I threw up a new poll over on the right. jackie Gamboli’s 1,500 time of 4:34 easily was the most surprising result of this past winter. She has looked good in the event. And to run that time in two straight meets is real impressive.

As for the new poll, I was thinking about this and wanted to know what you think. Maybe it can’t happen, but would you like to see a state team title in track and field? I feel as though it’s a team sport up until state qualifiers, and then the sport becomes an individual one. Maybe it would be too difficult to do during the winter because of the lack of facilities or maybe it would be too much running for the athletes. But I would like to see some of these schools from around the state compete against each other in a team competition.

I would think it would be easier in the spring because there would be more facilities to compete at. But I wanted to know what you think. Let me know either by voting on the poll or posting a comment.

Last night was pretty entertaining at the armory. I figure I’ll go over some of the highlights and tell you some of my thoughts on what will be for many area athletes their last meet before states.

One of the top stories from yesterday’s meet has to be Sean Halpin. I mean that was a stacked field he was running against in the 800 with Terrance Livingston from Great Neck South. Halpin ran 1:54 to take first and after the race said he thinks he could run 1:52. And I believe him.

There’s not much more you could say about Halpin. He’s smart, talented, confident but not cocky. He goes in knowing and expecting he can win any race against any competition. You know how football or baseball players watch video of their opponents and themselves. If high school track had that type of technology I bet Halpin would be the one that would spend the most time out of anyone studying the race.

On top of his talent and love of running, he has a pure passion for the sport. It’s getting to a point – and I know I said this before – but you’re shocked when he loses. And something else about Halpin – when does he have a bad race or a bad meet? I don’t know either. I’ve been covering him for only two years, but in that span I don’t recall a time when he didn’t perform to his potential. I’m sure he has, but to go race in and race out and always running well is something that I think gets overlooked. Every athlete has a bad day in any sport. But Halpin always seems to come up big.

And yesterday to watch him just sit back and wait as the other runners pushed each other around then to watch him explode to the lead 600 meters into the race was impressive. Here are some of my other thoughts from the meet:

Read more of this entry »

Yesterday at Easetern States we had some pretty impressive performances. The story I wrote focuses on Maurice Easterling taking first in the long jump and Sean Halpin winning the 800. Both were impressive in their events. I’ll be back a little later to talk more about both of those accomplishments as well as some of the other results from the meet. While I enjoy Easterns, my one problem with the meet is the time it’s run. A decent amount of the events are run either when I need to start writing my story or after a send it in. It’s tough to get in all the events. But that’s one of the reasons we have the blog, so be sure to check back later.

As promised here is the second edition of the state quals recap. There were some surprises and some athletes stepping up. But it’s always tough when an athlete who has been one of the best in their event all season doesn’t have the performance they needed to have to get to Ithaca.

I guess one of the positive things about track is that there’s always the spring season. So, if you didn’t achieve your goals in the winter there’s still another season to do it. Anyway, here are some of my thoughts from Sunday:

Read more of this entry »

Now that one of the most stressful days of the track season is over it’s time to look back and review what happened. I feel as though state qualifiers is so much more stressful than any other meet of the season. It doesn’t really matter what you do all season, if an athlete slips up all false starts or fouls on their jumps then they could not make it to states.

And some people brought this up earlier, which makes Sunday even more difficult – there were some events where multiple athletes had the standard, but only three can qualify. That’s always the toughest part, especially when you go up to the state meet and see some other sections finish last in an event when Section 1 had a legitimate challenger to a state title sitting at home because they finished fourth on Sunday. I believe it is so that one section doesn’t dominate the state meet – to give smaller sections’ athletes a chance to make states even if they don’t have the standard.

Read more of this entry »

If you haven’t checked it out already, this week’s gameface is up. You can go and vote by clicking here. From the track scene we have Nick Padilla of Ramapo. I think I’ll be voting for him.

That was quite the day at West Point yesterday. Unfortunately due to space limitations not every qualifier could make it in the story, but I’ll be back later with a recap of all the day’s top finishers. Until that time comes you should check out today’s stories.

The girl’s article focuses on Jackie Gamboli and how at a slower track she again set the Section 1 record in the 1,500. The boy’s story talks about North Rockland senior Dasheen Ellis. He went from a wanderer on the track circuit who went from event to event to becoming one of the best triple jumpers in the state and a chance at a state title.

With the state qualifiers coming out, I figure now’s a good time to take a look at the events and tell you what I think will happen. Some of the events will be tough to figure out, others have had some of the top athletes in the state competing.

55 dash

I think for the boys Kevin Malivert will win the event and qualify for the state championships with a chance to defend his title. I don’t know if there’s anyone who is more explosive than Malivert over a short distance like the 55. After that I do think Jonathan Gaston from Lincoln will also qualify. I don’t think there will be a third runner make the trip up.

Tanaya Yarde has been the best sprinter in the section all season and there’s no reason to think that will not continue on Sunday. To think she’s only a freshman and has a legitimate shot to take home a state title is pretty impressive. Shilesha Johnson of Spring Valley should also qualify. The junior has had an excellent season and should cap it with a trip to Ithaca. If Ruth Alexandre of Ramapo can get the standard the way she’s been running I have a feeling she could take third.

55 hurdles

This is an interesting event. Three top hurdlers are all in this event and should finish that way – Claudio Delli Carpini, Ryan Whitley and Chris Rones. While those are the three top hurdlers in the section and they all have the standard it’s not a gurantee they all make it to states. Claudio has had some false start problems. And one of my least favorite rules in track is the one false start rule and you’re out. Whitley has been a little inconsistent this season. Rones has been the most consistent the last few weeks. But I feel like the hurdles is one of the most difficult events to predict. All they need to do is hit one hurdle and that could end it.

