By S. Quinn DeJoy and J. Murrer

Jan. 20, 2016:  The Bronxville girls' relay teams collected four medals at the Yale Track Classic this past weekend. The distance medley relay (DMR) team finished in first place in what would be described as a photo finish. Three teams, Bronxville, Shoreham-Wading River, and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, were in a virtual tie approaching the finish line, and Bronxville's Kaitlin Ryan edged out Shoreham Wading River's Katherine Lee by just one-hundredth of a second to win the relay in 12:18.56. Burnt Hill-Ballston Lake finished third in 12:18.64.

It was the first time this season that the Broncos had run the DMR, which consists of four legs: 1200m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m. Senior Hilary Rizzo ran the first leg in 3:47.8 and then anxiously watched her teammates complete the race. Kirsten Ircha ran a 61.3 in the 400m, and Laura Holland finished the 800m in 2:22, 10m behind the leader. It was up to the anchor, Kaitlin Ryan, to go for the win. At 800m, Ryan had a narrow lead. She entered the final lap three meters ahead of the pack, but then the other two anchors sprinted, resulting in a photo finish. After fifteen minutes of deliberation, Bronxville was declared the winner. 

"At first, when Katie [Ryan] crossed the finish line, it was really close, and I thought we got second place," said Rizzo. "So when I found out we won by .01 of a second, I was so excited! It felt great to have a win the first time we got our DMR together and on the Yale track, where my older sister, Meredith, was cheering me on." Rizzo's sister, a 2013 Bronxville graduate, runs on the Yale track and field team. 

At Yale, the 4x400m relay team (Caroline Kirby, Caroline Brashear, Holland, and Ryan) finished in second place with its fastest time of the season (4:08.74). Bronxville's 4x800m relay (Olivia Scotti, Sydney Coddington, Gigi Chrappa, and Ircha) finished third, with a season's best time of 9:54.93. The 4x200m team (Margot Richards, Caroline DePaul, Grace Randall, and Sophie Kohlhoff) also placed third in 1:50.48. This is the first time that all four Bronxville relay teams medaled at Yale. 

Ircha, Kirby, Holland, and Ryan had a busy few days. Before running at the Yale Track Classic, they competed at the Millrose trials. Despite a dropped baton and losing nine seconds, the Broncos still managed to qualify for the Millrose Games, which will take place on February 20.

After having competed at the Millrose trials on Wednesday and the Yale Track Classic on Friday, the girls' and boys' teams headed to one more meet on Sunday, the Section 1 League 3B Championships at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory.

The Bronxville girls' team won its 36th consecutive league championship, and the boys' team earned its 11th consecutive league title. League 3B is made up of Bronxville, Ardsley, Edgemont, Sleepy Hollow, Woodlands, and Tuckahoe. For the boys, there were twelve first-place finishes in individual events and two first-place finishes for relay teams. Nine girls finished first in individual events, and all three girls' relay teams won their races. See below for complete results.

Boys' Results--League 3B Championships

3200m
Alex Rizzo, 1st, 10:23.52

1600m
Sean Ryan, 1st, 4:44.51

1000m
S. Ryan, 1st, 2:47.01

600m
Hiro Kawakatsu, 1st, 1:30.77

300m
Nick Sutherland, 1st, 36.31

55m Dash
Andrew Murray, 1st, 6.96
N. Sutherland, 2nd, 6.99

55m Hurdles
Seamus Watters, 1st, 9.01

4x800m
Liam Siegal, S. Ryan, Joe Dougherty, A. Rizzo, 1st, 9:01.00

4x400m
Harry Vollmer, Ben Grieco, Ara Atayan, H. Kawakatsu, 2nd, 3:51.10

4x200m
H. Kawakatsu, A. Murray, S. Watters, N. Sutherland, 1st, 1:37.01

High Jump
Arman Vranka, 1st, 5-03.00

Pole Vault
S. Watters, 1st, 9-03.00
Luke Redman, 2nd, 7-00.00

Long Jump
A. Murray, 1st, 18-06.00

Shot Put
Tripp Judkins, 1st, 30-04.50

Weight Throw
T. Judkins, 1st, 20-10.75

Girls' Results--League 3B Championships

1500m Race Walk
Emma Lewis, 1st, 8:55.30

3000m
Olivia Scotti, 1st, 11:14.54
Gigi Chrappa, 2nd, 11:40.06

1000m
Laura Holland, 1st, 3:09.96
Clio Dakolias, 2nd, 3:17.70

600m
Kaitlin Ryan, 1st, 1:35.98
Kirsten Ircha, 2nd, 1:41.40

1500m
Hilary Rizzo, 1st, 4:59.16
Carlie Hoffer, 2nd, 5:03.92

300m
Sophie Kohlhoff, 1st, 44.44
Caroline DePaul, 2nd, 45.18

55m Hurdles
Caroline Kirby, 2nd, 9.94

55m Dash
S. Kohlhoff, 2nd, 7.70

4x800m Relay
C. Dakolias, Gigi Chrappa, Nicola Phillips, Sydney Coddington, 1st, 10:14.36

4x400m Relay
Caroline Brashear, Bella Dibbini, Sophia Sulimirski, K. Ircha, 1st, 4:31.28

4x200m Relay
Margot Richards, C. DePaul, Alissa Fominykh, S. Kohlhoff, 1st, 1:50.63

High Jump
C. Kirby, 1st, 4-10.00

Pole Vault
Molly Palma, 1st, 6-00.00

Weight Throw
Alessandra Diaz, 1st, 24-09.50
Marina Alfano, 2nd, 20-01.00 

Go Broncos. 

Pictured here (rotating): The 2016 Yale Track Classic (photo by Charlotte Rizzo); the Bronxville boys' and girls' coaches at the league championships (photo by Charlotte Rizzo); Hilary Rizzo wins the 1500m league championship (photo by Charlotte Rizzo); the Bronxville boys compete at the league championships (photo by Charlotte Rizzo); some members of the girls' team pose for a photo at the end of a long weekend of competition (photo by Jane Ircha).