BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI
Listening to Charlene Lipsey and seeing her run will leave you with very different impressions.
Lipsey will tell you that even with all her success she still does not quite fully believe in her ability to run with the nation’s best athletes.
But she can and has.
“When I see them running, I don’t think I can do it,” Lipsey said. “When I get on the track it’s something different.”
Very different.
The Hempstead junior competes with a determination you might not detect off the track. Lipsey, Newsday’s indoor girls Runner of the Year, used her effortless style to set a Long Island 800 meter outdoor record of 2:09.15 while placing third at the National Scholastic Invitational at the Armory. She broke Bellport’s Brittany Sheffey’s mark of 2:09.94. Bay Shore’s Sarah McCurdy was fourth and North Shore’s Brianna Welch placed fifth. This was Lipsey’s first season running the 800.
“People always remember the last race,” Hempstead coach Lenroy Raffington said. “Regardless of what she did in December, most people forget about her. It’s what you do in the big race and how you perform in the big spots and she did what she is capable of doing in a big spot.”
More then once.
She won the Public School state title in the 600 meters and placed second in the Federation in 1:34.17 at the state championship. Lipsey won the 800 at the Marine Corps Holiday Classic. She also helped her 4 x 400 relay qualify for the Millrose Games.
In the outdoor season Lipsey says her goal is to run a 53.0 400 and 2:05 in the 800, a mark that should change Lipsey’s perception of herself.
“If I hit that 2:05 I will be confident enough,” she said. “I didn’t think I could do a 2:09, so if I hit 2:05 that is a tremendous difference.”
Running against the Hempstead boys’ team in practice has helped Lipsey’s development. It is a friendly competition that Raffington believes benefits all involved.
“That helped motivate the boys, too,” he said. “That helped her. That helped the boys. It pays off in both ways. They push her harder. She inturn pushes them faster because they are not going to let her beat them.”
Lipsey said she hasn’t beaten any of them yet, but is getting close.
Almost as close as she is to feeling comfortable with her place among the nation’s elite runners.
“Now I can really know where I am, compared to the best of the best,” Lipsey said. “So my boost of confidence is getting there.”