Students fight on race track, while still racing

Two high school athletes took the term ‘fight to the finish’ literally when they sparked a mass brawl during a relay race in New York City.

The athletes from Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn and Mount Vernon High School in suburban Westchester County were competing in the Hispanic Games last weekend.

As the two unnamed players came into the home straight to exchange their batons, they got tangled up together and ended up both running off the track.

Punches began to fly and in seconds, the rest of their respective teams joined in the fight.

The row took place during a heat for the relay race at the Hispanic Games, one of the largest track meets in the nation.

Some 6,000 high school athletes from 300 schools attended the meet at the Armory Track in Harlem.

The cameraman did not linger on the fight and instead zoomed in tightly on the new leader.

The announcer made no mention of the disorder on the track and simply announced a new race leader.

Despite the dust-up, at least one Thomas Jefferson High School relay team still managed to make it to the finals – taking 26th place out of 52.

by Sasha Dubronitz

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