Brittany Brown of Pelham should take first in this event and qualify for states. She’s the top seed and I think she’ll so why on Sunday. I have a feeling Nicole Cumming of Peekskill will get the second spot. She’s been coming on of late and I think she will get the opportunity to get to states. I don’t think there will be a third qualifier in this event.

300

This event will have three competitors from Section 1 qualify for states. Chidi Ezemma from Ramapo should take first. But then I like the two athletes from Mount Vernon to get second and third – Justin Allen and Casey Williams. A healthy Mike Abelard would probably take the second spot, but I don’t know if he’ll be healthy enough to run. He still looked to injured to compete in the Class A meet and that was less than a week ago.

For the girls I think we’ll just have two qualifiers. Ihiechi Ohia-Enyia of Saunders is the top seed and after an injury early in the season she looks like she’s going to be tough to beat on Sunday. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexis Easterling of Woodlands does take first in the event. But both runners should still qualify for states.

600

I can see this event having three qualifiers for the boys. John Taylor of Clarkstown South has been the best in this event in the section for quite a while. I don’t see that ending on Sunday. Ryan Gomba should get the next spot and then Brendan Canini of Lakeland. Canini has been close to winning this event a few times. But Taylor has been able to pick him off a few times. Brandan Hill of Peekskill was injured a few weeks ago and I don’t know is he’ll be able to come back and get that third spot.

On the girl’s side this is an interesting race. Breanda Crump of Mount Vernon and Brie Roller of Lakeland have been competing against each other all season with Crump winning each time. But Roller is right behind her. The winner could very well set the section record and both runners could come away with a state title. I think Ashley Maurer should end up with the third spot from the section.

1,000

This is a pretty stacked event. There are five runners from the boy’s side that I think could get to states, but only three will end up making it. Assuming the runners that are still listed are the ones running in the event on Sunday I think this is the order in which they’ll finish. Chris Carrington, Michael Dapice and Aki Bajulaiye. And those will be the three that will be going to states. Lyle Haywood and Kevin McKenna will be close.

The top two finishers on the girl’s side should be Caitlin Hudson and Christy Goldmann. I don’t know the order in which they’ll finish, but the two seniors know how to compete and they know what needs to be done in order to get to Ithaca. Katherine Hekker is the third seed in the event and I think she should qualify for the state meet.

1,600/1,500

As of right now, Carrington is going signed up to compete in both the 1,000 and 1,600. I don’t know how he’ll do if he does both. Mike Hickey has the best time in the event this season and I think he should take first in the event. Jared Leslie of Arlington I think will take second and Carrington third. Competing in two distance events will be tough for Carrington. It’ll be impressive if he qualifies in both events.

This is one of those stacked events on the girl’s side. After what happened last Monday I don’t know what to expect. Jackie Gamboli is now the favorite to win the event. This will be her first race since setting the section record in the event. Shelby Greany will be right behind her. Greany could very easily win this race, but if she’s trying to qualify in the 3,000 I don’t know how much she’ll have left to win this. Although running in the 3,000 she shouldn’t use that much energy because of the margin of victory she should have in that event. Henrietta Miers should be the third qualifier, but Rachel Sorna (Arlingotn) an Katie Sullivan (Ursuline) will make a run at that third spot.

1,500 racewalk

This has actually turned into a pretty strong event for the section. But this is another event that I think it’s difficult to predict. Catie Davis is probably the only sure thing. She should almost definitely win the race. Tyeasha Savage of New Rochelle has had a stellar season and Crosby TIllman of Somers should both make states. But the problem with the walk is that there always seems to be disqualifications in the event.

3,200/3,000

The top two spots in this event should be pretty obvious – John Muller and Adam Doherty have been the two best runners in the event all season. Hickey has a good shot to qualify in this event. But he’ll be running in the 1,600 as well. Or will he? Two qualify in both will be tough to do. I think Brandon Freyer has an excellent shot to qualify in this event. After seeing him running the other week he looked really strong.

I don’t think there will be more than two qualifiers from the section in the event. Shelby should take first by a decent margin. Jessica Tobin will get the second spot. She has been real impressive this season and while it will be tough for her to beat Greany, Tobin should take the second spot fairly comfortably.

High jump

This will be another tough event. There is one guaranteed entrant to the state meet and that’s Sean Reilly of Arlington who could very well win the state title. I think Tejorn Davis is the second best high jumper in the section. Mike Carroll of Nanuet also has a good shot to qualify for states, but I think he has been a little inconsistent. The section could get those three athletes into states, but if the latter two falter watch for Max Yanker of Rye.

There should be three qualifiers in this event for the girls. And it should be the same three athletes that have dominated this event all year – Janelle Clayton, Sally Gale and Brittany Brown. That should be the order they finish in. Clayton has been the best and most consistent all year. Gale and Brown should also qualify, but who takes second and third is a toss-up.

Long jump

Claudio Delli Carpini has been the best long jumper in the section this season and he should qualify for the state meet. Once there he has an excellent shot of winning a state title. Only one other athlete from the section has reached the standard of 21-6 and that’s been Roscoe Balter of Scarsdale. He’s been coming on strong lately and I think should make the trip to Ithaca.

This is another strong event for the girls. There’s Jen Clayton who should qualify for the state meet. But who are the next two? Nicole Cummings has looked strong this season. But Genevieve Ruppel has had a terrific season. Let’s not forget Alexis Easterling, Tori Alexander and Shilesha Johnson who could all potentially qualify. Jonson’s the only not to reach the 17-2 standard. I think the order of finish will be Clayton, Ruppel and then Easterling.

