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Harvey eighth grader Ally Zimmerman, the top runner on the coed varsity track team, enjoyed a “big stage” moment Friday, March 14, running in the middle school 800-meter event at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston. Competing against 77 other top middle school runners from the New York-New England region, Zimmerman finished No.47 and set a one-second personal best and school record in the 800m in a time of 2:28.53. 

Harvey varsity track coach Christian Coscio, on hand to cheer on his athlete, said Zimmerman ran “a gutsy race.” She was leading the first heat for a majority of the race after a blazing fast first lap when she took out the pack at a blistering pace. Zimmerman  pushed the next two laps well as the chase pack followed and did her best to hang on for the final lap, but lost some of her stamina near the end, later admitting to Coach Coscio that she was feeling the lactic acid build up. Coach Coscio said, “I thought she finished extremely well and did amazing overall.”

Coach Coscio praised Zimmerman for “toeing the line and giving it her all.” He said, “I've coached many athletes at nationals and can attest to how difficult it is to compete there. It's not just the high level of competition but the different atmosphere from a typical meet, and, of course, the nerves. It is not easy to hit a personal best time at these meets, so for Ally to shoo away the distractions and run as well as she did is quite impressive. Just another example of her maturity within the sport. Though she is only an eighth grader, time and time again, Ally runs like a savvy veteran.”

Coach Coscio also offered a shout-out to those who came to the event to support Zimmerman. The coach said, “In addition to her parents and me, current teammate Addy Shalov '25, and former team captain, Harvey alum Bennet Katzin ’23 came to support.”

Zimmerman also had her Harvey Middle School classmates rooting her on in a “watch party” through a Livestream broadcast. “Ally was blown away by the support she received from teammates, classmates, and everyone else,” Coach Coscio said, adding, “She will now enjoy a good spring break vacation with no running, just recovery before we get back into the spring track season.”

Ally leading her heat

Ally with Coach Coscio

Ally with teammate Addy '25

Ally's middle school classmates cheering her on via Livestream