Sorry I haven’t posted in a little while, but I needed to take some time off after the state meet. Anyway, I’ve been covering the sport for a little while now and I felt you should know that, unfortunately, I am leaving the paper and won’t be with you in the fall. As some of you knew I taught 10th grade social studies in Washington Heights and at the end of June I was laid off. The wife and I figured this was as good a time as any to move to Massachusetts (my wife’s home state).

I just wanted to thank everyone for reading the blog, posting your comments, voting on the polls and following the top sport in Section 1 while I covered it. Whoever will cover cross country this season will probably be an upgrade, so at least that’s a positive. I am disappointed, however, that I won’t be covering cross country this season. As much as I like track, I have to admit cross country is definitely my favorite. And I know it’s early and most of the running camps haven’t really gotten under way and the practices aren’t in full swing, but since I won’t be here when the season begins, I figured I would post some predictions and then we can see how accurate I am come November.

Boys

Class AA - North Rockland (Kevin McKenna) – The Red Raiders are bringing back the majority of the team that won the Rockland county title and was, along with Arlington, upset by Suffern a year ago at sectionals. I think Mahopac could have a real solid year and Arlington you know will retool, but North Rockland is the team to beat heading into the season. Suffern’s the defending champs and I believe it has the best runner in McKenna, followed by Nick Hughes and James McDonough, but Suffern is only returning McKenna and Mitchell. And North Rockland, while the team did graduate Carrington has plenty of talent behind Hughes in Charlie Lagros, James Naglieri and Charles Brophy to name a few.

Class A – Fox Lane (Manu Kumar) – Fox Lane is the defending champs and returning four runners from a year ago should be the favorite, but it was that fifth runner last year that nearly kept them from a sectional title. You would figure the team should develop one runner to take that fifth spot. Last year it was nearly 90 seconds that separated runner 5 from 6. If they falter than Brewster is my choice. The team is led by sophomore Charlie Carr, who is surround by seniors – John Carr, Neeraj and Mike Thomas. Greeley is a senior heavy team and Somers had a year to retool. Yorktown probably doesn’t have enough depth behind Kumar.

Class B – Byram Hills (Chris Cioffoletti) – This was a two-team meet last year and Pearl River and Byram Hills should be at it again. Byram is bringing back its full top five including Joe Violone, while Pearl River is moving on without Hickey. You can’t count out Pearl River and I think new coach Mike Kiernan who is taking over for Jim Gurci should do a good job, but he has a big gap to replace. Right now Byram is by far the top team in this class. There are other top individuals – Max Robinson (rye) and Jim Hertzel (Putnam Valley), but there’s only one top-to-bottom team right now.

Class C – Dobbs Ferry (Julian Saliani) – Irvington graduated a lot last year and Dobbs Ferry should have more or less the same crew with the Wortner brothers – Patrick and Brendan. Irvington will be in the mix, but as long as Dobbs came fill out that fifth runner spot they should be OK, especially with having two of the top three runners in the class. Saliani could be in for a big season. You have to keep an eye on Pawling with Freyer and Bronxville is probably a year or two away.

Girls

Class AA – North Rockland (Jessica Tobin) – Talk about a different feel. For five years Shelby Greany was the talk of this class, now Suffern has new runners and new coaches and Lou Hall and Tom McTaggart both retired. Again watch out for Arlington – this team always retools. But North Rockland could be the team to beat. It did lose Gamboli, but its next four best runners – three were freshman, one was a sophomore. Jessica Falcon and Ellie Hekker will be looked on to lead this team. Clarkstown South probably doesn’t have enough behind Jessica Tobin. White Plains is still a year or two away, but the Trelstad sisters could lead this team to a title before they graduate.

Class A – Ursuline (Jacqueline Pollack) – Ursuline did graduate its best runner in Katie Sullivan, but this team proved last year it has the depth to withstand a loss like that. There’s a good mix on this team and sophomore Mary O’Shea looked real good last year as a freshman. There’s enough senior leadership on this team to defend their title, but I would be concerned if the team can’t find someone to break into the top 5. At this point I would say they should be able to, but Tappan Zee and Brewster will be right on Ursuline’s heels. Brewster will struggle at the backend with runners 4-5. But watch Tappan Zee. It brings back all five runners from a team that took second last year.