Triple jump

The top two finishers could very well be from Beacon. I think Tejorn Davis has been the best in the section and Chris Morales has had a solid season. But the third finisher I think will be Deon James of New Rochelle. He has the standard and has looked strong in the event.

On the girl’s side I think it will go just as it’s set up. Olivia Stevens of Lourdes should win the event. Genevieve Ruppel has been tops in the section in both jumps and she should qualify in both the long and triple jump. But if I could only choose one that she would qualify in it would be this one. Jen Clayton could very well win this event, but she is still learning this event. She doesn’t compete in this event as much as the long jump.

Shot put

Again the top three competitors from the section should all make the state meet. But I think the way Robert Pope (Mount Vernon) has been throwing recently he’s the favorite to win the event. Joe Fox of Clarkstown South should take second and then Gabe Felix will take third.All three have the 52-0 standard.

Charlotte Pope of New Rochelle is the only one that has reached the 36-1 standard. she’s the best shot putter in the section and that should be on display tomorrow. No other thrower has the standard, but the way Ashai McLean (New Rochelle) has been throwing recently I think she takes the secon spot. All of a sudden she’s been throwing real weel and I think she gets it done on Sunday.

Pole vault

This is another tricky event to call. I like to think Chris Spadaccini and Pat Scognamiglio will both qualify for states. The two Pearl River athletes have the standard, but I don’t know if they both will qualify. Can they take first or second or third on Sunday? Yes. But this is another event that’s so tough to gauge how well an athlete is going to compete.

I have a little more confidence in this event on the girl’s side. I feel as though all three jumpers – Kaitlynn Cross, Fiona Nugent and Angelica Gilsenan have jumped pretty consitently this season. There’s no reason why that shouldn’t continue. I think the order in which they finish could be jumbled, but they should still finish 1-2-3.

OK that’s all for now. I’m a little tired, so I’m going to pack it in. Tell me what you think.

There have been some changes to the Section 1 state quals list. I’ll try and run through the athletes that I listed before that are no longer participating in that event. Under that I posted the original seedings in the event.

55 dash

The fifth seed Chris Rones (New Rochelle) and the 9th seed Rawle Crawford (Mount Vernon) are no longer competing in the event. Miles Peterson (Pleasantville) and Tobe Ogbuagu (Lincoln) move into the top 10 in the event.

1. Kevin Malivert (Ramapo) 6.54


2. Jonathan Gaston (Lincoln) 6.59


3. Al Ponceano (Suffern) 6.64


4. Kem Ogbuagu (Lincoln) 6.66


5. Chris Rones (New Rochelle) 6.67


6. Joshua Graham (Poughkeepsie) 6.67


7. Rich Ricca (Pearl RIver) 6.73


8. Leroy Rouse (Arlington) 6.74


9. Rawle Crawford (Mount Vernon) 6.75


10. Nat Recine (Bronxville) 6.75

No changes on the girl’s side:

1. Tanaya Yarde (Mount Vernon) 7.20


2. Shilesha Johnson (Spring Valley) 7.25


3. Tori Alexander (Beacon) 7.37


4. Ruth Alexandre (Ramapo) 7.44


5. Christina Hamilton (New Rochelle) 7.54


6. Kori Trataros (White Plains) 7.54


7. Kenina Bonner (Mount Vernon) 7.57


8. Tamika Smith (Hamilton) 7.64


9. Diana Sainville (Woodlands) 7.65


10. Amina Lindquist (Saunders) 7.67

55 hurdles

Dasheen Ellis (North Rockland) and Alex Kleber (Suffern) are no longer competing in the event. Andres Montalvo (New Rochelle) and Joe Gibbs (Saunders) are now in the top 10.

1. Claudio Delli Carpini (Harrison) 7.59


2. Ryan Whitley (Ramapo) 7.64


3. Chris Rones (New Rochelle) 7.69


4. Ryan Lacossade (North Rockland) 7.85


5. Dasheen Ellis (North Rockland) 7.90


6. Jarmen Esperance (Nyack) 7.91


7. Arthur Whyte (Scarsdale) 7.94


8. Alex Kleber (Suffern) 7.94


9. Willie Gabay (Mahopac) 8.04


10. Mike Carroll (Nanuet) 8.04

For the girls, Amber Stephens (North Rockland) is not competing in the event moving Amanda Egbuta (New Rochelle) into one of the top 10 seeds.

1. Brittany Brown (Pelham) 8.52


2. Aeisha McDavid (Ursuline) 8.54


3. Nicole Cummings (Peekskill) 8.56


4. Tameekia Cooper (New Rochelle) 8.74


5. Lauren Voss (Nyack) 8.96


6. Amber Stephens (North Rockland) 9.02


7. Sarah Bowens (Suffern) 9.07


8. Christi Marraccini (Harrison) 9.10


9. Amira Yesir (New Rochelle) 9.14


10. Alyson Donino (Harrison) 9.14

300

Oddly enough, all three Mount Vernon runners are no longer competing in the event – Breanda Crump, Tanaya Yarde and Shamika Mindingall.Nia Holmes (Woodlands), Alex Bernasconi (JJEF) and Shannon Flood (Clarkstown South) are now seeded in the top 10.

1. Breanda Crump (Mount Vernon) 39.86


2. Alexis Easterling (Woodlands) 40.94


3. Tanaya Yarde (Mount Vernon) 40.99


4. Ohia-Enyia Ihiechi (Saunders) 40.84


5. Janelle Clayton (Suffern) 40.84


6. Shamika Mindingall (Mount Vernon) 41.44


7. Mayerline Louis-Juste (Ramapo) 41.94


8. Kaitlin Mallinson (Ursuline) 41.94


9. Maggie Goff (Bronxville) 42.63


10. Kamilah Williams (White Plains) 42.87

600

Aki Bajulaiye (New Rochelle) will not try to qualify in the event moving Patrick Keane (Pearl River) into the 10th spot.

