P‘TATER TITANS

Starch Your Engines win the 2023 St Patrick’s Day Potato Race with an unforgettable finish

“Do you believe in miracles?”

ABC Sports announcer Al Michaels asked this question in 1980 when the US Men’s Hockey team completed their famous come from behind victory over the heavily favored Russians in the Olympic Semifinal.

Michaels would go on to cover many famous sporting events over his illustrious career as a TV announcer. However, not being in Easton for the 2023 St.Patrick’s Day Potato Race may forever be his “one that got away.”

To set the stage: the Easton Utilities team, named the Utilitators, had won the previous three titles of the coveted potato race. They were well trained, and confident in their ability to take home the trophy yet again.

Enter Carolinne Kahane, team Captain and organizer of “Starch Your Engines.” Carolinne reached out to fellow team members Council President Megan Cook, Project Manager Kody Cario, and Town Planner Nick Johnson to join her on her quest for glory.

With her team assmebled, Carolinne got to work calculating how to take down the formidable Utilitators. The team would group together at the end of a work day to practice the race several times during the week of the big event. What started as a ragtag group of employees began to gel into something more.

On the day of the race excitement was high and the parking lot was full. Teams grouped up and prepped for the big event. 11 teams were split across 3 heats, the winner of each heat would advance to the finals. Rules of the race state that potatoes must be carried across the lot and transferred to your teammate without the use of hands. First team to cross the line with their potato in hand (spoon) wins.

The Utilitators were in the first heat, and they flawlessly executed their gameplan to advance to the finals. Provident State Bank managed to narrowly win a tight second heat. The third heat arrived and Starch your Engines didn’t falter. They smoothly advanced to the final in an impressive display that showed what they were capable of.

Next came the moment everyone had been waiting for. A final showdown to become the Potato Race champions. The three teams lined up across the lot, and then took off at the sound of the start.

Engines following close behind. The PSB team took a safer approach that saw them fall behind. While safe and easy worked well in the initial heats, the finals were on the line and risks would have to be taken.

In an effort to catch the reigning champs, Starch Your Engines sped up a bit too fast and lost their potato on the first leg. Tragedy had struck, and Easton Utilities pulled even farther ahead than before.

Where most teams would have thrown in the towel, Starch Your Engines buckled down, retrieved their potato and got to work. Every transfer, every carry, every step had to count towards “peeling” back lost inches on their opponent.

The next two legs were hard fought, and saw Starch Your Engines begin to close the gap on The Utilitators, although they still held a significant lead. Megan passed the potato to Carolinne, who passed it to Kody, who fought his way towards Nick for the final leg.

The last transfers took place and Nick Johnson took off in hopes off catching the Utilitators’ final member who was closing in on the finish. Nick ran as fast as he could while still balancing the potato on the precariously thin spoon.

He was swiftly making up ground.

As he closed the gap, Nick and the Utilitators’ racer were just yards from the finish line. The ribbon was being raised, the crowd along the line began screaming and no one was ready for what would happen next.

Right in the closing moments of the race, with the cham - pionship on the line, the Utilitators chance of victory collapsed when their potato fell off of their spoon and rolled along the ground. Nick kept his fortitude and sprinted past the final challenger with his potato in tow. He ran through the ribbon to an explosion of noise from the packed crowd.

Clockwise from top left: The Miracle on Ice: United States beat Russia, 1980; Super Bowl XLII: The 10-6 Giants go on to beat the undefeated 18-0 Patriots with one of the all-time greatest drives in football history; 2005 Champions League Final in Istanbul: Liverpool come back from a 3-0 halftime deficit to win aginst the heavily favored AC Milan in penalty kicks; 2023 Easton Md Potato Races: Starch Your Engines come from behind to narrowly defeat the favored reigning champions the Utilitators. Who is to say which was the greatest sporting moment in history?

They went wild. Fans and spectators were screaming and jumping and cheering all across the parking lot. The lot was soon flooded with people running to congratulate the winners.

The four of them huddled together in a celebratory embrace before being swarmed by excited spectators. Shortly thereafter, in what felt like a blur, they were standing together and raising their hard-won trophy for all to see.

Sport has been a part of humanity since the beginning. It is a thread of our fabric, woven through our inherent nature as competitors. The most entertaining, and heartwarming moments in sport are the underdog stories, the come from behind victories, the against all odds moments where all hope is lost, but somehow, someway, a person or team wills their way to victory despite the odds.

Kudos to Starch Your Engines for establishing yourselves in those upper echelons of sport, alongside other greats who never quit or gave way to the odds. You never gave up, never stopped believing, and became champions. In the words of Al Michaels (who did not attend this event), “I always believe in Miracles.”