Since we had so many incredible performances at the state indoor championships, we have decided to spread the wealth this week by having 2 sets of HOKA Athletes of the Week; one set per division. Since D2 was first on Sunday, today we will celebrate those individuals who truly stood out for a multitude of reasons.
We simply could not choose between Oyster River’s three-headed monster of dominance, so Haley Kavanagh, Mackenzie Cook, and Erin Carty are this week’s HOKA Athlete of the Week for Division 2. All three largely contributed in different ways to OR’s record tally of 100 points. Kavanagh was on both the winning 4×8 and 4×400 relays, but also broke the Division 2 record in the 1500 held previously by eventual Olympian Rachel Schneider (now Smith) of St. Thomas back in high school, by clocking 4:37.14!
While Kavanagh was breaking records, Cook and Carty were also racking up points. Cook won the 3000 meters, placed 2nd in the 1500, and also ran both 4×800 and 4×400 winning relays. If one values relay legs by dividing the points earned by 4, then Cook accounted for 23 points on her own. Amazingly, teammate Erin Carty also won an event, the High Hurdles, while also being 2nd in another (300 meters) and being on the winning relay with Cook and Kavanagh (the 4×400). To top it off Carty was also on the 4×200 which placed 2nd scoring 8 points. In all, Carty accounted for 22.5 points!
Talk about the tallying of points. Coe-Brown’s Jamie Lano entered Sunday with 1 thing in mind, accumulating the most possible points for his team. Entered in 3 distance events, commonly known as the triple crown, Lano was not attempting to run fast, but to tally as close to 30 points as possible. Largely due to his efforts, Coe-Brown narrowly repeated as the champs of D2. Lano won the 3000 meters in 8:48, and then placed an agonizingly close 2nd in the 1k in 2:27 and change (eclipsing the pre-existing D2 record) hitting the track hard in the process. A short time later, Lano toed the line in the 1500, and perhaps he bent slightly, but did not break, pulling away to win in 4:09. To top it off, Lano anchored Coe-Brown’s 5th place 4×400 team which cemented the title by 2 points. All totaled, Lano accounted for 28.5 of the Bears’ 58 points.
Congratulations to Kavanagh, Cook, Carty and Lano, this week’s HOKA Athletes of the Week, D2 style!
