Warwick Valley Middle School Mileage Club: 165 students, 3,016 laps, 754 miles

By Sami Brady
WARWICK — Another great season for the Warwick Valley Middle School Mileage Club has come to an end.
The club is an after school club at the Warwick Valley Middle School made up of fifth through eighth grade students. This spring, 165 students made the commitment to improve their endurance and health through running.
The runners used cards to track their miles. Once they completed a card of eight laps (two miles), they earned a necklace with a purple or gold foot charm.
This spring, 149 students earned a necklace. They continued to earn charms for each additional two miles completed.
They ran so well, that together, they completed 3,016 laps around the Tim St. Lawrence Track.
That equals 754 miles.
Top runnersSpecial congratulations go to the following top runners:
Top fifth grade male: Hunter Stuart
Top fifth grade female: Sami Brady
Top sixth grade male: Ben Walter
Top sixth grade females: Maggie Nelsen and Claire Priebke
Honorable mention:
Fifth graders: Tyler DeSotle, Siobhan Kelly, Natalie Evans, Zoe Link and Lily Beattie
Sixth grader: Luke Tannar
In addition to after school running, this spring Mileage Club runners participated in two 5K races; the Hero 5K Run in Warwick and the Chester 5K Race as well as the Jr. Classic races.
The Chester 5K was held Memorial Day weekend, which was a perfect opportunity to wear their patriotic Mileage Club shirts. This spring’s T-shirts featured a flag made of red and blue sneaker prints.
Maggie Nelsen won the second place medal in her age group.
Ben Walter won the first place medal in his age group.
Runners also enjoyed winning some raffle prizes and unlimited ice pops.
The Junior Classic Races were held on Saturday, June 3, at the Middletown High School Track. Winning the Jr. Classic Mile was sixth grader Ben Walter with the time of 5:38. Right behind him was his buddy, Luke Tannar, in 5:56.
The first girl was sixth grader Claire Priebke, who ran 6:52.
Then came fifth graders Sami Brady and her good friend, Meave Wright, with times of 8:12.
Fifth grader, Lane Gorish also completed the mile, after competing in several other events earlier in the day.
The 200 meter participants were: Soria Roberts, Lane Gorish, and Ryan McLean.
Lastly, the 400 meter participants were: Claire Priebke, Soria Roberts, Lane Gorish and Ryan McLean.
Lastly, the Mileage Club runners had the opportunity to take part in the children’s races and the 5k Hero Run on Saturday June 10.
The runners were proud to run in memory of Jamie Leonard, a Warwick alum, who is remembered for her military service.
The Mileage Club truly shined when Ben Walter won first place overall in 19:28 and Luke Tannar came in second in a time of 20:21. They both beat all of the adults in the race.
Also medaling behind Leighanne Tannar (super star former Mileage Club runner) were Claire Priebke, Maggie Nelsen and Kelly Wendt.
Any students entering fifth through eighth grade at the Warwick Valley Middle School who are interested in joining Mileage Club should visit the website http://wvmsmileageclub.weebly.com/ and look for information coming this fall.
Keep running this summer.