Pictured are Oxford senior sprinter Milla Gonzalez and Oxford indoor track and field head coach, Shannon Gawronski, at an indoor meet this past season. Gonzalez finished the 2021-2022 regular season unbeaten in the 55-meter dash, and captured the Section IV state qualifier title. (Submitted Photo)

Oxford’s outdoor track and field team has had faces that defined the excellence of the program.

Over two decades ago, it was Mike Chrystie sprinting to a state title.  Less than a 10 years later, twin sisters Katie and Emily Woodford were setting school records, winning sectional championships, and ultimately bringing home multiple state place finishes.

Just four seasons ago, Coach Shannon Gawronski kick-started the Blackhawks’ indoor track and field team.

Much like the outdoor team, Oxford did not have the proper facilities on which to practice, but it did have a potential standout who might serve as the nascent program’s standard-bearer.

Oxford senior Milla Gonzalez was a member of that small 2018-2019 team.  While Gonzalez was new to varsity indoor track and field, she wasn’t new to sprinting, and certainly wasn’t a new face to Gawronski.

“She’s been competing (as a sprinter) since she was seven years old with the Norwich Family YMCA Club Team,” Gawronski said. “She has done very well in the USA Track and Field Adirondack league all the way through.”

So, when the indoor track and field team was formed, Gonzalez joined as an already experienced competitor.

That nascent program, from the outset, had a performer in Gonzalez who would not only garner individual accolades at meets, but also a strong component to multiple relays.

Gonzalez holds the current indoor school record in the 55 meters and is a member of the record-breaking 800-meter relay (which placed fourth in Section IV in 2020), the 1,600-meter relay, and sprint medley.

Yes, Gonzalez was the unquestioned front-runner – no pun intended – of the Oxford the past four years, but she didn’t settle for just good performances.

Gonzalez got better in her indoor specialty – the 55-meter sprint – every year.

That improvement culminated this season in which she finished with an unblemished season against Section IV competition.

Gonzalez won every regular season 55-meter race in which she competed, and she went to the Section IV state qualifier last month as one of the event favorites.

Just like every other race that season, Gonzalez was not seriously challenged. Facing athletes from all school sizes in Section IV, Gonzalez won the race with a time of 7.57 seconds.  That time qualified her for the New York State Indoor Track and Field meet.

Gonzalez did not reach the finals at the state meet, but her Oxford indoor track and field legacy was already set in stone.

“I’m incredibly proud of the exceptional sprinter she has become,” Gawronski said of Gonzalez. “Not only was she the most competitive in her age group all of these years (for the track club) and the captain of the team, but she has also spent countless hours helping me coach all of the kids/athletes behind her. She is an excellent coach and role model in every way a person can be.”