Salute to Seniors: Michael Bennett (York HS)

What was your most memorable race?

100 meter dash prelims at the State Meet at Brewer in 2014. I very nearly missed the race because I was at Bangor High School taking the SAT Subject Tests, and had to rush directly from the tests to the meet. I showed up at 11:15, and the 100 started at 11:25. I was in lane 2 of heat 2, but managed to win my heat and make finals in a then personal best of 11.63 seconds - almost 3 tenths of a second off my seed time of 11.91!

Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?

Although I've had the pleasure of competing against some stellar athletes from around the state, I'd have to say my best competitor has been my teammate Jack Northrop. He pushes me during every workout and race, and we have definitely helped each other to improve and set new personal bests.

What was your greatest accomplishment?

Helping my team to win both the Indoor and Outdoor team titles my senior year. At the Indoor meet, I anchored the 2nd place 4x200 relay, and at the outdoor meet, took 5th place in the 100, and was lucky enough to contribute points to both of those title wins.

If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?

I would join track my freshmen year. I only started track during the indoor season of my sophomore year, and now really wish that I had the opportunity to run for another year.

What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?

I've been lucky enough to have avoided any serious sort of injury, so I would have to say that my biggest obstacle has honestly been the weather. From 15 mph headwinds, to 95 degree state meets, to 45 degree meets in the rain, I have really had to prepare and adapt to whatever the weather brings.

What will you miss the most?

I will miss my teammates and all the fun we have had in practices and at meets.

What advice you would give to younger athletes?
The little things make a huge difference, so pay attention to them. Work on things like starts, handoffs, and your running form every day - it will help.

What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?coaches have made a huge difference. From motivating me to stop complaining about how hard the workout is and just run, to tweaking my block start technique, to just generally being awesome, I would not have had anywhere near the track experience I did without my coaches.

What are your college plans?

I will attend Bates College in the fall, and tentatively plan on running indoor and outdoor track.

Who would you like to say thank you to?

I'd like to thank my coaches again for being so awesome and pushing me to work and all my teammates for being funny, kind, and a real pleasure to be with.

More Coverage

Do you know a class of 2015 track and field or cross country athlete? We'd like to salute them! Have them answer the following questions plus send 2-3 photos (can not be from another website or publication) to dveilleux@milesplit.us