Class B – Pearl River (Chelsea Kushner-Erica Guerin-Kelli VanHouten-Kerry Guerin-Molly Shine-Maria Kohlbrenner) – That’s right! In an unprecedented maneuver Pearl River’s top six runners all cross the finish line at the same time. It’s so perfect the automated timing can’t separate who finished before whom and each runner is awarded a first place medal.  No, probably not likely, but Pearl River is clearly going for a state championship. Keep in mind this is a team that ranked in the top 50 in the country last year. There are other individuals who are really talented in this class – Megan Young (Nanuet), Jessica Kendzor and Breeda Mannion (Kennedy), but no team will challenge Pearl River, not at this meet anyway.

Class C – Bronxville (Meredith Rizzo) – Bronxville graduated an all-time great team last year. It arguably had three of the top runners in the class. But this is a team that can rebuild and do it quickly. It still has Henrietta Miers, Rizzo, Amelia Phillips, Mary Cain – this is a team that was led by seniors a year ago to one that will be focused on a lot of 9th graders, obviously Miers will be looked on to be one of the leaders of this young group. Normally a team with this much youth you don’t know what to expect, but I don’t see who could beat them. Again there are goo individuals – Libby Lazare (Pleasantville) and Sarah King (Dobbs Ferry), but I don’t see any team toppling Bronxville, not this year anyway.

Well that’s it. I’ll try and keep up with cross country this fall. Good luck to all the coaches and athletes, and once again, thanks for your passion for the sport.

Hey Bloggers – check out the links below to see the full all-county/all-star sections!

All County

All Star

Enjoy bloggers!

Hey bloggers!

I just got word that Suffern’s Jen Clayton finished first in the long jump at the 2009 World Youth Track & Field Trials in Ypsilanti, Michigan today with a 19-7.5.

This qualified her to take a trip to Italy to compete in the IAAF World Youth Championships as part of the U.S. team. Two people per event make this team.

Just wanted to congratulate Jen on this accomplishment and wish her luck!

Casey

Hey,

I received some updates about Junior Nationals in Oregon.

Ursuline’s Katie Sullivan competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase tonight. She finished fourth with a time of 11:16.38. Sullivan had a really impressive end to her season, it’s sad to see her go.

Iona Prep’s Kyle Shepard competed in the 3,000 steeplechase as well. He finished 11th in the jr. men’s division with a time of 9:37.89.

Teammate Sean Halpin competed yesterday in the 800 jr. men’s first round. He finished 20th with a time of 1:54.28.

Hope you enjoyed the update but I must be getting to bed. I have to be up dark and early at 4:45 a.m. tomorrow so bye for now.

Casey

The All Star and All County sections will be out on July 10th. So go pick up the paper that day!

Casey

Hey bloggers,

I wanted to post a bit of a correction. It’s come to my attention that for the high jump federation title, Megan Talay and Janelle Clayton tied for second at 5 feet 7 inches, with the same amount of misses.

I wanted to clear this up because both girls did an amazing job and deserve the credit.

Apparently, I saw an early or incorrect version of the high jump results because I checked that sheet like six times while writing my story and then when I checked it online last night upon hearing this news, not only were they tied but their names were in a different order then before. But who knows what happened there.

Casey and I arrived at our hotel late last night. We actually ran into the Section 1 bus at one of the rest stops along 87. I have a feeling this will be a pretty good state meet. Last year, I thought the facilities ar Buffalo were real nice, but for some reason I thought that 12 hour drive took a lot of the athletes – all the athletes, not just Section 1. I just felt like the times were kind of slow and no one seemed to really have good leg strength after that trip. But this meet I’m expecting to be pretty good.

Here is the link to view the order of events for the meet. I’m bringing my lap top to the meet, but I have no idea what Cicero-North is like. Hopefully there’s a press box with wireless access. If there is I’ll keep upi posted of anything notable. So, check back in about an hour or so and we should know then if I have wireless.

Well, the state entry list has been posted. If you want to take a look click here to view the boys list and to view the girls list click here. Let me know what you think.

I’ll be back to preview the meet from Section 1’s point of view a little later today. But in the mean time, what do you think? Anyone who could surprise? Is it what you expected? Let me know. Two things I’ll throw off the bat right way – it looks as though Jesse Drinks is too hurt to compete at states as he is not listed in the 100. The other is Mike Abelard is the top seed in the 200.

Now that we’re in the home stretch and states are only a few days away I figured we could throw up a new poll. Our last poll was close as the most competitive event at qualifiers. The boys 3,200 relay won by one vote of over the boys 800. And both races were pretty close. The relay had two teams break 7:50 and the 800 had Aki, Lyle and Dapice moving down the final stretch.

