Another Loucks Games is “in the books,” as White Plains Track and Field coach Dan Furry put it at the end of day one of the three-day meet. This past weekend, White Plains High School hosted the 58th Annual Glenn D. Loucks Games, a longstanding tradition that combines teamwork with excellence to create the largest on-campus high school track meet in the country.
The Loucks Games started in May 1968 as a single day, boys-only event, in honor of the beloved Coach Loucks, a renowned football and track coach at White Plains High School who led both teams to a great number of victories. Since then, it has evolved into a three-day international meet with over 3,000 athletes representing hundreds of schools from across the country and Canada and run by former White Plains Cross Country head coach Fred Singleton.
Incredibly talented runners have made history at Loucks since its inception, including Olympic gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad and four-time Olympic medalist Rai Benjamin, both of which championed the 400m Hurdles at Loucks. As a meet dominated by elite high school runners, breaking a Loucks event record is not an easy feat.
This year, seven records were met or broken out of 62 final events, an ode to the extreme competitiveness and high standards of the Loucks Games. Taylor Foster of the Brearley School broke the Women’s 100m High Hurdles record with a time of 13.48 seconds, blowing past the previous record time of 13.8 seconds, set back in 1977 and met but not surpassed in 2019. Meaghan Lynch from Schuylerville broke the Women’s Long Jump record by 0.5”, jumping 20’ 3”. Ursuline’s Sloane Harshman jumped 5’ 0” in the Section 1 Frosh/Soph Women’s High Jump, edging out last year’s champion Jillian Samuels by 1”. Samantha Rodney of Pawling is the first ever Section 1 Frosh/Soph Women’s Javelin champion, setting the bar at 66’ 8”. The Men’s 110m High Hurdles record was broken by Davion Johnson from East Hartford, who ran the event in 13.58 seconds. The Master’s School’s Men’s East Coast Sprint Medley Relay team beat the previous record with a time of 3:27.91. Taiten Robinson of Hendrick Hudson tied with previous record holder, teammate Perry Quaye, in the Men’s Section 1 Frosh/Soph High Jump at a height of 5’9”.
The Loucks Games began on Thursday in the late afternoon for freshman and sophomore athletes, a relatively new addition to the meet that has been expanding every year to include a wider array of events. The main events began on Friday, with athletes from around the country and southern parts of Canada travelling to White Plains to compete. Friday’s events included the pentathlon, 100m and 110m hurdles, the 200m dash, 800m run, 3000m and 3200m runs and the shot put and long jump. After a long afternoon of hard work, athletes, volunteers and officials were treated to a complementary dinner of pasta, chicken, salad and, of course, cookies.
The final day of the meet was also the largest, lasting all of Saturday morning and afternoon and ending around 6:00 p.m. Many of the most popular events of the meet were held on Saturday, including the 100m dash, 400m run, the mile, 2000m and 3000m steeplechases and the relays, as well as the 5k road race. The final events of the pentathlon and a plethora of field events also filled Saturday’s schedule. Despite a heavy downpour that lasted much of the afternoon, the meet ended on a good note, with two relay teams medaling in addition to the three athletes that medaled on Thursday.
Loucks is not just a track meet; it is a massive event for the entire city, bringing many thousands of athletes, coaches and families to White Plains. By sleeping in the city’s hotels, eating in its restaurants and shopping in its stores, Loucks brings income and quite a bit of attention to the city, boosting its economy every year.
With the 58th Annual Loucks Games done, athletes continue deeper into the season. This past weekend, White Plains Track and Field athletes competed at the county meet and expect to send multiple athletes to the sectional, state qualifier and possibly even the state meet. As the year ends, the high school track and field world looks ahead to next season and the 2027 Loucks Games.
