SARATOGA’S LIEBERS LEAPS TO PODIUM
Blue Streaks senior one of several Sec. 2 medalists at states
ENDICOTT, N.Y. » Winning came in many forms Saturday at Union-Endicott High Schools as the best track athletes in New York State lined up one final time to see who would be at the top of the podium.
Some raced for pride within the large school division (I) and small school division (II), then looked to join the non-public high schools in the Federation championships and one of the eight spots on the medal stand.
Saratoga Springs senior Mimi Liebers built on her 100-meter hurdles performance on Friday, taking second in the morning’s DI event before moving on to the overall, Federation championship race.
“Yesterday was a good race, I felt fast,” Mimi Liebers said. “I was a little bit disappointed with my time because I felt so fast and I didn’t PR (personal record), but there was wind factoring in yesterday more so than today, but going into today second gave me confidence.
“The DI finals today was an OK race, I did what I had to get second public school, but then Federations was my best race yet. It makes me really happy because it was my last race in a Saratoga uniform, so I wanted it to be good and I finished with an overall PR and third Feder-
ations, so I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The Holy Cross-bound senior covered the straightaway in 14.51 seconds for her spot near the top of the Federation medal stand. It was a relief for the senior running her final race with a lightning bolt across her chest as part of the Blue Streaks.
“It didn’t really hit me until right before the Federation race, that was the final one, but it definitely was in my head,” Liebers said. “I was just trying to make it positive and use it as energy to get me to run faster, have the best race I possibly can because I wanted it to end on a good note.”
Another senior that was hoping to deliver was Academy of Holy Names runner Hannah Loder who anchored the fifth-place 4x800-meter squad along with classmate Brianna Wagner along with youngsters, seventh-grader Isabel Vogel and eighthgrader Libby Harris, running around the U-E track a combined eight times in nine minutes, 40.30 seconds.
“It means a lot to me that our team will always have people come and carry the team. I know they’ll be great in the future,” Loder said. “I left my mark and they’re going to leave their mark too.”
Loder also earned a medal, finishing fifth in the 400-meter DII dash with a time of 57.50.
Being one of the smaller schools, even in Division II, Holy Names took their state appearance seriously.
“New Scotland road is where we run, it’s our favorite place, we do our distance runs there,” Loder said. “We have about 200-meters in our parking lot where we work on our sprints, we make it work, and it’s all we have.”
Fortunately for Shenendehowa track and field standout Alexandra Tudor, she won’t have to cross any boarders and claim the weight and value of the six medals she won this weekend in two individual events, one team event and even better, bragging rights with her classmates.
Tudor captured two medals in the long jump with her fourth and fifth place finishes, two in the triple jump with a pair of second-place finishes and two in the 4x100 relay.
She proved to her 9th period chemistry buddies that she doesn’t deserve the nickname ‘slow.’
“I didn’t do very well, my legs were tired (in the long jump),” Tudor said. “This weekend I had 10 jumps in total, but I only got six, I fouled four. I did better in triple, long was a little rocky, but it’s OK”
Her version of OK included a 39-foot effort in the triple jump, breaking the Shenendehowa record and two second-place fin- ishes.
“I jump against a really good competitor who pushed me really far,” Tudor said about Westhampton Beach’s Sarena Choi. “I don’t mind coming in second to her.”
She had little time after her triple-jump efforts, walking from the jump pit onto the U-E track.
“It’s a lot of mental toughness and switching from one event to the other, preparing myself and saying O.K. this is over, move your mind onto something else, this is the next event and taking everything one thing at a time,” Tudor said. “That’s what Coach Rob (Cloutier) says and control what you can control and those two sayings have really helped me get through this heavy competition season with sectionals, suburban’s, state quals and the state championships.”