Now I want to know who you think has the best chance to come away with a federation title. I threw up a few names of people that have a real good shot. But I want to know what you think? Is it Halpin? Or Clayton? Maybe Roller can continue her stellar season. Anyway, let me know.

This has been a busy summer between weddings, graduations and christenings. I’m at work now and it’s actually a reprieve from all this other stuff I’ve had to do. Anyway, yesterday was the last meet before states, giving some athletes one last chance to qualify for states(Tejorn Davis) or others just trying to get one last race before making the trip up to Ithaca.

If you haven’t seen the stories in today’s paper, click here to read how Sean Halpin ran a blistering 1:51 in the 800. Be sure to also read the girls’ story on the Somers 800 relay success and how Bronxville 7th grader Mary Cain continues to impress.

Anyway, here’s some other stuff from the meet:

Hey bloggers!

So I just got in from Eastern States over at Iona Prep and something tells me I have yet another sunburn from covering track. I really should invest in some sunscreen.

I have to say overall though it was a really great day. A lot of great events and great athletes. After rushing over to Iona Prep afraid I was late, I discovered the event didn’t actually start until 10 a.m. Well at least I got to settle in (and find out my camera was dead). Fortunately, I had the charger and their was an extra outlet at the timing table. I got some good pictures so hopefully my foray into photography will work out excellently tomorrow morning.

Anyway, results. I know you are dying for them. Well I’ll give you a quick recap and the results will be on the next page.

First off, Shilesha Johnson from Spring Valley took first place in the 100-meter with a 12.41. She is going to be great at states next weekend if she keeps her speeds up.

Bronxville’s Caitlin Hudson finished with a 2:15.51 in the 800-meter, while Nanuet’s Megan Young took third place with a 2:18.91. While Hudson is having a great end to her career, Young is starting out her career at Nanuet with an amazing beginning.

Diana Sainvil from Woodlands came in first in the 100-hurdles with a 15.22, just a tenth of a second faster than Aeigha McDavid from Ursuline. In the 400-hurdles, New Rochelle’s Amira Yeiser took second with a 66.08.

The pole vault was a second one affair with Ursuline’s Claire Murphy taking first place with a height of 10-6, while both Carissa Leonardi (Lakeland/Panas) and Angelica Gilsenen (Pearl River) reached 10-0. Ursuline’s Fiona Nugent vaulted 9-6. Both Leonardi and Gilsenen will be representing Section 1 at the state tournament.

Charlotte Pope had a good day taking first place in the discus with a 120-0 and second place in the hammer with a 142-9.

Sally Gale still remains a top the rankings int he high jump, jumping a height of 5-4 today.

Suffern took first place in the 6,400-relay over Ursuline with a 21:53.28. The Mouties second team took third.

Okay, well I think that’s about it for now. Dan will be on later with the boys results.

The complete results for the girls (minus the shot put which ran into the boys meet) are on the next page.

Enjoy

Casey

Aki Bajulaiye will only be competing in the 3,200 relay. I know it’s been rumored, but that is true. New Rochelle has a real good shot at winning a state title in the event and obviously it would be better if Bajulaiye was fresh. The other factor is that if Aki qualified on Friday, June 12 for the federation final on Saturday (with the way he’s been running 1:53-54 it easily could happen) then he would have to run the 800 three times in two days.

Now that Aki’s out that opens up a spot for Mike Dapice who still had a shot to qualify in the 1,600, but he doesn’t need to worry about that anymore (I also think the 800 is his better race).

Another interesting note and I’ll have more info about this, but apparently because of budgetary concerns the relay teams (two could qualify this season, instead of just one) are not allowed to take any alternates. So, the Ramapo runners or Suffern or Valhalla (basically it effects any team that had a relay team qualify for states and a member on that team is competing in something else) needs to run its full compliment of athletes in all relays (trials included). That could mean runners like Mike Abelard, Jen Clayton, Philip Flynn, and  so on, will need to compete in trials and semis in the relays as well as their other events.

Some teams, like Ramapo or Suffern, could have qualified for the finals without using its top runners, but that would all but eliminate that possibility. Like I said, I will try and get more info on this because it could definitely effect some teams.

I was scanning through some of the photos of the state quals today and I thought a bunch of the pictures were pretty good. Below are some of the pictures. I hope you enjoy.

I don’t know how may of you have seen this, but over at dyestat they previewed the Fast Times meet, If you haven’t seen it, click here to check it out. It’s pretty good.

I won’t waste a lot of time since there’s a bunch of stuff to get too. Although, how about Ramapo’s 1,600 relay team? Wow – 3:16.50 at Grand Prix. What else can you say about that team. That time was good for third at the meet. That team just gets better and better. It’s really impressive.

