By Elliot Denman // Photo by John Nepolitan

Portland, Oregon. Edinburgh, Scotland. New York, New York.

Has suitcase, has spikes, has talent, has passport, will travel.

That’s the Kelsey Chmiel Story.

For the last several weeks, anyway.

The 16-year-old Saratoga Springs High School junior is clearly a young woman on the go and, given the array of top performances that she’s delivered on both coasts of the United States, as well as Scotland, it’s obvious that all forms of interesting and challenging destinations lie directly ahead in her hugely promising distance running career.

Next one for her, it was determined at the Armory’s New Balance Track and Field Center on Saturday afternoon, will be the 111^th edition of the classic NYRR Millrose Games, right back at the Armory, on Saturday, February 3.

She’ll run the girls invitation high school mile at NYRR Millrose Games with some brilliant recent credentials. First came the second place – back of North Rockland’s already-renowned sophomore, Katelyn Tuohy, at the Nike Cross Nationals, December 2 in Portland. Then – nearly 7,000 miles and seven weeks later – it was her resounding 14:10 triumph over the 4K distance, running for Team USA at the Great Edinburgh International XCountry  Challenge, on January 13.

“Competing internationally was both great fun and a great challenge,” said Chmiel. “I keep learning things from every race.”

Well, there are two more entries in her dossier of major honors now.

Chmiel was doubly terrific at the 24^th edition of the New Balance Games Saturday afternoon at the Armory.

First (1:55 p.m.) came her 4:48.94 triumph in the New Balance girls invitation mile, leaving top challenger Kate Dammer of Abington Heights (5:00:12) and the rest of the quality field far back.

Just 45 minutes later, there was Chmiel back on the Armory track, anchoring her Saratoga Springs team to a resounding victory in the distance medley relay.  Chmiel’s eight-lap split was nearly identical to her earlier mile – 4:48.75.

“I just took it out, after the 800, and kept right on,” Chmiel said of her first runaway win. “And I had more than enough left for the relay (where Saratoga’s 11:59.32 erased Ursuline School’s 2017 12:02.16 as the meet record.)”

So now the stage is set for what many foresee as a dynamite duel at Millrose.  While Chmiel was doubling at the Armory, Tuohy was blazing to an American scholastic 5,000-meter record of 15:37.12 at the Virginia Showcase Meet in Lynchburg.

“I’d like to go sub-4:40 at Millrose,” Tuohy said in Virginia, and Chmiel would like to go into similar territory with her at Millrose.

Impressive as Chmiel’s 4:48.94 invitation mile (number two in the nation this season) was, it wasn’t a New Balance Games meet record.  That mark still belongs to Danielle Tauro, the former Southern Regional (Manahawkin, N.J.) star who went on to an outstanding career at Michigan, with her 4:46.13 in 2007.

With spots in the NYRR Millrose Games boys mile at stake at the New Balance Games, too, the young men delivered some solid running, as well. Schenectady, N.Y.’s Georgetown-bound Maazin Ahmed won the New Balance boys invitation mile in 4:18.49, outdueling St. John’s Prep’s Tristan Shellgren (4:18.58), Niskayuna’s Donnovan Tucker (4:19.14) and Neshaminy’s Rusty Kujdych (4:19.28) in a four-man rush for the wire.

There were solid performances, in categories from youth and sub-varsity divisions up to the invitational races, throughout the two-day, 6,000-athlete production.

“Just a tremendous meet,” Armory Foundation co-president Jonathan Schindel called it.  “Entries were way up, the officials again did a great job, everything went off like clockwork, the athletes were outstanding, we couldn’t be happier.”

Honors were widely spread.

New Jerseyan C.J. Licata of Gill-St. Bernards School extended the boys meet shot put record to 61 feet, 6 inches. Staten Islander Charles Crispi soared 15-6 to win the pole vault, then missed three attempts at the meet-record height of 16-1.  Warwick Valley’s Dane Sorensen and Milton Hershey, Pa.’s Dalton Burnham had quality clearances of 14-6 placing 2-3.

The girls PV also saw a meet record – Abby Norwillo’s 21-6 for Pittston Area.

A pair of boys relay racing records fell when St. Peter’s Prep blazed a 3:18.43 4x400 and Saratoga Springs went 10:17.41 in the distance medley.

To their vast credit, New Balance Games officials give full encouragement to the Olympic events of racewalking and the steeplechase, which many other meets overlook.

