on the horizon, the record is surely in jeopardy.
Full Records Below
1500 Meters
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5G: 4:52.7 Monica Scarborough (PS 5, Brooklyn) 1981
6G: 4:42.1 Desiree Black (IS 61, Staten ISland) 1981
7G: 4:35.00 Monica Ruiz (JHS 204, Queens) 1985
8G: 4:37.78 Shola Lynch (Hunter College JHS, Manhattan) 1983
4:32.51 Nicole Blood (Saratoga) 2002 (Jun 15, AOC Nat, NC State Univ)
(official clocking enroute to longer distance)
4:31.67 Maria Lamontagne (Cicero-N Syracuse) 2010 ** (Jun 12, NY States, Vestal)
Fr: 4:27.59 Shola Lynch (Hunter College HS, Manhattan) 1984
4:23.1 Mary Cain (Bronxville) 2011 (May 7, Somers Lion Inv, Somers)
4:17.84 Mary Cain (Bronxville) 2011 ** (June 11, NY States, Cal-Mumford)
So: 4:23.2 Christine Curtin (Mepham, Bellmore) 1982 (Jun 12, Kinney Inv, Berkeley,CA)
(official clocking enroute to longer distance)
4:17.1 Mary Cain (Bronxville) 2012 (May 5, Somers Lion Club Invite)
4:16.52 Mary Cain (Bronxville) 2012 (June 1, Sec 1 St Qual, White Plains)
4:14.74 Mary Cain (Bronxville) 2012 (June 17, USA Jr Champ, Indiana Univ)
4:11.01 Mary Cain (Bronxville) 2012 ** (July 15, World Jr Champ, Barcelona, Spain)
Jr: 4:24.7 Christine Curtin (Mepham, Bellmore) 1983
(official clocking enroute to longer distance)
4:10.77 Mary Cain (Bronxville-Unattached) 2013 (April 26, Drake Relays)
4:04.62 Mary Cain (Bronxville-Unattached) 2013 ** (May 17, Oxy High Perform, Los Angeles, CA)
Sr: 4:23.92 Kathy Franey (Massapequa) 1985
4:19.83 Aisling Cuffe (Cornwall) 2011 ** (June 11, NY States, Cal-Mumford)