Bronxville Track and Field Athletes Compete at National Championships
The Bronxville girls with Coach Keina Samuels at the Nike Indoor National Championships. Photo by J. Ircha.
By J. Murrer and S.Q DeJoy
March 16, 2022: The indoor season has been incredibly successful for the Bronxville girls’ track and field team. They won the League and Sectional Titles and captured the Westchester County Championship for the first time in 30 years. Last weekend, the Broncos sent a record five relay teams to the Armory to compete at the New Balance National Championships.
Some highlights from the National Championships are noted below.
-The 4 x 200m relay of Juliet Winiecki, Amy Villanueva, Astrid Pulkkinen and Donna Napolitano set personal bests and finished in a time of 1:52.79.
-The 4 x 400m relay of Milly Koenig, Donna Napolitano, Danielle Dragoni, and Caroline Ircha ran their fastest time of the season (4:04.01). The team medaled placing 4th
-The Sprint Medley Relay (SMR) team of Danielle Dragoni, Milly Koenig, Caroline Ircha, and Ava Black ran the 7th fastest time in Bronxville history (4:12.96).
-The 4 x 800m relay of Hope Hershberg,Maddy Williams, Katie O’Hare, and Ava Black ran a season-best time of 9:27.99. Hope Hershberg (2:23.85) and Katie O’Hare (2:23.67) set personal bests. 
The 4x400m relay team at the Nike Indoor Nationals. Photo by Jane Ircha.
“I am proud of all the hard work that the girls have put in during the course of the season,” noted Coach Keina Samuels. “I am sad that the season has come to an end, but I am looking forward to the spring season. I see so much potential in the returning athletes and I am incredibly excited to see what they can achieve over the next few months.”
Also competing last weekend was Bronxville middle schooler Julian Gonzalez, who ran at the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Ocean Breeze Sports Complex on Staten Island. Eighth-grader Gonzalez made it to the podium in the 2-mile middle school race with a time of 10: 47.90, finishing 6th and earning All-American honors.
Julian Gonzalez at the Nike Indoor Nationals. Photo submitted by J. Gonzalez.
“I’m an All-American,” wrote Gonzalez on Strava, a social media site for track athletes. “Got 6th place, snagging a medal and making it to the podium. The craziest thing is that it is the first time ever running the 2-mile.”
It is a wrap for the indoor track and field season. Senior captain, Caroline Ircha, who holds four Bronxville School records in track, shed a few tears at the end of her race on Sunday recognizing that it was the end of her high school track career. While many members of the track and field team will continue into the outdoor track and field season, Ircha will play her final season of lacrosse for the Broncos and then head to University of Pennsylvania in the fall to play lacrosse for the Quakers.
The outdoor track and field teams open at home on March 28th with a dual meet against Blind Brook.
Go Broncos.
