Bucs win national title; record fastest time ever

FARRAH MAFFAI Red Bank Regional’s Distance Medley Relay team of (clockwise from top) Katy Trotter, Katie Kingsbery, Amanda Trotter and Christine Hurley set a national indoor record while competing in the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in the Armory in New York City last weekend.

By tim morris

Staff Writer

Amanda and Katy Trotter, Katie Kingsbery and Christine Hurley, Red Bank Regional’s magnificent Distance Medley Relay team, are now national champions and national record holders.

The Buc quartet outdid themselves and everyone else at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships held at the Armory in New York City last weekend, breaking the indoor national record with their sizzling 11:49.34 triumph last Friday afternoon.

Returning to the site of their record run at the Eastern States Championships Feb. 26, when they finished second to Boys and Girls from New York City, the Bucs shocked themselves by running even faster this time around and claiming the national championship to boot.

"I didn’t think it was possible to do it again," said Katy Trotter, who anchored the team to the national championship with her 4:55.2 1,600-meter leg. "We were all very nervous before the race, because we knew it would be hard to do again and people were expecting a lot."

All four said that the national record was the most rewarding of the two honors. After breaking the record and placing second, it was nice to be first.

"It was such a big surprise; setting the national record is a big accomplishment," said Kingsbery. Katy Trotter agreed.

"The record is better; it tops it all off," she said.

Red Bank did not follow the same script that it had at the Easterns. First, the Bucs switched Amanda and Katy Trotters’ legs; Amanda, who had been running the anchor 1,600, moved to the opening 1,200 leg that had been run by her sister.

"We were a little nervous about doing it because everything had been working so well," said Hurley. "Our coaches [Corey Radcliffe and Geoff Harrison] told us if you don’t try it you’ll never know how it would work."

Second, with Boys and Girls opting not to run the DMR at the nationals, the Bucs found themselves running from the front rather than chasing B&G. It all started with the opening 1,200 where Amanda Trotter gave the team a comfortable eight-second cushion over Bronxville of New York, with her 3:36.5. She felt at home running the lead-off.

"It took some pressure off me; it was fun," she explained. "It was new and different. I was just running my race. After three laps when I was running behind, I knew I had to go. I pushed and got a pretty good lead."

After doing her job, Amanda now became a cheerleader, a position she’s been unfamiliar with. Hurley got the baton with the comfortable lead and followed with a 61.1 400 meters.

"It made it more nerve-wracking for me," she said. "I was almost shaking when I got the hand-off from Amanda. I ran like I did the last time, pushing it hard for the first 200 meters."

Kingsbery’s 800 was next, and like Hurley, she was running with the lead for the first time in a DMR.

"It’s more difficult when you have the lead," she pointed out. "You’re just trying to win and you have no one to pace yourself off."

Kingsbery’s 2:16.5 had the Bucs daring to think that they could win the national championship.

"I thought we had a chance to win it, but I never thought we’d get the record," she said.

Bronxville had slowly chipped away at Red Bank’s lead with Elizabeth Bergold (59.9) and Caroline Mullen (2:15.8) running strong 400 and 800 legs, but it looked like a solid Red Bank win when Katy Trotter took the baton from Kingsbery. Like her teammates, Trotter was in uncharted territory. Running the 1,200, she had been used to chasing B&G’s Stacey Ann Livingston in the lead-off and not having the pressure of running last.

"It was different this time because I had someone chasing me," she noted. "I had no idea how close she was. I just running my own race."

What Trotter didn’t know was that behind her, Michelle Rorke was flying around the 200-meter Armory track en route to a very fast 4:49.5 1,600. Rorke would move up alongside Trotter as the runners headed down the homestretch on the final straightaway. The national championship was going to come down to a sprint, and as New Jersey runners have been rue to discover, Katy Trotter is as tough as they come.

"I had a little extra gear left," said Trotter. "I was surprised she was that close to me. When she got to the side of me, I used my kick and I was able to gain a little bit here and there."

Trotter had just enough left to hold the storming Rorke off and deliver the national championship and national record. Twin sister Amanda in her new role of cheerleader thought that her sister would pull it off.

"I was holding my breath," said Amanda Trotter. "I know that Katy has a great kick. It was so exciting.

"Getting the record made me happy," she added. "I didn’t expect that we would break it."

In chasing Trotter, Rorke brought Bronxville home in 11:49.61 and pushed Trotter to run that much harder, resulting in the 11:49.34 as both teams ran the first sub-11:50 indoor DMR.

"Now we have the record; it’s amazing," said Hurley.

The Trotters, Kingsbery and Hurley have taken their place in history as the fastest indoor DMR team of all time. The day after setting the national record, the Trotters and Kingsbery, along with teammate Melissa Dooley, were back at the Armory to give the 4-mile relay a try. The quartet finished second to Bronxville in this one, 20:29.3-20:46.3.

"We had a lot of fun in the race," said Katy Trotter. "It was less stressful. It was good experience for us."