And so New Rochelle’s Audrey Fox (the girls 1500-meter walk winner in 7:04.96) and one-mile steeplechasers Louis Greco of Goshen Central (4:48.76) and Haylei Cooligan of Westhill-Ludden (5:42.11) went home among the most-happy winners.

Fox is headed for Canada’s University of British Columbia in September (which competes in the U.S.-based NAIA, which actively promotes racewalking, while the NCAA shuns it.) And she hopes to prosper at Vancouver’s UBC, where the heart of the strong Canadian racewalking program is based.

“Evan Dunfee (fourth in the Olympic 50K) still trains at UBC, and so do a lot of other good racewalkers,” said Fox. “I’m really looking forward to being out there.”

“The steeplechase is a great event,” said Cooligan. “I like jumping over things,”

“More people ought to try the steeplechase,” said Greco. “It’s different…and it’s difficult.”

DeWitt Clinton’s Harris Brown Harrington sped off with the boys invitational 500 meters in 1:04.71, and Clinton teammate Jeffrey Perdomo took the varsity 600 in 1:21.63.

Taft Educational’s Carlton Hosten brought the varsity 55-meter dash title back to the Bronx in just 6.41 seconds, equaling the meet record. Pennsylvanian Savion Hebrion ran off with the 300 sprint for Neshaminy in 34.62,

Power-packed 1-2 weight throwing efforts were Garrett Doyle’s 69-6 ¾ for Lincoln of Rhode Island and Andrew Palermo’s 69-0 3/4 for Spencerport, N.Y.  South Lakes of Virginia – the school that gave Alan Webb’s historic 3:59.86 mile to the New Balance Games archives in 2001 – keeps on churning out top performers, and this time it was sophomore sprinter Hannah Walker, who delivered a 6.99-second meet record in the girls straightaway 55, then added a 39.05 win in the lap-and-a-half 300.

Sarah Trainor (FDR High of Hyde Park, N.Y.) took a big chunk out of the listed girls two-mile varsity record (11:01.12) with her huge 10:41.99 win in the 16-lapper. Cardozo’s Paris Peoples won the girls varsity 500 (1:13.02) and Spencerport’s Vanessa Watson led the invitation 600 (1:32.65.)

St. Joseph’s Prep took a second boys relay crown with its 1:29.68 eyelash win over Uniondale (1:29.74) in the 4x200. Horace Greeley’s 8:06.44 took the 4x800, Bergen Catholic’s 3:34.26 the sprint medley, and Cheektowga Central’s 32.60 the 4x55 shuttle hurdles.

Adonis McGee (St. Peter’s Prep) topped the high jumpers (6-3), Cardinal Hayes’ Jahlankee Watkins led the long jumpers (21-9) and Harrison’s Robert Blue the triple jumpers (46-9.)

Other boys winners included Brandon Tunson of C.H. Flowers (7.42 55 hurdles), Bethlehem Central’s Jack Huber (2:32.05 1000) and Mount Ararat’s Lisandro Berry-Gaviria (9:35.95 two miles.) Sarah Coleman (West Springfield) led the girls 1000 field in 2:56.80 and Indya Richardson of Gates-Chili claimed the 55 hurdles (8.18.)

Young Women’s Leadership did just that – led the way in a pair of relays, 4:10.63 sprint medley and 34.93 shuttle hurdles.

Other girls baton triumphs went to Paul Robeson (1:40.11) in the 4x200, The Baldwin School (3:58.74 4x400) and  Niskayuna (9:24.13 4x800.)

Back in the field, girls gold medalists were Easton Area high jumper Kate Willshaw (5-4), Medgar Evers long jumper Janai Lyons (18-0 ¾), Irvington triple jumper Zoe Maxwell (37-0 ½), Iroquois shot putter Rchael Donner (42-3 ½) and North Pocono weight thrower Jessica Slagus (49-7.)

When all returns were in, team titles went to Goshen Central (25 points) over Lincoln and Neshaminy (15 each) in the boys invitational division, and Shenendehowa (26)  over St. Peter’s Prep (24) and Cardinal Hayes (23) in the boys varsity category.

Saratoga Springs (26 points) earned the girls invitational crown over South Lakes (16) and Cardozo and New Rochelle (14), while Young Women’s Leadership (41.5) led girls varsity scoring over West Springfield (33) and New Rochelle (30.)

For the 2018 New Balance Games results, photos, videos and news CLICK HERE.