Atholton senior Jen Bleakney, who is headed to Syracuse to play field hockey — she was an All-Metro selection in the fall — ended her high school track career with a bang this spring.
Bleakney had been one of the area's top distance runners throughout the indoor season and kept on rolling outdoors. She won the 800- and 1,600-meter runs at the Class 3A state title meet after capturing both events in the Howard County and East Region meets. She also ran on the 3,200 relay team that won the same three races, an impressive trifecta.
Last spring, Bleakney pulled off the same feat, winning the 800 and 1,600 in the county, region and state meets while running on the 3,200 relay that also won all three.
This year, Bleakney won the state title indoors in the 800 and took second place in the 1,600. She simply kept improving and grew into one of the state's top distance runners, which is even more impressive considering how good the senior is in another sport.
That's one of the reasons she and Loyola Blakefield's Ryan Conrad were named The Baltimore Sun's Athletes of the Year at the recent awards banquet.
"I was completely shocked," she told The Sun afterward. "I'm really honored."