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.