Congratulations to Wilkinson who ran a perfect race, never allowing Tuohy to get too far ahead. I'm not sure I would have titled this article "Stealing Thunder", after all its a high school race. How about just praising Wilkinson for her outstanding performance. She deserved better!
As far as mentioning "tears" and Tuohy, its an unfortunate part of the sport. I see kids cry at almost every meet I attend. Its okay to cry, in private and mentioning it here was in poor taste. When it comes to crying and H.S. track I fault the coaches and parents directly. What is lacking in many sports programs is properly teaching kids how to lose with grace. Everyone loses, even Usain Bolt lost in his last 100m race. Losing happens, no matter how good you are its inevitable. You're going to have an off day. Coaches focus on winning, as they should. They teach kids the fundamentals and hone in on their natural God-given talents, creating "some" super H.S. athletes. Heres my advice: TEACH YOUR KIDS HOW TO LOSE FIRST....and prepare them for defeats and the pain that accompanies a loss. You will create a humble winner, and a graceful loser. Katelyn ran off the track without congratulating the three girls who passed her. Yes, she had a bad performance, but she owed those girls a handshake or hug. Just my perspective.

Describing the sprint of one of the competitors as a “streetwise Philly kick” is a poor choice. What is “streetwise” about the kick? She happens to be African-American, and it is not good form to use that descriptor, even if it is wholly unintentional. And yes, she also happens to have a 4.0 grade point average...is that streetwise? Best to simply describe the kick for what it was, whether fast, slow, etc, and leave the other adjectices behind. (And I agree with the comments regarding describing the state of one of the runners after the race. Had that been me, my sister, or my daughter, I would have understood being described as “disappointed” in my performance, but to say more than that seems to trespass over an unspoken line).

This article is wrong on so many levels. I would understand if Katelyn was a sponsored athlete and this was her career, but this is not the case. She is just a sophomore in high school with changing hormones and peer pressures that are new to her. Dyestat has a responsibility to these young athletes they write about. Young athletes come to these pages and read the articles and this should be a safe space. Remember-this site makes money off the performances of young athletes-show them some respect.

I registered with dyestat just so that I could make this comment: I understand that Marc Bloom is a long time Track journalist - but YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO PUBLISH THIS STORY and it should be removed from your site! There is absolutely no reason to discuss the emotional state of a high school student to this degree. What an invasion of privacy and a violation of ethical journalism. I would have taken "Not today" as a request from her father to move along and focus on celebrating the winner of the race rather than a vulnerable young lady who obviously had a tough day.

Being a runner for a number of years i have realized the importance of bad days. Everybody has bad days and they only make us stronger. Although, the way this article was written about a young talented runner was uncalled for. There was no reason to include her going to the bathroom and crying or talking about her mentality. She will learn with time and this article surely doesn’t help.

I'm honestly shocked that this article was allowed to be written. This is a 15 year old girl, and this author is writing that she's crying in the bathroom not once but THREE times!? Questioning her maturity? Really shocked by it.

Has the author considered that the athlete is a 15 or 16 year old girl? It appears not based on the overly dramatic emotional comments he makes in the article.