Quotes of the Week (that weren’t quote of the day)
#1 Have NYers already forgotten Mary Cain?
“She might be the best high school runner ever already.”
–Jim Mitchell, a Bronxville High School coach (where Mary Cain ran) talking about NY phenom Katelyn Tuohy, 16, in an excellent NY Times feature on Tuohy and the tough task teen distance prodigies face in maintaining their success into adulthood.
Tuohy, who won the NXN title in the fall, is having an incredible year. At the NY state met last week, the sophomore ran 9:09.71 for 3000 to set a US age-16 record and then came back the next day and won the 1500 in a meet record of 4:14.75.
Tuohy is amazing, but let’s get real. At this point in time, her HS accomplishments are inferior to what Mary Cain accomplished. According to an astute messageboard poster, here is how their HS track PRs compare.
Mary Cain’s HS PRs: 1:59, 4:04, 8:58, 9:38(i), 15:45
Katelyn Tuohy’s HS PRs: 2:09, 4:14, 9:05, 9:51(c), 15:37(i)
Remember, when Cain graduated high school in 2014, she had won two U.S. indoor titles, and finished 9th at the World Championships outdoors. This year, Tuohy ran the high school mile at the Millrose Games and finished 4th. As a senior in high school, Cain ran the Wanamaker Mile against the pros — and won it. Tuohy might be a better cross country runner than Cain, but in an absolute sense, Cain clearly had the better career (though Tuohy still has two years remaining).
It could be worse, we could be seeing adverts for AARP or Senior Care Centers, which would mean we were getting old! 
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(SINCE 1964)