1. John Taylor (Clarkstown South) 1:22.84


2. Aki Bajulaiye (New Rochelle) 1:23.44


3. Ryan Gomba (John Jay-East Fishkill) 1:23.74


4. Brendan Canini (Lakeland/Panas) 1:24.14


5. Brandon Hill (Peekskill) 1:24.34


6. Mac Gager (Rye) 1:24.94


7. Nick Arena (Brewster) 1:25.04


8. Nick Steel (Nanuet) 1:25.14


9. Marcus Siemens (White Plains) 1:25.64


10. Ruben Barajas (New Rochelle) 1:26.14

In the girl’s race, there have been no subtractions, but Nina Sarmiento (Harrison) has been moved up to the 9th spot.

1. Breanda Crump (Mount Vernon) 1:32.84


2. Brie Roller (Lakeland/Panas) 1:33.24


3. Ashley Maurer (Carmel) 1:37.74


4. Safiya Linley (Lakeland/Panas) 1:39.54


5. Faith Consiglio (Suffern) 1:39.94


6. Julia Miller (Mount Vernon) 1:40.34


7. Meg McNally (Suffern) 1:40.44


8. Shanel Golding (Ursuline) 1:41.34


9. Brooke Bierdman (Horace Greeley) 1:41.64


10. Olivia Bruton (Bronxville) 1:41.75

1,000

The only update in this event is the departure of Curtis Trueb (Eastchester) moving Pat Hashmall (Somers) into the 10th spot.

1. Chris Carrington (North Rockland) 2:28.80


2. Lyle Haywood (Nyack) 2:32.94


3. Aki Bajulaiye (New Rochelle) 2:33.25


4. Mike Dapice (White Plains) 2:34.24


5. Kevin McKenna (Suffern) 2:35.44


6. Danny Kane (Tappan Zee) 2:36.04


7. Jamie Mitchell (Fox Lane) 2:36.14


8. Matt Panebianco (Tappan Zee) 2:36.44


9. Curtis Trueb (Eastchester) 2:36.64


10. Kyle Cranston (Clarkstown South) 2:38.94

As for the girls, Henrietta Miers (Bronxville), Amelia Phillips (Bronxville) and Hayley McMahon (Arlington) will not be participating in the 1,000. Eve Marenghi (Somers), Shanel Golding (Ursuline) and Keeley Bateman (Pearl River) moved up to fill spots 8-9-10.

1. Caitlin Hudson (Bronxville) 2:58.24


2. Christy Goldmann (Suffern) 2:59.24


3. Henrietta Miers (Bronxville) 3:00.24


4. Katherine Hekker (North Rockland) 3:00.34


5. Hayley McMahon (Arlington) 3:03.14


6. Jessica Kendzor (Kennedy) 3:03.24


7. Amelia Philips (Bronxville) 3:05.24


8. Nicoel Tassello (Suffern) 3:05.34


9. Chelsea Kushner (Pearl River) 3:05.64


10. Callie Kohlbrenner (Tappan Zee) 3:06.54

1,600

We may have lucked out in this event as no one has dropped out of the event as of yet.

1. Mike Hickey (Pearl River) 4:18.70


2. Chris Carrington (North Rockland) 4:19.83


3. Jared Leslie (Arlington) 4:26.24


4. Danny Kane (Tappan Zee) 4:29.14


5. Cord Sgaglio (Fox Lane) 4:29.74


6. Kevin McKenna (Suffern) 4:30.04


7. Matt Panebianco (Tappan Zee) 4:30.74


8. Branden Hallas (Clarkstown South) 4:30.84


9. Julian Saliani (Irvington) 4:31.74


10. Mike Pereira (Suffern) 4:33.34

1,500

Ellie hekker (North Rockland) and Caitlin Hudson (Bronxville) won’t be competing in the event. Grace Tilearcio (JJEF) and Chelsea Kushner (Pearl River) move into the top 10.

1. Jackie Gamboli (Njorth Rockland) 4:35.0


2. Shelby Greany (Suffern) 4:35.24


3. Henrietta Miers (Bronxville) 4:44.94


4. Hayley McMahon (Arlington) 4:48.64


5. Rachel Sorna (Arlington) 4:49.24


6. Megan Young (Nanuet) 4:49.60


7. Katie Sullivan (Ursuline) 4:49.84


8. Jessica Tobin (Clarkstown South) 4:51.84


9. Eliie Hekker (North Rockland) 4:52.94


10. Caitlin Hudson (Bronxville) 4:53.34

3,200

As of yet, no one has dropped out of this event, but Nick Hughes of North Rockland is now officially entered, coming in as the 8th seed witha time of 9:52.04. He could be a wild card in this event. He hasn’t been healthy all winter, but we all saw what he could do in the fall.

1. John Muller (Arlington) 9:11.23


2. Adam Doherty (Arlington) 9:18.20


3. Mike Hickey (Pearl River) 9:37.54


4. Brandon Freyer (Pawling) 9:37.64


5. Manu Kumar (Yorktown) 9:43.04


6. Mike Pereira (Suffern) 9:51.62


7. Sam Kohn (Scarsdale) 9:52.55


8. Rob Gorecki (Somers) 9:53.84


9. Ilkyu Lee (Scarsdale) 9:54.34


10. Chris Cioffoletti (Byram Hills) 10:00.04

3,000

It looks as though this event will remain in tact.

