Top 10 Moments of 2016 - Numbers 10 & 9

Top Ten Moments 2016

Jul 12, 2016

No. 10 - Dream Team Drops DMR National Record

By the time New Balance Indoor Nationals rolled around, North Rockland was a known quality. They had all the pieces for a masterful showing. But while the culminating moment may be the highlight of this list, the journey is half the story.

The story begins in cross country, where a team who had taken 5th at Sectionals the year before was steadily on the rise. Sure, they had breakout stars on the track, Alex Harris and Katelyn Tuohy, but suddenly their next three were taking a step up as well. The distance crew rolled through the season, garnering enough attention for an At-Large bid to NXN, where they would go on to take 10th overall.

But despite the name of the DMR, distance runners are only half the equation. For many programs, when a certain discipline finds exemplary success, it can sometimes become the sole focus. For North Rockland, under head XC and Indoor coach Brian Diglio, it was only one part of the puzzle.

So yes, the distance runners during the Indoor Season performed as expected. Harris and Tuohy both were runner up at the Indoor State Meet, in the most competitive state in the nation for Indoor Track. But they weren't alone. North Rockland found more than competent sprinters to round our their team, including Camille Cameron, the Dwyer sisters, Emmanuella Lauredent, and Nicole Dodrill, among others. The full squad rolled over the competition at Sectionals, and set themselves up nicely for the post-season.

With all the right pieces, both a mixture of speed and strength, the Distance Medley Relay was the perfect fit for the burgeoning team. Comprised of the 1200m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m (in that order), North Rockland had a perfect fit for each leg. Led off by Alex Harris in 3:28.51, North Rockland would never again see the back of another teams jersey. But despite leading off each leg of the relay, the danger was not over heading into the exchange. While Katelyn Tuohy was a competent open miler in her own right, she was holding off Kate Murphy of VA, who would go on to run 4:07.2 in the 1500m later that spring.

The laps ticked away, and Tuohy held strong. Murphy was no doubt closing, coming at Tuohy two and a half seconds faster a lap than the leader. But for front running Tuohy, there was no sign of the competition. The test came in the pacing, nobody to run with. She knew the competition was closing, but that she needed to save something for a possible kick. Ticking away the laps, Tuohy crossed the line with one final surge, grabbing the National Record by almost a full second. The culmination of the Dream Team's season is our Moment Number 10.

North Rockland would go on to win the title again Outdoors, NY #2 All-Time.