Now onto the qualifiers:

Boys

200 – Mike Abelard just continues to get better. He ran a 21.58 to win the 200 and was very impressive in doing so. He has an outside shot to win two state titles, although he definitely has a better chance to win the 200. And let’s not forget that 1,600 relay team. Unfortunately Jesse Drinks pulled up about 60 meters from the finish line. It didn’t look like a straight pull and he did finish the race. He seemed to be walking around OK afterwards, so hopefully it was just a cramp.

Here’s some info from the meet down at Icahn Stadium: Sean Halpin won the open 800 with a time of 1:54.9. He was near the middle of the pack the majority of the race and with 200 to go he made his move for the lead and held on for the win. Sean Atkinson of Nazareth was second in 1:55.60.

Bronxville’s Henrietta Miers also ran in the open 800 and finished in 2:21.48. The winning time was a pretty speedy 2:09.72 by Claudia Francis of Cardozo.

Since there’s a lot of stuff to talk about from the past few days I’m going to break it up into two different posts. We’ll start with the results from Day 1 at Arlington and then we’ll make our way down to White Plains.

As most of you have read and I’m sure a number of you saw first-hand it was quite a busy day at Arlington. It was a tough two days of running I thought. The weather really wasn’t the greatest to run in. It was cold, you were waiting for it to rain, both days were kind of like that.

Anyway, congratulations to the athletes who qualified for the state meet ad here are some of the highlights from the first day’s competition:

This was a very long night. I’m just going to throw up some of the highlights from the meet. I’m still not sure why this meet can’t be run on a Saturday. I’m sure there’s a reason, but for us media types it’s tough when the meet goes late because we have to leave before all the events are compeleted in order to file our stories by deadline.

Anyway, it was a real exciting meet.

Mike Abelard looks rediculously fast. To win the 200 in 21.58 – not bad.

The 400 was one of the more impressive events. There’s Chris Davis (48.83) from Roosevelt and Alex Petit-Frere (50.16) both qualify for states. Davis looked really strong. And then you have Kevin Sainvil win the D 2 400 breaking 50 and he qualified in the 200.

Sticking with Woodlands there’s Alexis Easterling – 56.62 and 25.32. Apparently she’s given up on the jumps and is focusing on just the running. It’s definitely working. She looks phenominal running.

Joe Fox and Charlotte Pope dominated the throws these past two days. They are the by far the best in the section.

Dasheen Ellis – 45 9 1/2 nice triple jump. Then of course there’s Sean Reilly jumping 47. Reill’y an increible athlete, but that was a big jump for Ellis.

The 3,200 relay was exciting with New Rochelle breaking 7:50 and edgint out Arlington. Fox Lane made a late charge, but just fell short. Irvington had a late rally to win D 2 as Julian Saliani will be competing at states in the relay and the 1,600 after he won that in about 4:30.

How about a freshman – Nina Sarmiento from Harrison running the 400 hurdles in 64 seconds. Her coaches kept telling me she’s an extraordinary athletes. She proved that tonight.

Shelby Greany easily won the steeple and ran in the 3,200 relay, which saw North Rockland win in 9:17. Suffern and Bronxville were right behind them. Bronxville will be able to try and put an outdoor state/federation title with its indoor one.

Nat Recine was impressive qualifying in both the 100 and 200 for Bronxville.

After not qualifying in the 3,000 yesterday, I was happy to see Megan Young win the 1,500 to make the state meet. She’s to talented a runner to keep out of the meet.

I know there’s other stuff to be mentioned, and I’ll be back on tomorrow after some sleep to talk about both days of qualifiers. In the mean time, please feel free to talk about whatever else you want to from the qualifiers.

It’s late, and I’m a little tired and for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to wear shorts to Arlington – it wasn’t, so this will be a short little post.

Some of the highlights from Day 1:

Jen Clayton won both the long jump and 100 dash. The 100 was stacked with Clayton winning, Tanaya Yarde was second with Tori Alexander and Shilesha Johnson the next two.

Jesse Drinks beat out Mike Abelard in the 100 – 10.94-11.15. Round 2 will be tomorrow in the 200.

800 was stacked – Aki Bajulaiye (1:54.34) beat out Lyle Haywood. Mike Dapice and Ryan Gomba just missed out – 1:56.98 was Gomba’s time and he was fourth.

Katie Sullivan was impressive in the 3,000 running away with it in 10:14

Mike Hickey won the 3,200 – 9:23.