1. Shelby Greany (Suffern) 9:51.24


2. Jessica Tobin (Clarkstown South) 10:19.84


3. Chelsea Hanson (Arlington) 10:20.24


4. Brianna Service (Arlington) 10:22.24


5. Caitlin Jelinik (Pawling) 10:34.94


6. Rachel Muira (John Jay EF) 10:37.24


7. Katie Sullivan (Ursuline) 10:37.54


8. Kerry Guerin (Pearl River) 10:38.19


9. Tori Flannery (Bronxville) 10:39.04


10. Libby Lazare (Pleasantville) 10:39.84

High jump

As of tonight there have been no changes to the event.

1. Sean Reilly (Arlington) 6-10


2. Tejorn Davis (Beacon) 6-6


3. Mike Carroll (Nanuet) 6-6


4. Max Yanker (Rye) 6-4


5. John Henry (New Rochelle) 6-2


6. Jason Dinardo (Brewster) 6-1


7. Jerome Hinds (Mount Vernon) 6-0


8. Jake McBride (Beacon) 6-0


9. Mi’Chael White (John Jay EF) 6-0


10. Joe Gibbs (Saunders) 6-0

There’s only one change on the girl’s side – Alyson Domino of Harrison will be moving into the top 10 as Katrina Keegan (Mahopac) will not be participating in the event.

1. Janelle Clayton (Suffern) 5-7


2. Sally Gale (Nyack) 5-6


3. Brittany Brown (Pelham) 5-4


4. Laura Lutzker (Scarsdale) 5-2


5. Amber Stephens (North Rockland) 5-2


6. Erika Tait (North Salem/John Jay) 5-2


7. Leigh Dannhauser (Bronxville) 5-0


8. Mellisa Mangual (North Rockland) 5-0


9. Faith Consiglio (Suffern) 5-0


10. Katrina Keegan (Mahopac) 4-10

Long jump

There were some changes in the long jump. Two Arlington athletes will not be competing – Sean Reilly and Dominique Thompson. Also dropping out was Shawn Day of New Rochelle. James Courte (Brewtser), Mi’Chael White (JJEF) and Jason Senat of Ramapo all move into the top 10.

1. Claudio Delli Carpini (Harrison) 23-3 1/2


2. Roscoe Balter (Scarsdale) 21-6


3. Jarmen Esperance (Nyack) 21-3 3/4


4. Sean Reilly (Arlington) 21-3


5. Dominique Thompson (Arlington) 20-10 3/4


6. Andrew Federowicz (Lakeland/Panas) 20-10 1/4


7. Mike Carroll (Nanuet) 20-9 1/2


8. Shawn Day (New Rochelle) 20-8 1/2


9. Deon James (New Rochelle) 20-5 1/2


10. Chris Morales (Beacon) 20-5 1/2

While on the girl’s side, the only change is that Janelle Clayton will not be competing in this event as Lexus Harney of Mount Vernon is now the 10 seed.

1. Jen Clayton (Suffern) 19-5


2. Nicole Cummings (Peekskill) 17-11


3. Alexis Easterling (Woodlands) 17-8 3/4


4. Genevieve Ruppel (Sleepy Hollow) 17-7


5. Tori Alexamder (Beacon) 17-3 1/2


6. Shilesha Johnson (Spring Valley) 16-10


7. Michelle McCrae (Mount Vernon) 16-8 1/4


8. Christina Hamilton (New Rochelle) 16-7 1/4


9. Janelle Clayton (Suffern) 16-6


10. Jessie Tremayne (Rye) 16-2 1/4

Triple jump

Again nothing ground-breaking as Sean Reilly (Arlington) is the only one who dropped out of this event, presumably so he can only focus on the high jump. An event where he can win a state title. Philip St. Juste of New Rochelle is now in the 10th spot.

1. Tejorn Davis (Beacon) 45-4 1/2


2. Sean Reilly (Arlington) 45-3 3/4


3. Chris Morales (Beacon) 43-8


4. Deon James (New Rochelle) 43-6 1/2


5. Arthur Whyte (Scarsdale) 43-4


6. Roscoe Balter (Scarsdale) 42-10


7. Eric Chacko (Clarkstown North) 42-9 3/4


8. Dasheen Ellis (North Rockland) 41-4 3/4


9. James Courte (Brewster) 42-3


10. Joe Seward (North Rockland) 41-4 3/4

Amber Stephens of North Rockland is no longer competing in the event on Sunday. Ailish Rowley (Pearl River) is now the 10th seed.

1. Genevieve Ruppel (Sleepy Hollow) 36-5


2. Olivia Stevens (Lourdes) 36-9 3/4


3. Jen Clayton (Suffern) 36-5


4. Christina Hamilton (New Rochelle) 35-5 1/2


5. Michelle McCrae (Mount Vernon) 34-8 1/4


6. Amber Stephens (North Rockland) 34-3 3/4


7. Jen Keorasmey (Suffern) 34-2


8. Amanda Connell (Tappan Zee) 33-10 1/2


9. Sarah Bowens (Suffern) 33-10


10. Samantha Gabriel (Spring Valley) 33-8 1/2

Shot put

Again nothing to different than the previous acceptances. Darius Favors (North Rockland) is out of the event and Tre Castel of Clarkstown North is the 10th seed.

1. Genevieve Ruppel (Sleepy Hollow) 36-5


2. Olivia Stevens (Lourdes) 36-9 3/4


3. Jen Clayton (Suffern) 36-5


4. Christina Hamilton (New Rochelle) 35-5 1/2


5. Michelle McCrae (Mount Vernon) 34-8 1/4


6. Amber Stephens (North Rockland) 34-3 3/4


7. Jen Keorasmey (Suffern) 34-2


8. Amanda Connell (Tappan Zee) 33-10 1/2


9. Sarah Bowens (Suffern) 33-10


10. Samantha Gabriel (Spring Valley) 33-8 1/2

There were no changes on the girl’s side.

1. Charlotte Pope (New Rochelle) 39-8 1/4


2. Lexia Robinson (Woodlands) 36-3/4


3. Ashai McLean (New Rochelle) 36-1/2


4. Meg Smith (Ursuline) 35-5 1/2


5. Sabrina Legros (North Rockland) 34-1/4


6. Miranda Norety (Ramapo) 34-9


7. Desiree Roberts (Suffern) 34-7


8. Natasha Graham (New Rochelle) 34-5


9. Kristine Zmuidins (Somers) 34-1


10. Niki Desens (Arlington) 32-10

Pole vault

David O’Neill of Clarkstown South is out in the pole vault, but taking his spot in the 10 hole is his teammate Jordan Friedman.

1. Jake McBride (Beacon) 13-0


2. Pat Scognamiglio (Pearl River) 13-0


3. Chris Spadaccini (Pearl River) 13-0


4. Jordan Yamoah (Arlington) 12-9


5. Tom Brace (Arlington) 12-6


6. Andrew Lopez (Arlington) 12-0


7. Seungdo Reiner (Hen Hud) 12-0


8. Ryan Boniello (Somers) 12-0


9. Joseph Sinn (New Rochelle) 11-6


10. David O’Neill (Clarkstown South) 11-6

Same thing for the girls. Only one change – Leigh Dannhauser (Bronxville) will not be competing as Sara Zagroha (Ursuline) is now the 10th seed.

1. Kaitlynn Cross (Suffern) 10-6


2. Fiona Nugent (Ursuline) 10-4


3. Angelica Gilsenan (Pearl River) 10-3


4. Claire Murphy (Ursuline) 10-0


5. Carissa Leonardi (Lakeland/Panas) 9-0


6. Amanda Owens (Rye) 8-6


7. Kristin Hasselgren (Byram Hills) 8-6


8. Christina Ruane (Pearl River) 8-6


9. Leigh Dannhauser (Bronxville) 8-0


10. Taylor Hall (Suffern) 8-0

The relays seemed to have remained the same:

800 relay

1. Ramapo 1:29.44


2. Mount Vernon 1:30.71


3. New Rochelle 1:31.93


4. Lincoln 1:33.64


5. Spring Valley 1:34.24


6. Suffern 1:34.44

1,600 relay

1. Mount Vernon 3:27.35


2. New Rochelle 3:27.46


3. Clarkstown South 3:28.95


4. Roosevelt 3:29.49


5. Suffern 3:30.44


6. North Rockland 3:34.74

3,200 relay

1. New Rochelle 8:05.07


2. Clarkstown South 8:06.94


3. Arlington 8:14.34


4. Lakeland/Panas 8:14.97


5. White Plains 8:18.4


6. Yorktown 8:19.34

The only difference in the girls is in the 1,600 relay, Bronxville dropped out, moving North Rockland to the sixth spot.

800 relay

1. Mount Vernon 1:42.98


2. Suffern 1:46.54


3. Woodlands 1:47.44


4. Ursuline 1:47.54


5. New Rochelle 1:47.72


6. Harrison 1:48.64

1,600 relay

1. Mount Vernon 3:55.64


2. Suffern 4:00.26


3. Ursuline 4:01.34


4. New Rochelle 4:11.03


5. Clarkstown South 4:12.04


6. Bronxville 4:12.04

3,200 relay

1. Bronxville 9:19.46


2. Suffern 9:40.84


3. Ursuline 9:44.56


4. Arlington 9:45.64


5. North Rockland 9:47.04


6. Mount Vernon 9:40.14

Here is the list of accepted athletes Eastern States on Tuesday. Also, be sure to check back later when I’ll have my preview on the State qualifiers meet on Sunday.

800 relay (boys)

2. Ramapo, 3. Newburgh, 5. Mount St. Michael, 6. Mount Vernon, 10. New Rochelle, 26. Lincoln, 27. Fordham, Prep

800 relay (girls)

5. Mount Vernon, 6. Newburgh, 14. Suffern, 16. Ursuline,18. New Rochelle, 30. Ramapo

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It dawned on me that some people might not know what the standards are in some of the events so I figured I’d post them on the blog so you can have a better idea of what it will take the third place finisher to get into states:

Event                     Boys (Hand times)          Girls

• 55 meter dash             6.5 (6.74)                                 7.2


• 55 hurdlers                  7.7 (7.94)                                 8.5


• 300                              36.5 (36.74)                             41.1


• 600                              1:24.5 (1:24.74)                       1:38.5


• 1,000                            2:35.0 (2:35.24)                      3:02.0


• 1,600/1,500                 4:28.5 (4:28.64)                       4:49.3


• 3,200/3,000                 9:39.5 (9:39.74)                       10:20.09


• 1,500 walk                                                                     7:28.0


• Shot put                        52-0                                         37-7


• Pole vault                      13-0                                          9-6


• High jump                     6-4                                           5-3


• Long jump                     21-6                                         17-2


• Triple jump                    43-6                                         36-1

OK, below are the top 10 qualifiers in the girl’s events. It’s important to remember that there could be some changes, especially if some athletes who qualify in two events may only compete in one. And I’m only listing the top 10 athletes, there are more that qualify, but if I wrote everyone’s name I’d be here all night.

Also, I figure on Friday I will have a post previewing the state qualifers meet, so be sure to check that out. I love this time of the year. And I don’t mean February because you have the Super Bowl followed by March Madness, which if any of you care, my alma mater (Manhattan College) is 9-7 in the conference good for fourth place – not bad. And they also named a new president today – a lay person from Fordham, which I find interesting.

Anyway, click below and you can view the girls info. And as I said for the boys, What do you think? Any upsets? Any surprises? Any event you’re looking forward to? Let me know.

