Saratoga's Chmiel wins 'Triple Crown,' Athlete of the Year in girls' track

Athlete of the Year: Kelsey Chmiel, Saratoga Springs

Competing athletically in a town known for its connection to horse racing, it is fitting that Kelsey Chmiel has earned her own triple crown of sorts during her junior season at Saratoga.

Another superlative outdoor track and field season has earned Chmiel the Times Union Athlete of the Year selection to go along with the same honor earned in the recent cross country and indoor track and field campaigns.

A double winner at the Section II Group I championships — she won the 1,500- and 3,000-meter events — Chmiel runs with discipline and determination with tremendous results.

Under the guidance of long-time coaches Art and Linda Kranick, Saratoga has been a program of elite status on both a state and national level and Chmiel is the latest in a line of elite runners from the school.

"Kelsey is one of the toughest kids we've ever had on the team," Linda Kranick said. "She is a great competitor. I just sit back and watch her race. She's very mature. I love to watch her run. She's such a great kid."

Chmiel is thankful to her coaches.

"It is great to have the Kranicks for coaches," Chmiel said. "I just try to follow what they tell me to do and I execute it."

Chmiel's durability sets her apart from her opponents as evidenced by her 10th-place showing at the Freihofer's Run for Women the first weekend in June, which came less than 48 hours after she won the 3,000-meter title at the Section II state qualifier meet.

Chmiel, the defending outdoor national champion in the two-mile race, uses the same discipline and determination in the classroom, where she also excels.

Her favorite subject is science and she hopes to be a veterinarian in the future.

"Sometimes it is hard to find time to do everything but I just try to go home every day and get my work done," Chmiel said. "It takes a lot of discipline but that is something you learn. It makes you focus on one thing at one time. On the track, I'm focused on that, in the classroom, I'm focused on the school work."

Being a top-flight student and one of the top distance runners in the country is a challenge, but Chmiel is making it work with remarkable results.

Sean Martin, a local freelance writer, is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.