Jarman Esperance won the 110 hurdles, Ryan Lacossade edged out Ryan Whitley, 14.80-.81.

Carissa Leonardi – a sophomore – won the pole vault clearing 11-0.

In Division 2, Jon Filipe for Valhalla won the 800 in 2:02 and Diana Sainvill of Woodlands won both the 100 hurdles and 100 dash.

Jessica Kendzor of Kennedy won the 800 in 2:19.17. Patrick Wortner of Dobbs Ferry took first in the 3,200 in 9:59.65.

Nat Recine won the D-2 100 dash.

That’s all the stuff I have on me, I’ll have more info tomorrow. Hopefully it doesn’t rain. Let me know what you think of some of the first day’s results.

I figured with state quals tomorrow, I would attach the schedule of events for the meet. So, here it is:

THURSDAY – 6:00 PM– TRACK        ARLINGTON HS

1.      Pent 110 Hurdles (B)
2.      110 Hurdles (S-F) (B)
3.      Pent 100 Hurdles (G)
4.      100 Hurdles (S-F) (G)
5.      100 Meter Dash (S-F) (B)
6.      100 Meter Dash (S-F) (G)
7.      800 Meter Run (B)
8.      800 Meter Run (G)
9.      3200 Meter Run (B)
10.      3000 Meter Run (G)
11.      100 Meter Hurdles (F) (G)
12.       110 Meter Hurdles (F) (B)
13.      100 Meter Dash (F) (B)
14.     100 Meter Dash (F) (G)

This week’s gameface is up. Make sure you click here in order to go and vote. This week there are two track athletes up for nomination. You should either vote for Tameekia Cooper of New Rochelle or Christi Marracini of Harrison.

It is time for a new poll, and I posted it over on the right. In our last poll, Lakeland/Panas edged out the Pearl River boys 15-14 percent. Both teams had exceptional sectional meets, with the Pearl River boys winning the sectional title holding off Nyack. Obviously we can’t discount the strong performance of the Lakeland team as well. The next two closest teams were Tappan Zee, which is another team that has had a strong season, and Spring Valley that has really built up a nice program and is definitely a team on the rise.

Now for our new poll I want you to tell me what event you think is going to be the toughest to qualify in. It can be for either division and any event. So, what do you think? I’ve made some of my thoughts pretty clear on some of the events I’m looking forward to. But what events do you think will have pretty tough battles. I know there are a few more events then the ones I have listed, so feel free to vote and add any other event that you think will be pretty competitive. And as always thanks fo voting.

I’m back from my little Boston vacation. Unfortunately I was unable to get access to a computer, but I’m back now. I obviously wasn’t at the Class A meet or the CHSAA meet, but between what I heard and read I figured it’s enough to make a post. And if there’s anything that you want to talk about from anything over the weekend then please let me know and post a comment below.

Now with championship week over, our next big day begins this week really on Thursday and Friday with the state qualifiers (I don’t count Wednesday because the events can’t qualify for the state meet). After today we will begin to turn our attention on the state qualifiers and state meet.

After Bronxville won titles in both the boys and girls, now it’s Pearl River’s turn to win both titles. It was the boys first title since 1994, while the girls have won four in a row.

It was close though for the boys as Nyack – which may have had one of the most underrated teams in the sectiion – finished second.

Mike Hickey obviously had a very impressive meet winning the 1,600 and 3,200. He needed to have a big meet in order for this team to have a chance. But one of the realy keys to the Pirates victory was senior sprinter Rich Ricca. Winning the 100 and 200 were crucial to Pearl River’s win.

And then of course you have the team’s plethora of pole vaulters. In case you lost count -it’s up to three the number of athletes they have that can clear 12 feet. You have Chris Spadaccini, Pat Scognamiglio and Frances Depinto.

Hey bloggers,

So, just wanted to give some more highlights from Class C yesterday.

First off, in the boys 400 relay, four teams were disqualified, including Valhalla, who had a photo finish with Bronxville. The Broncos wound up taking first place with a 44.6.

Pat Wortner from Dobbs Ferry ran an impressive 10:09.7. Wortner was more than in the lead the entire race. His brother Brendan Wortner took second with a 10:47.2.

Paolo Luciano had a great night for Valhalla, finishing second in the 110 hurdles with a 17.3 and second in the 400 hurdles with a 1:01.7. Luciano also took first place in the pole vault with a height of 9-6.