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The following is a list of the top-10 athletes that have been accepted to compete in the state qualifiers meet this Sunday. Let me know what you think. Any potential upsets/surprises?

55 dash

1. Kevin Malivert (Ramapo) 6.54


2. Jonathan Gaston (Lincoln) 6.59


3. Al Ponceano (Suffern) 6.64


4. Kem Ogbuagu (Lincoln) 6.66


5. Chris Rones (New Rochelle) 6.67


6. Joshua Graham (Poughkeepsie) 6.67


7. Rich Ricca (Pearl RIver) 6.73


8. Leroy Rouse (Arlington) 6.74


9. Rawle Crawford (Mount Vernon) 6.75


10. Nat Recine (Bronxville) 6.75

Read more of this entry »

In case you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out Matt Ng’s story on yesterday’s girls’ Class A championships where he focuses on Gamboli’s big win and a Suffern sectional title.

On the boys’ side, the article deals with Arlington’s big win, New Rochelle’s second second place finish this season and the disappointment of Ramapo.

Make sure you check out the post on the girls’ meet just below this one. And I’ll have the boys stuff up in a little bit.

I hope you like my little rhyme I came up with. I’ve been sitting here for the past five minutes looking at a blank title, trying to think of a catchy name and this is the best I could come up with. It’s not very creative, but I think you get the point.

It was a pretty intense meet. We’ll start with the girls and move on from there. Besides the team results, which we’ll get to in a minute, there were plenty of impressive individual performances and plenty of news. That 1,500 meter race was really impressive. Jackie Gamboli jumped out to a lead and you just kept waiting for Shelby Greany to catch her. Nothing against Jackie, but you become used to seeing Shelby win these races.

Then as the race went on, Gamboli and Greany separated themselves from the pack. And again you waited for Greany to have a surge and win the race. She had a surge – more than one – but so did Gamboli. Greany had one last surge with about 100 meters to go, but Gamboli again fought her off. When Gamboli crossed the finish line she had set the Section 1 record with a time of 4:34.8. Greany placed second in 4:35.2.

Don’t feel too bad for Greany she went on to set her own Section 1 record, this one was in the 3,000 as she won in 9:51.0. And she helped her Suffern win the Class A title, beating out New Rochelle.

Read more of this entry »

OK, so I’m back to finish out the season. As much as I enjoyed my week off it was weird not being at a track meet or posting on this blog. I want to thank everyone for commenting and still reading the blog even though I was MIA.

There were a few meets that I missed, which was unfortunate. But I’ll be down at the Class A meet today. I also want to thank my colleagues, Matt Ng, who wrote on the Class B meet, which you can view here and Jane McManus who witnessed a dominating performance by Fordham Prep and Iona Prep’s Sean Halpin at the CHSAA meet.

From what I read and heard I’ll try and post some of my thoughts on the meet, since I wasn’t there let me know of anything else I don’t have:

Read more of this entry »

This meet could be pretty interesting. And I hope you are all reading the blog and commenting on it as I’m away this week.

I guess we’ll start with the boys. This meet I thought a week ago was Ramapo’s to win, but now after the injury to Mike Abelard I’m not so sure. You can’t overlook New Rochelle with Chris Rones and Aki Bajulaiye leading the pack. The team nearly beat out Iona Prep for the Westchester county title.

The Huguenots definitely have the talent to win and this might be an opening they could take advantage of. But Ramapo still has a lot of spint depth and even without Abelard the team ran 1:30 in the 800 relay at New Balance the other day.

Read more of this entry »

Like I said earlier, every employee at the paper needs to take a mandatory week off. This is my week. Unfortunately I can’t check my email or post on the blog during that time. I’m writing this preview on Sunday, but it won’t post until Tuesday. If there’s anything else that you want to mention, while I’m away feel free to do so. I’ll also have some other posts that will be coming out later this week.

Now on to the Class B preview:

Read more of this entry »

Congratulations to Bronxville – both the boys and girls teams for a very impressive performance tonight. Even though the girls will be losing a lot of talented runners to graduation this summer, it looks as though their is plenty of talent left to replace them.

Caitlin Hudson and Henrietta Miers both have the best times in the section in the 1,000 and 1,600. That’s pretty good considering they were running out by themselves in those races and did more than one event.

The whole Bronxville team was on display tonight. Of course Tori Flannery and Jessica Murrer did what they were expected to do. But the team has so many seventh and 8th graders that are competitve it’s scary.

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Brie Roller of Lakeland/Panas took fourth in the 600 meter run in 1 minute, 33.75 seconds. Mount Vernon senior Breanda Crump took sixth in 1:34.96. The Bronxville girls 3,200 relay team finished second in 9:20.11. In the 800 relay, Mount Vernon took fifth in a season-best 1:42.98. For the boys, the Ramapo 800 relay team finished fourth in 1:30.74 and Iona Prep took seventh in the 3,200 relay in 8:12.65.

Congratulations to all the athletes that competed at New Balance. Brie Roller’s a name that we will be hearing about for the next few years. She’s the younger sister of Lance Roller, who went to Lakeland, but competed with a club team.

For the girls, I think it’s a foregone conclusion who’s going to win that meet. I don’t think any of the other teams in Class C can keep up with Bronxville.

The Broncos nearly won the open scoring at the county meet. They were right with a bunch of A schools, so now competing against only C schools it shouldn’t be that difficult for Bronxville to win. And as I said before it’s amazing how well this team does primarily competing with only distance runners. That doesn’t mean they only run the distance events.

When I said that before, it wasn’t meant as a slight to Olivia Bruton, who competes in the 600 or Henrietta Miers who competes in the 1,000 or any of the team’s other shorter-distance runners or field athletes. Miers and Bruton are both distance runners. They run cross country, so I consider them distance runners. Even though they may not compete in distance events during the track season, they do run distance.

