Bearcats鈥� Biancamano dominating distance running in Mississippi
LONG BEACH, Miss. (BVM) 鈥� Two-time Gatorade Mississippi Track and Field Athlete of the Year and two-time Gatorade Mississippi Cross Country Runner of the Year Brooklyn Biancamano is ready to defend her crown, again.聽聽
Standing at 5-foot-4, Biancamano is blazing one of the best prep careers Mississippi has seen and she鈥檚 only halfway through high school. With the four combined statewide Gatorade running awards as a sophomore, she has matched Kate Mattox, who attended Starkville High School from 2013-17. Biamcamano trails Pass Christian鈥檚 Cory McGee for the most who won six total awards from 2007-10 in cross country and track. McGee went on to become a 10-time All-American at the University of Florida and took third in the mile at the 2019 USA Track & Field Indoor Championships.
鈥淐ory is from one town over,鈥� Brooklyn鈥檚 mother and coach Erin Biancamano said. 鈥淐ory has offered a lot of advice to Brooklyn as her career progresses. We saw her race in Memphis. She has been so kind to Brooklyn.鈥澛�
At the MHSAA 5A cross country state championships in 2019, Brooklyn ran the fastest all-class time that day with a time of 18:33.20 which was almost a minute faster than her closest opponent. Including her state title run, Biancamano won eight of her nine races which helped secure fourth place for her Long Beach team at the Class 5A level.
Unfortunately, Brooklyn was not able to participate in her sophomore season of track because of the COVID-19 outbreak.聽
鈥淪he鈥檚 pretty bummed out that she missed her track season,鈥� Erin said.
Erin serves as Long Beach High School鈥檚 head girls cross country coach and an assistant coach for track and field. She took over the head coaching role when Brooklyn began her freshman year.聽
Brooklyn has been running at the high school level since seventh grade. As a soccer player, coaches saw her speed and suggested she take up cross country and track. Since Brooklyn has been competing, her dominance has been on full display.
In 35 high school competitions, Biancamano has crossed the finish line first 22 times and finished in the top-three nine times. Brooklyn has also participated in multiple races at the national level taking silver in the 2017 Junior Olympics at 4K.聽
鈥淪he is always out in front when she races in Mississippi,鈥� Erin said. 鈥淗aving her race in those national races presents her with new challenges and exposure she doesn鈥檛 get at the local level.鈥�
Along with her athletic success, Brooklyn has had tremendous success in the classroom. Maintaining a 5.34 GPA on a 4.0 scale, ranked No. 1 in her class, she continues to flourish academically.
Brooklyn has also donated her time to her community. She has served on the Long Beach Mayor Youth Council and has volunteered with physically and intellectually challenged youth.
As the cross country season approaches, Brooklyn finds herself in a unique situation. With multiple fall sports seasons in jeopardy around the country, If the fall slate does indeed happen, look for Brooklyn to have another strong season on the trails and the track.
鈥淪he is motivated,”Erin said. 鈥淪he aims to run in college and hopefully can have a running career post-college.鈥�
