In its long and successful history, Bishop Hendricken has produced many gifted distance runners. Colby Flynn looks ready to be one of the best.
As we’ve often said, the Hawk junior belongs in the conversation when listing possible contenders for the state title this fall. Flynn proved that time and again last year on the trails, and carried that success onto the track.
(Cover photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)
Throughout his sophomore campaign in cross country, the Hendricken standout was on point no matter where he raced. His résumé included top performances at the Wickham Park Invitational (fourth, 16:23.0), the Great American XC Festival (PR, 15:35.70), and multiple highlights during the championship season. Flynn earned runner-up honors at the Class A Championships (15:45.99), placed third at the State Meet (15:43.50), and finished eighth overall at New Englands (15:45.0). One race that truly displayed his grit and determination came on the challenging 5K layout at Bowdoin Park in New York. Competing against the region’s best at Nike Cross Regionals – Northeast, Flynn kept the race honest by seizing the front-running duties midway through before ultimately placing a very respectable eighth overall—just shy of punching his ticket to Nationals two weeks later.
Flynn continued to impress during the indoor and outdoor track seasons, achieving all-time bests in several events, such as the mile (4:14.54), 3,000m (8:28.91), 1K (2:31.21), and 1,500m (3:57.71). His top time in the 1,500, secured his first indivdual title with a victory at the outdoor states.
Flynn opened his season this fall with an impressive victory at last weekend’s Injury Fund Carnival, clocking 15:43.14 to win the Danny Brennan Race — the second-fastest time of the day behind defending state champion Marshall Vernon of La Salle Academy. There will be plenty of opportunities to see how Flynn stacks up against his peers both regionally and nationally, with Hendricken entered in several high-level meets, including the Bowdoin Classic, Shore Coaches Invitational, Manhattan College Invitational, and NXR-NE. Based on what we’ve seen so far, success seems certain to follow.
In its storied history, Hendricken has produced 12 individual champions at the State Meet. Could Flynn be the 13th? With the talent up front — Vernon and Portsmouth’s Sean Gray among them — the battle will be fierce. But you can’t count Flynn out.
Not by any means.
