Draft:Domencic Family Quarter Mile Classic
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Domencic Family Quarter Mile Classic
The Domencic Family Quarter Mile Classic is a running event that takes place every year on December 24th. The race is one lap around a standard 400-meter length track. The event began in the year 2001 and has been held every year since. The event is open to all members of the Domencic family. Each classic has been held at Lenzner Field, the sports field for Avonworth High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There have been 24 editions of the Quarter Mile Classic with Andrew Domencic holding the record for most wins with 12.
The Early Years
The first Domencic Quarter-mile Classic race on Christmas Eve of 2001 was done on what seemed to be a whim of three brothers: Joe, Paul, and Peter Domencic. Their goal was to see who could win at a distance that was expected to be the most competitive among them. They were young (only one of them had reached age 30), and running was a God-given gift and common ground they shared, one that has continued to bring them together in years since. The first years of the Classic were small in numbers. It is unknown what many of the contestants' official times are. Some of the participants at the first or second Classic believe that the event may have been run clockwise, which is counter to the usual direction. There has been speculation about this, but the Classic archives indicate no definitive answer.
The 2002 classic had seven participants: Heather, Mary, Tai, Joe, Paul, and Peter.
Joe’s Seven Consecutive Wins
There is a lot left to the imagination about the first years of the Classic. What’s clear is that Joe was the winner for the first seven of the events.
Three Brothers, Three Years, Three Wins
While the beginnings of the Quarter Mile Classic stemmed from the competition between the three brothers Paul, Peter, and Joe, Joe dominated the event. It was not until 2008 that Paul broke through to capture his first classic. The following year, Joe won and captured the newly introduced trophy. It would be the last of his 8 Classic victories. Peter was the last remaining brother of the original three to win the Classic. In 2010 he would win his first and only Classic making it three different winners in three years.
Andrew’s Decade of Dominance
Beginning in 2011, Andrew Domencic began to dominate the annual running of the classic. In his first win in 2011, he set the classic record at 1:01.7. At fourteen years old, Andrew remains the youngest winner of the Quarter Mile Classic. Andrew continued to dominate the classic for the next several years. From 2013-2019, Andrew's average margin of victory was 7.5 seconds. The closest margin of victory was in 2016 when Andrew's 1:04.4 was good enough to beat his younger brother Alex's 1:07.1. During this time, Andrew was never pushed by the rest of the field. This likely influenced his decision to invite his college teammates to the Classic in 2020.
2020 Edition
The 2020 edition of the class remains a unique one. Andrew had won 9 classics in a row and there seemed little anyone could do to change that in 2020. After finishing his collegiate cross-country career at Geneva College, Andrew invited his teammates Micah Daigneault and Josh Duffie to compete in the classic. While Andrew was seeded in lane 1, Micah and Josh were seeded in lane 5 and 6, respectively. By 200 meters, Micah and Josh were even while Andrew was a few meters behind. Micah finished strong and won in his only Classic appearance with a new record of 55.1 seconds. Andrew finished second and Josh finished third.
Andrew Three-peat
In 2021, Andrew returned to his winning ways. While his time of 1:00.8 was Andrew's first time over one minute since 2016, he still finished over eleven seconds in front of Alex. Dustin finished on the podium for the first time at age 13. The next two years featured the same top three: Andrew, Alex, and Dustin. The 2022 running was hurt by low temperatures and a snow-covered track which resulted in the slowest times in the modern era.
The Future
2024 marked the return of Samuel and Simon to the Classic after being absent for the last three years. In previous Classics, Simon had three 2nd place finishes while Samuel had two 3rd place finishes. In the fall of 2024, Samuel began his cross-country collegiate career at Immaculata University making him a strong favorite to become the first Domencic to win the Classic other than Andrew since 2010. Andrew had suffered a knee injury earlier in the year that had a heavy impact on his training. All signs pointed toward the passing of the baton between the two cousins. Samuel strode to victory with a time of 58.9 seconds in his track spikes even with the back straight covered in snow and ice.
Weather at the Classic
Weather in Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve can vary. From 1991-2020, the mean temperature was 33.7 degrees Fahrenheit. 2015 marked the highest temperature for any class with the high temperature at 63 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest classic recorded was in 2022 when the high temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit. 2022 also had snow covering the entirety of the track. The back straight in 2024 was covered in ice and snow.