Tyonna Smith from Hamilton did well taking second in the 100 hurdles with a 16.0. Teammate Tameeka Smith took second in the 100 witth a 12.4 and third in the 200 with a 27.0.

The Bronxville girls 1,600 relay team ran a 4:04.9, beating out Woodlands in the final lap. The Falcons finished with a 4:06.2.

We’ll keep you updated on the steeplechase tomorrow!

Casey

Then the girls went out and dominated the meet. You knew the Huguenots would have a better chance in the outdoor season because there were more throwing events and they certainly took advantage of that. Charlotte Pope was clearly the star of the meet. She won the shot put, discus and the hammer. Actually in the hammer, New Rochelle scored 28 points alone.

I think it was clear that New Rochelle was on top of its game right from the ver beginning. When Amanda Egbuta won the 100 hurdles – beating out Tameekia Cooper and Aesiha McDavid. That gave New Rochelle a real big boost and from there the team just took off.

Since the start of the season the New Rochelle boys track and field team has been talking about winning the triple crown – leagues, counties and sectionals. Well, they’re one meet away from that goal. And what an impressive accomplishment that will be. But I’ll try to avoid looking ahead to much. Anyway, what an intense meet.

After that great 1,600 relay run by Iona Prep where it edged out New Rochelle at the finish line, I thought it was over. The one problem with track is that you never really know the score. You have everyone looking at the score sheet trying to add up the scores and you just don’t know. Coach Gallino of New Rochelle had an excellent quote when she said, “It’s important to remember that this is track and field and what happens out of sight still counts.” And that was absolutely the difference on Saturday.

This meet is always tough on Iona Prep as the team has the prom the night before every year. It’s obviously not the ideal situation, but the Gaels made a run at yet another county title. Sean Halpin attempted an insane quadruple – 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 4×4. He was pushed in th800 by Aki Bajulaiye and Jamie Mitchell of Fox Lane, but still took first in 1:56. He nearly ran three miles of competitive racing the night after the prom where Im sure he didn’t get much sleep. That was a gutsy performance by Halpin and an excellent job.

Sorry for my absence on Sunday, covering two meets on back-to-back days wiped me out. But it was quite the exciting weekend. I’ll talk about Rockland first, then Westchester. It’s so much better when these meets are close, and I’ve been pretty lucky the past few years covering track and cross country where the winner isn’t determined until the last event or last runner finishes.

It was the same Friday night with North Rockland and Ramapo. I have to admit, about a week ago I thought North Rockland would win – it would be close, but I thought it would be able to put Ramapo away. Then the news came about Nick Hughes not being able to compete and I thought Ramapo had a shot. But then you didn’t know what Clarkstown South or Suffern were capable of. Suffern beat Ramapo at the league meet, but lost to North Rockland.

Below are a few thoughts I have about the meet:

New Rochelle pulled it out in both the boys and girls meet. The boys had to sweat it out as they got a 3-point victory. It came down to the hammer and the long jump – the two last events to be counted. Iona had a nine point lead late, but New Rochelle rallied to win.

The girls were really imoressive as they beat out Ursuline and Mount Vernon. The girls looked focus from the very beginning and the meet never really got that close as New Rochelle looked much better in the relays this season than they did in the winter. Congratulations to all the county winners. I’ll be back with more later.

This was a pretty exciting meet. There were a lot of high quality performances, but in the end it was the North Rockland boys that held on to capture the county title of Ramapo. It wasn’t until the last event had completed – the 1,600 relay, that North Rockland had officially won. The team had a great meet. But so did Ramapo who performed exceptionally well at the meet, but came in second.

It was Suffern on the girls side that took first place. The team received the typical performances from Shelby and the Claytons, but it was the Goldmanns and the Bowens that helped the Mounties beat out a very strong North Rockland team. Like I said, this meet had some increible performances. I’ll talk more about the meet tomorrow after I get back from the Westchester championships.

As someone posted earlier Suffern’s Kevin McKenna took first in the steeplechase running 6:08.4. Tappan Zee took second and third as Danny Kane (6:15.8) and Matt Panebianco (6:24.2) continue to have big-time seasons. North Rockland took fourth and fifth as James Naglieri finished in 6:25.9 and Nick Hughes followed him in 6:28.7. Good start to the meet for Suffern. It needed to get a win in this event and McKenna got it.

In the shot put, no surprise as Joe Fox continues his strong season winning the event with a throw of 54-4 3/4. Abel Gilet of Clarkstown North took second, followed by Gabe Felix of Spring Valley. North Rockland got on the board as James Casey finished fourth for North Rockland.

