HUNTINGTON – She said it was easy. Hempstead’s Charlene Lipsey handled a field that included of some the best middle distance runners in the state. She ran alone from the start and challenge the best times ever in New York State history for 800 meters.
PHILADELPHIA – She’ll look down at her ankle and remember the day. It won’t be the metal spikes and tore a layer of skin from her ankle but the subsequent moments that will burn into her memory.
Uniondale – Garden City’s Brendan Creighton remembered when he was a freshman, watching the 400-meter hurdles at the Derrick Adkins Classic. He remembered standing near the finish line and watching the runners whiz by as he snapped his head from one direction to the other.
They’d been in the same position a bunch of times before. With the finish line approaching and Hempstead’s Charlene Lipsey straining to hold onto a lead, Phyllis Francis of Catherine McAuley fought to snatch it away. This season it seemed impossible to take down Lipsey in the home stretch of any race. Until impossible happened.
The best of NY State come together at Cornell University this weekend for the NY State Federation Championships. The best athletes from the CHSAA, PSAL, AIS, and NYSPHSAA will battle for the state championships.
If Charlene Lipsey’s indoor season could be described as anything, it’s been a showcase. The Hempstead senior has displayed jaw-dropping range and awe-inspiring dominance in a way that’s made her one of the most sought-after middle distance runners in the country.
The night before the junior boys 600 meters New Bern’s Anthony Hendrix made a point to mention the fact that no one pegged him to win a race that matched a group of the best scholastic long sprinters that this country offers. He seemed confused.
He eyed the clock leisurely, his breath barely shaken. Great Neck South’s Terrance Livingston made sure to lean at the finish to squeeze every tick off this time.
Charlene Lipsey pounded her chest with her right hand. The adrenaline hadn’t subsided yet. The motion displayed an affirmation of the Hempstead senior’s heart, although she didn’t really need another display. Her race said enough.
