Whenever Katelyn Tuohy steps up to the line before a race, there is always a question as to whether or not another state or national record will fall.
Performances like the one she put on during the 1,500-meter run at New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships Saturday are exactly the reason why the North Rockland sophomore has earned those lofty expectations.
Tuohy set a new meet record, running away from the field with a time of 4:14.75, more than 13 seconds ahead of the next runner.
“Her performance this weekend was one of the best that I’ve ever seen from a high school track athlete,” North Rockland coach Kyle Murphy said of Tuohy, who set a national record for her age in the 3,000-meter run on Friday. “She just knew this was the big time. This was the time to go and lay it all out and run as fast as she could.”
Tuohy had told The Journal News/lohud earlier in the season it was a goal of hers to qualify and win both races, which are heavily taxing on the body when run on back-to-back days.
“I kind of just wanted a bigger challenge,” Tuohy said, when reached by phone on her way back home. “I knew I was going to have to be really smart not only with how I raced, but I warm up and how I cool down because it was going to be a long weekend.”