For the girls, no surprise as Shelby Greany took first in a more-pedestrian-like 6:51.9. Jackie Gamboli picked up a big second place finish for North Rockland running 7:10.6, beating out Jessica Tobin (7:17.3). Christy Goldmann came up big for Suffern as the senior took fourth in 7:22.7, beating out North Rockland’s Alexis Hatcher (7:26.6).

Little surprise as Lauren Schlanger of Clarkstown South won the discus witha throw of  96-4. North Rockland took second with Luz Viana throwing 92-6. Gianna Reimer ofPearl River finished third and Suffern’s Desiree Roberts took fourth.

Suffern got off to a good start in both the boys and girls, but we’re only through two events. We’ll see what happens today, should be interesting.

As the Rockland County meet gets under way today, we’re only two days away from the Westchester meet. This should be another interesting day. Both the boys and girls meets should be pretty close. I’ve been going back and forth between who I think is going to win, and I still have no idea.

The girls meet will have more teams involved and I think is more of a toss up, so we’ll start there.

Girls

Heading into Friday I think it’s clear the top teams are Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Bronxville and Ursuline. Then you have Lakeland/Panas that will be somewhat of a sleeper team. Mount Vernon should be the favorite to win the meet. The team won the county title over the winter and has the same group of athletes competing again in the spring.

Tanaya Yarde has proven to be one of the top sprinters in the section. She is one of the keys for the Knights. She is the clear favorite in the 100, especially now that Hackley and Anjelique Parnell won’t be competing in the meet. Then of course you have Shamika Mindingall, Breanda Crump, Kenina Bonner and Julia Miller sprinkled in every event from the 100 up to the 800. That’s a pretty good core group of athletes to be starting off with.

Then with the javelin you have Vanessa Crump who is the best in the county and let’s not forget Michelle McCrae in the jumps. Obviously Mount Vernon will have plenty of competition in those events with Alexis Easterling (Woodlands) and Genevieve Ruppel (Sleepy Hollow) who are two of the top jumpers in the county. Ruppel can win both the long and triple jump, while placing in the dash if she chooses to do that event.

And let’s not forget what Mount Vernon can do in the relays. There depth and talent in the 800 and 1,600 relays are what gave them the county title in the winter. And it should greatly help again in the spring.

Bronxville is an interesting team. It was right there in the winter and it should be the same this spring. There’s obviously a lot of talent on this team. The Broncos will be able to score plenty of points just off their core group of runners – Henrietta Miers in the 400, Tori Flannery in the 3,000, Caitlin Hudson in the 1,500 and Olivia Brutton in the 800. Bronxville may not win all those events, but it will get plenty of points.

Then you have really strong runners in Rachel Kim, Charlotte Rizzo and Mary Cain. Obviously you have other talented runners like Gina Talt (Mamaroneck) or Libby Lazare (Pleasantville) competing in some of those events. Besides Leigh Dannhauser in the throws, the team doesn’t have that much depth in the field. But you have to give them the 3,200 relay and some points in the 1,600 relay. Bronxville could very well come away with the title.

New Rochelle came up just short in the winter, but it definitely has a better chance this spring. Charlotte Pope is the top thrower in the section. The discus, shot put and javelin she can score in, if not win. Lexia Robinson of Woodlands can challenge her in some of those throws.

Tameekia Cooper is a very talented hurdler and will be needed to score a decent amount of points. Amira Yesir is also another one of those quality hurdlers that New Rochelle seems to turn out every year. Yesir is also a good high jumper. Obviously, Pelham has Brittany Brown who can win the high jump and hurdlers. She could definitely steal some points away.

New Rochelle could be hurt in the distance events, but Christina Hamilton is a very taltented athlete that could get the Huguenots points in the sprints as well as the jumps. What hurt New Rochelle in the winter was it’s inability to score enough points in the relays. It’s going to be the same concern on Saturday. If it comes down to the relays, does New Rochelle have enough?

Then there’s Ursuline. This is a good team. It lost to New Rochelle in the league meet, but Ursuline is still very capable of winning the county meet. Aeisha McDavid is going to be heavily relied on. She is one of the best hurdlers in the county. Shanel Golding can score points in the 400 and 800. Kaitlin Mallinson really came on at the end of the winter and is a very promising young runner.

Then of course Katie Sullivan is still one of the top distance runners in the county. She is one of the best steeple chasers and 3,000 runners in the county. Obviously there’s a lot of talent in the distance, but Sullivan is more than capable of winning her share of events. There’s also a lot of depth on this team with Jackie McCarthy and Mary O’Shea. While neither may win, they will need to get some much-needed points.

