By Christopher Hunt
Cardozo’s Chamique Francis, Alexis Mapson, Tessa West and Ahytyana Johnson sat around waiting to run the 4x400 relay. They could have just as easily been taking a couple minutes to relax before a workout at practice. They were that dominant all day long, they just add to add another race to the list.
The Judges won 7 of 10 running events to win their second straight PSAL City championship with 94 points in a week that was filled with questions and controversy but ended in a collective rout. The questions surrounded Claudia Francis, who was said to be competing in an all-star relay at the Gibson Relays in Jamaica Saturday on a team that would have included her sister Phyllis Francis of Catherine McAuley, Hempstead’s Charlene Lipsey and Dana Walsh of the Convent of the Sacred Heart. But that would have forced Claudia Francis to miss the city championships and subsequently the state meet next Saturday at Cornell.
But she was in uniform at the New Balance Track and Field Center and a double-winner. She set a personal best in winning the 600 in 1:31.80 then won the 1,500 in 4:45.44.
“I’m just pleased that Claudia was here today,” Cardozo coach Gail Emmanuel said. “My expectations were that she’d be here. She ran really well and even ran a personal best. She represented the team today and now we can move on.”
The situation certainly didn’t distract Francis. She went unchallenged in both events but hadn’t decided on which one she’s run at the state championships.
“I just wanted to qualify for states,” she said. “They’re both very different races. One is more about speed and the other is more strength. I don’t know yet.”
The team could have practically drawn straws for the MVP of the meet but Cardozo’s spectacular freshman Lateisha Philson earned the award. Philson won the 55 in 7.07 then won the 55 hurdles in 8.20 and also ran on the winning 4x200 relay.
“We have hurdlers, sprinters; we have a high jumper. We have everything,” Chamique Francis said. “All we planned to do was come out here and put our best foot forward.”
Chamique Francis won the 300 in 38.94 (38.91 in the trials); won the high jump in 5-6 and led off the winning 4x400 relay. Francis will be the favorite to win a state title since Christopher Columbus junior Whitney Fountain, the national leader, skipped the meet to compete in Gibson Relays as well.
“I’m not disappointed,” Francis said about Fountain absence. “If she was here it would have just been more competition.”
Last year Cardozo won the PSAL championships mostly on the efforts of four girls. They year 
they overwhelmed the competition in a way that didn’t leave the team exiting the building like the walking wounded.
“You still have to work for your wins,” said sophomore Ahtyana Johnson, who finished second in the 300 in 39.94 but will run only the relays at the state meet. “We knew what we had to do and came in and did it. It means a lot that we have more girls because everybody gets a chance. It takes the pressure off a little.”
Note: Medgar Evers coaches Shawn Dietz and Nicola Martial confirmed that senior Janice Jackson is no longer a member of the girls track team which is why she did not compete in the 55 hurdles Saturday. Jackson, who has the fourth-fastest time in the country this season (7.7 at the NJ Varsity Classic), has accepted a full athletic scholarship to Clemson University and is still eligible to run as an unattached athlete at either the National Scholastic Indoor Championships or the Nike Indoor Nationals.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.