Tauro Wins Millrose Mile
Wins second straight Millrose title
02/04/2007
It was obvious when Danielle Tauro took her position on the starting line just how much of a star she's become in the past year.

When Tauro was introduced to the crowd prior to the girls high school mile, the packed house gave the Southern Regional All-America a rousing ovation. It was a far cry from last year when she received sparse applause.

"I guess now more people know who I am outside of New Jersey," said the Michigan-bound Tauro, the top-ranked high school miler in the nation. "They must know what I've done and they expect me to run well."

Tauro didn't disappoint, grabbing the lead with five laps to go in the 11-lap race and breaking away from the field with a 67.8 last quarter on the way to her second straight title. She finished first in 4:52.81 while sophomore teammate Jillian Smith was fourth in the 10-runner field in 4:54.35.

Tauro joined Sally Glynn of Walter Johnson in Maryland (1994-95) and Nicole Blood of Saratoga Springs (2003-04) as the only girls to win two straight titles in the 24-year history of the race.

"After I won last year, coming back and doing it again has been a big goal of mine," said Tauro, who came into the race with the fastest time in the nation this season of 4:46.13.

Since Tauro won here a year ago, she has remained unbeaten against U.S. high school runners on the track. In fact, the last time a U.S. high school runner defeated Tauro on the track was on June 18, 2005, when Tauro was third in the mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. That was 594 days ago.

"I know I'm wearing a bull's-eye now and there's more pressure on me to win, but I just remain confident and I don't overlook anyone," said Tauro, who won titles at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in the mile and at the USATF Junior National Championship in the 1,500 last year. "I go into every race feeling that there are people capable of beating me if I don't run well."



Back