In the field, Meg Smith is a very good thrower. She’s not on the same level as Pope, but she will get Ursuline some points. Then you have Claire Murphy and Fiona Nugent who are more than capable of winning the pole vault.

Now we have Lakeland/Panas. Brie Roller is a fast-rising star. She can very easily win the 200, 400 and 800. It will be tough for her to win three events – I know, but she will be in contention in all three. Sarah Biggers is another quality Lakeland mid-distance runner.

Carissa Leonardi is also more than capable of winning the pole vault for the Rebels. She has the top height in the county, clearing 10-7. This is a  very talented team and I still think it’s a year away from seriously challenging for a title, but this is a good team.

Boys

This is more of a two-team meet. There’s New Rochelle and Iona Prep as the two favorites, followed by Mount Vernon as a potential sleeper team. There’s a lot of talent on the boys’ side, which is going to make this meet a lot more interesting. Look at some of these sprinters: Jesse Drinks (Ossining), Zack Curtin (Yorktown), Miles Peterson (Pleasantville), Kem Ogbuagu (Lincoln), Nat Recine (Bronxville), Casey Williams (Mount Vernon).

New Rochelle has a lot of talent in the hurdles and will score plenty of points in those two events. Chris Rones, Andres Montalvo, Deon James, Shawn Day are all very talented hurdlers, but if Claudio Delli Carpini is healthy enough to compete he should win the 110 hurdles and long jump. On the ourskirts in the 400 hurdles will be Arthur Whyte of Scarsdale who could take some of those points from New Rochelle.

New Rochelle has really improved its distance and mid-distance team and it starts with Aki Bajulaiye. He will probably run the 400, but there’s a lot of talent in that event with Justin Allen (Mount Vernon), Chris Davis (Roosevelt) and Zach Weisbrot (Hen Hud). And Weisbrot is probably the favorite to win the 400 hurdles.

There is a lot of talent on New Rochelle though. Besides Bajulaiye who could run the 400 and 800, but you have Ruben Barajas, Daquan Oliver and Harrison Quamily all could run sub-2 in the 800. The 800 will be pretty stacked though – Michael Dapice (White Plains) and Jamie Mitchell (Fox Lane) are going to be near the front of the pack.

Jeremy Days is New Rochelle’s top thrower, but there’s a lot of competition. Kaydon Davis from Mount Venron is probably the best thrower in the county. Marc Troiani of Valhalla is right behind Davis. John Henry performed well for New Ro in the winter in the high jump, but Rye’s Max Yanker has really taken off in the event, clearin gc ounty-best 6-5 this season.

Then of course you have the defending champion – Iona Prep. We all know what Sean Halpin can and probably will do. He sets the tone for this team. But there’s a lot more talent on this team. Kyle Shepard is the best steeplechaser and one of the best distance runners in the county. But again, there’s a lot of competition. Manu Kumar, Julian Saliani and Cord Sgaglio are all among the top distance runners in the county. And each one has gotten better as the season has progressed.

Henry Koster of Greeley has performed well of late in the 3,200 and then you have the Scarsdale runners – Ilkyu Lee and Sam Kohn that can get some points in the distance events as well.

Iona Prep has really developed some quality runners. Nick Athanisidy, Ayo Bajulaiye, Sean Fuster are some of the runners that will get the Gaels some much-needed points. But Iona has some real talent in the field. Teddy Mottola is one of the top throwers in the county and Shioma Obemeata is the top triple jumper in the county. He can also score points in the high jump and the long jump.

Then you have Michael Berg and Vincent Fellagara who will most likely place 1-2 in the pole vault, especially since Aaron Konigsberg and Hackley won’t be participating in the meet.

It could very well come down to the relays between Iona Prep and New Rochelle. But you have Mount Vernon with Williams, Allen, Winslow, Davis that will all score points in either the sprints or the throws. And Mount Vernon probably has the best 1,600 relay team and one of the top 400 relay teams. Lincoln with the Ogbuagu brothers and Jonathan Gaston have one of the better 400 relay teams.

And in the 3,200 relay Iona and New Rochelle may have the two best, but Fox Lane and Rye will be right there. Imagine the meet coming down to Halpin vs. Bajulaiye in the anchor of the 3,200 relay. I could see it happening. Both those teams are that close. But there’s just so much talent in the county it’s tough to predict.

OK, that’s all for now. I guess we’ll see what happens starting tomorrow. Let me know if you have anything else to bring up.