Four members of the Sanford H. Calhoun High School girls relay team sprinted their way to a win at the New Balance Nationals Indoor Track and Field Championships held at The Armory in New York City on March 11. They now earned an invitation to run at the national championships this summer.

“In attendance were the best athletes this country had to offer, and the girls from Calhoun were excited to prove they  belonged,” said coach Joseph Migliano.

The relay team of Cristin Rodriguez, Devon Bayer, Juliann Vizoso and Grace Moore ran the Sprint Medley Relay; consisting of 2-200m, 1-400m and ending with a 800m leg.

“The girls got out to a blistering start as junior Cristin Rodriguez, who is best known for her hurdling ability, ran a season best 27.2 seconds and transitioned into a smooth hand off to Devon Bayer,” said Migliano. “Devon ran a solid leg for the team holding off two girls who attempted to pass her during the 200m leg and handed off to senior captain Juliann Vizoso.”
Juliann received the baton in fourth place, but wouldn’t stay there for long. She ran her best race of the year taking more than three full seconds off her 400m personal best to run 60.36 and set the team up in a great position. Grace Moore would receive the baton from Juliann and go out to run the fourth and final leg of the relay, Migliano explained.

“Grace, who also competed in the two-mile race only two hours prior, got out on a fast start. She ran an intelligent race and sat behind three other athletes for the first 400m; until the time came to go past,” he said.
Grace anchored the team to a second place finish in their heat, and broke the Calhoun school record by 38 seconds running 4:14.42. That time was a five-second personal best for the girls this season and took their national ranking from 43rd to 25th in the country, Migliano mentioned.

The time also earned the girls an invitation to run at the Spring National Championships held from June 17-19 in Greensboro, North Carolina.