Girls’ track State Champions. Photo courtesy of @bxvgirlstrack.

By S.Q. DeJoy and J. Murrer 

June 15, 2022: The Bronxville girls’ relay teams are well known for their success, and this spring was no exception. The 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams swept the Westchester County Championships and the State Qualifiers, which led all three relay teams to the New York State Championships last weekend.

Parents and girls’ track athletes before boarding the bus for Syracuse. Photo by of J. Agnello.

In the meet held at North Cicero-Syracuse High School, the 4x400 and the 4x800 won gold in Division 2 (D2), and the 4x100m placed 3^rd.  Juliet Winiecki, Milly Koenig, Danielle Dragoni, and Donna Napolitano, ran both the 4x100 and the 4x400 relays on the first day of the State Championships.

“We were really excited, and we knew it would be competitive,” said Milly Koenig.  “There were a lot of teams within a second of us. On Friday, we raced 4x100 and 4x400m back-to-back.”

The 4x400m relay on the podium at states. Photo courtesy of @bxvgirlstrack.

The 4x400m relay won the D2 State Championship with a time of 4:02.23, and the 4x100m placed third in a personal best time of 50:07. 

“In the 4x100m relay, we PRed by .03 seconds,” said senior Donna Napolitano who has been on the team since 7^th grade. “Our handoffs were very clean, and the competition was amazing.”  The 4x100 state time was a No. 3 All-time Bronxville performance.

The 4x100m relay team at the State Championships, Donna Napolitano, Milly Koenig, Danielle Dragoni and Juliet Winiecki. Photo courtesy of Keina Samuels. 

Hope Hershberg, Katie O’Hare, Maddy Stupart, and Ava Black ran the 4x800 on Saturday and won the race in a time of 9:14.35, improving on their previous best of 9:30.93.  This strong Bronxville relay team placed 2^nd in the Federation, which includes public and private schools of all sizes.

The 4x800 relay team at states. Photo courtesy of bxvgirlstrack.

The 4x400 ran the Federation race on Saturday, and the Bronco team placed 5^th with another personal best time of 4:01.70.

“We all knew we could do it and were all hopeful,” said Napolitano.  “As the race started it got very real for us. It cemented the fact that we wanted a state title, and we are excited to get the win.”

Ellis Goodson and Max Dicker competed at the State Championships for the boys’ team. Goodson placed 4^th in D2 in the 800m in a time of 1:56.50.

Goodson (#7) on the podium after placing 4^th in the 800m race. Photo by Brian Halling.

“The coach is my math teacher,” said Goodson. “He is the best mentor that I have. He is enthusiastic and motivates me to be a better person and athlete. I started out at the beginning of the season not thinking I could break two minutes, and then wound up breaking it at my first meet of the season.”

Goodson also ran the steeplechase at states, and placed 3^rd in 9:50.97, beating his personal record by 20 seconds.

“I knew I could PR by a good margin because at State Qualifiers. I felt like I ran well, but I had more in the tank since I was trying to save up for the 4x400. I ran a really strategic race. I sat in the middle and won my heat. It was a pretty successful day for the steeplechase.”

Max Dicker, who has been a huge contributor to the team in field events, tied for 6^th place in the pole vault (11-6). Juniors Goodson and Dicker finish the season as All-State athletes.

Max Dicker (far left) tied for 6^th in the pole vault at the State Championships. Photo by Brian Halling.

“The coaching staff and I could not be happier for Ellis and Max on their accomplishments this past weekend,” said Coach Brian Halling.  “This spring season they were able to elevate themselves thanks to their relentless work ethic, and we couldn't be happier for them getting to see such a great end result of all of this effort.” 

Ellis Goodson, Coach Brian Halling, and Max Dicker. Photo courtesy of Brian Halling.

Go Broncos