Blissfield's Hope Miller breaks mother's 1,600 record

BLISSFIELD — When Hope Miller started her the 1,600-meter last week, her mom, Andrea Miller, grabbed her phone to record the race because Hope’s dad and brother were out of town .

It turned into a keeper.

Miller ran the 1,600 in 5:17.97, breaking the school record that her mom, Andrea Stutzman, had held since 1995.

“I was videotaping that particular race because her dad and brother were out west on vacation,” she said. “When I saw the time on it, I knew it was close. I wasn’t sure. I started the video a little before the timer went off. When I stopped it, I was like, ‘Oh, that was really close.’ We waited until the official time was posted.”

Hope was excited to set the mark, especially since she had been slowed slightly by a sprained ankle in soccer a few weeks ago.

“The record has always been something that I’d hoped to be able to accomplish one day,” the Royal sophomore said. “My mom has always been one of my biggest supporters. She has cheered me on every step of the way.”

Hope has been running since elementary school when the family would run 5K’s together. Her sister June is a senior on the Royal track team and a state qualifier.

“We do a lot of backpacking and things like that,” Andrea Miller said. “We’ve always been active.”

Miller said she knew her daughter had a chance to break her record.

“I knew I was the record-holder,” Miller said. “She’s been working toward it. We’ve talked about it before. It was kind of on her radar last year, but she didn’t quite make it.

“It was pretty cool. It doesn’t make me sad to not have the record. It’s pretty awesome to get to pass it along to one of my kids.”

Miller was a state qualifier herself, finishing fifth in the 1,600 at the 1995 state track meet.

“I remember I was a junior, but I don’t remember what meet it was at for sure,” Miller said.

Hope’s record-breaking day didn’t completely take her mom off the Blissfield record board. Andrea is still part of a record-setting Royal relay.

Blissfield coach Brian Sills said Hope had been striving to reach the record.

“We kind of figured it was inevitable at some point in her high school career based on how she ran in middle school,” he said.

Hope was a state qualifier in the 1,600 last year.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Blissfield's Hope Miller breaks mother's 1,600 record