The Future
Samuel will undoubtedly be the favorite in the Classic for the next few years. However, there are several cousins that have the potential to win the Classic in future years. Keala and Renya are both twelve years old and have shown promising times in the past few years. Keala’s personal best is 1:21.3. Kahlil has shown a fierce competitive side and finished at 1:46.1 at just six years old. Perhaps Andrew can regain his form, or maybe Alex can finally break through after a record six 2nd place finishes without a win. Similarly, Simon has four 2nd place finishes without a win and will be highly motivated to regain the edge in his sibling rivalry with Samuel.
Tidbits
Only two athletes have won the event more than once: Joe won the first seven classics starting from its inception in 2001, and Andrew has won 12 classics. Andrew’s 12 classic wins total as half of the number of events. He also won a record 9 classics in a row from 2011-2019.
The classic record was set in 2020 by Micah at 55.1 seconds. This broke the previous record held by Andrew of 55.8 seconds, established in 2017. The Domencic Classic record still stands at 55.8 seconds. During his first win in 2011, Andrew set a new classic record of 1:01.7. He would then break his own record three more times in the years 2012, 2014, and 2017.
Somewhere along the way, friend, teacher, mentor, and photographer Tom Steiner was invited to come to the Classic to take pictures, which he has graciously and faithfully done for many years now. The family is grateful for his support in so many ways.
Yearly Podium
| Year | First Place | Second Place | Third Place |
| 2001 | Joe (1:08) | ||
| 2002 | Joe | ||
| 2003 | Joe | ||
| 2004 | Joe (1:13) | ||
| 2005 | Joe | ||
| 2006 | Joe | ||
| 2007 | Joe | ||
| 2008 | Paul (1:08) | ||
| 2009 | Joe (1:06.3) | ||
| 2010 | Peter (1:04.8) | ||
| 2011 | Andrew (1:01.7) | ||
| 2012 | Andrew (58.8) | ||
| 2013 | Andrew (59.9) | Sean (1:10.75) | Dino (1:10.77) |
| 2014 | Andrew (57.6) | Alex (1:05.9) | Dino (1:11.1) |
| 2015 | Andrew (57.6) | Alex (1:09.7) | Peter (1:12.2) |
| 2016 | Andrew (1:04.4) | Alex (1:07.1) | Joe (1:12.5) |
| 2017 | Andrew (55.8) | Simon (1:02.5) | Alex (1:07.5) |
| 2018 | Andrew (57.3) | Simon (1:02.8) | Samuel (1:11.7) |
| 2019 | Andrew (58.9) | Simon (1:05.1) | Samuel (1:11.1) |
| 2020 | Micah (55.1) | Josh (56.5) | Andrew (56.9) |
| 2021 | Andrew (1:00.8) | Alex (1:11.9) | Dustin (1:16.1) |
| 2022 | Andrew (1:11.9) | Alex (1:26.4) | Dustin (1:31.2) |
| 2023 | Andrew (1:02.4) | Alex (1:11.2) | Dustin (1:14.1) |
| 2024 | Samuel (58.9) | Simon (1:03.9) | Jayla (1:08.7) |
| 2025 |
All Time Leaderboard
| Rank | Athlete | Years | First | Second | Third | Total |
| 1 | Andrew | 2011-2023 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| 2 | Joe | 2001-2016 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Samuel | 2018-2024 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Peter | 2010,2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 5= | Paul | 2008 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5= | Micah | 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Alex | 2014-2023 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | Simon | 2017-2024 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Dustin | 2021-2023 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Classic Record Progression
| Time | Athlete | Year |
| 1:08 | Joe | 2001 |
| 1:06.3 | Joe | 2009 |
| 1:04.8 | Peter | 2010 |
| 1:01.7 | Andrew | 2011 |
| 58.8 | Andrew | 2012 |
| 57.6 | Andrew | 2014 |
| 55.8 | Andrew | 2017 |
| 55.1 | Micah | 2020 |
Top Ten Fastest Times
| Rank | Time | Athlete | Year | Finish |
| 1 | 55.1 | Micah | 2020 | 1st |
| 2 | 55.8 | Andrew | 2017 | 1st |
| 3 | 56.5 | Josh | 2020 | 2nd |
| 4 | 56.9 | Andrew | 2020 | 3rd |
| 5 | 57.3 | Andrew | 2018 | 1st |
| 6 | 57.6 | Andrew | 2014 | 1st |
| 7 | 57.6 | Andrew | 2015 | 1st |
| 8 | 58.8 | Andrew | 2012 | 1st |
| 9 | 58.9 | Andrew | 2019 | 1st |
| 10 | 58.9 | Samuel | 2024 | 1st |