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In the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the New Balance Armory, Iona Prep senior, Sean Halpin, set a Westchester county record in the 1,000 meter run taking fifth in 2 minutes, 28.82 seconds. Chris Carrington of North Rockland took eighth in 2:31.96 and Aki Bajulaiye of New Rochelle finished 10th in 2:44.10. Robby Andrews of Manalapan took first, setting a national record in 2:22.28. In the 1,600 relay, Fordham Prep took fifth in 3:20.24. The Mount Vernon girls 1,600 relay team finished fifth in 3:55.64.

I know there’s no team state championships in track, but over at armorytrack.com they ranked the teams. According to their system, Fordham Prep and Ramapo are 1-2 in the state. You can take a look at all the results here. I know it’s not official, but I thought you might be interested.

Some of it may not be all that realistic. There are some athletes that are doing more than three events. Like I said it’s nothing official, but take a look and tell me what you think.

I believe tomorrow some time I will be previewing the Class C meet on Sunday, so make sure you take a look at that. In other news, the paper is requiring all its employees to take a week off and next week is my time. While I’m out I can’t do anything work related and unfortunately that means the blog. However, I can post-date my posts so they won’t appear until later in the week. And that’s what I’ll do for the Class A and B preview and possibly some other stuff. Don’t worry, even though I won’t be able to respond until the week’s up there will still be coverage of track while I’m out.

Yesterday was an interesting day at the armory. If you haven’t seen my story in today’s paper be sure to click here to read it.

The story focuses on Mount Vernon senior Robert Pope who threw 54 feet in the shot put – his best throw of the season. I think with that throw he’s vaulted himself into contention for a possible state title.

But some other news from the track would have to revolve around Janelle Clayton. She cleared 5-6 in the high jump and she continue to finish out her high school career on a very high note.

Ruth Alexandre of Ramapo took second in two different events yesterday. She has become one of the premier sprinters in Rockland.

In other news, Ramapo looked very impressive in the sprints. However, after Mike Abelard ran in the winning 800 relay with Malivert, Padilla and Chidi, he then went on to win the 200. He tried to triple up and run the 1,600 relay. After the first lap he pulled up lame, grabbed his hamstring and went down.

I believe it’s the same hamstring he hurt at Penn Relays. He went down pretty hard. It looked pretty bad, but he said it’s not as bad as Penn. If this helps he said on scale of 1-10 he said it’s a 4. I guess that’s good. Hopefully he’ll be able to return before the end of the season. Needless to say this would drastically change the Class A meet. So, it’s something to keep an eye on.

Pearl River is developing some solid pole vaulters. We already know the two boys they have jumping 12-6 pretty routinely now. Now Angelica Gilseran joins the crowd as she has made clearing 10-0 pretty routine.

Jessica Tobin ran in the 800. I don’t think I’ve seen her run in an open 8 before. She definitely looks more comfortable in the longer distances.

Tappan Zee has some solid milers in Danny Kane and Matt Panebianco. The two finished in 4:30 yesterday taking 5 and 6.

The 800 was an exciting race. Suffern’s Kevin McKenna had the lead most of the race, but in the last 200 meters he didn’t have enough of a kick left as he was passed twice. John Taylor of Clarkstown South ended up taking second in the event. Both runners had real good times, finishing in 2:00.0.

Be sure to check out the final notebooks of the winter season. Both notebooks preview the sectional meets starting on Sunday. I’ll have a more in-depth preview on the blog a little later this week, but the notebook got it started a little but. Click here to view Rockland. Here is Westchester.

This meet didn’t have the exciting finish that Westchester experienced. But is showed how good Ramapo and Suffern are. Two teams not as deep as last year’s groups still managed to retain its titles.

I can’t say I’m surprise by either of the results, but there are a few things we can talk about with Rockland.

For all the talk – mostly mine – about how Suffern didn’t have the depth as in year’s past – they proved me wrong. I thought it would be close if Jen Clayton competed. She didn’t and it wasn’t even that close.

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That was quite the exciting meet at the armory. Both the boys and girls were really pretty good. I’ll be back to talk about Rockland a little later. I only saw part of that meet, but my colleague, Matt Ng, informed on some of the highlights.

I think the story of the meet has to be Mount Vernon. I thought the Knights had a chance to win the county heading into the meet, but to beat out New Rochelle, Ursuline and Bronxville I thought would have been too tough. After competing for five hours having both the boys and girls meets come down to the last one or two events is pretty rare

Did you know that the Knights didn’t score in the first five events of the meet? Granted its not the events they were strong in, but still.

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Well, the county meets are officially over. I’ll be back on a little later to talk about the events from yesterday. While you wait for my evaluation of yesterday’s day at the armory. You can take a look at the stories that were in today’s paper.

I have an article on Mount Vernon’s county championship, ending New Rochelle’s dominance in the sport – for one season at least. For the boys, it’s Iona Prep again beating New Rochelle. This time by one point.

For Rockland, my colleague Matt Ng has a story on how Suffern with only one Clayton – Janelle – was able to continue its dominance at the county level winning its 24th county title. On the boys’ side it was Ramapo winning its second straight indoor county title by dominating the sprinting events.

For northern counties, it was Arlington that won the meet yet again. There’s a brief write-up in today’s paper that has some of Brewster’s success at the meet. I haven’t been able to find the full results of the meet.

Okay, that’s all for now. I have to run to a doctor’s appointment – the joys of a newborn. But be sure to check back a little later and I’ll have some more stuff on these meets. In the mean time, feel free to talk about whatever you wish from the county stuff.