Nine Section V athletes win indoor track state titles, 55 earn medals

STATEN ISLAND – Nine Rochester-area athletes earned gold medals as state champions in high school indoor track and field Saturday.

None came away more grateful and proud than World of Inquiry senior sprinter Perrion Williams.

"I got nothing here last year," he said, explaining his motivation to fight through pain for those gold and silver medals around his neck at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island's eastern shore.

As the state meet was winding down, Williams thought back to a year ago, when he finished eighth for his Franklin combined team in his signature event, the 300-meter dash. It epitomized much of his season as he ran mostly in the shadow of UPrep senior OJ Singletary.

"This year was it for me. My last shot indoors. I was determined to make the best of it," he said. "Then I hurt my left Achilles in the 55 prelims today and I was worried.

"Not what I wanted, of course. But with the 300 coming up, I just told myself it’s now or never."

He made it "now."

With pain shooting up his leg, he kept his form ("straight up, high knees") and turned out a personal best 34.35-second race for first place in the public school competition—second in the state federations—to the same Fordham Prep now-senior that Singletary lost to by about the same margin, three-tenths of a second.

"I’m just really happy with how things turned out," he said. "I’m looking forward to nationals in Boston next week and after outdoors I'll be attending a JUCO (junior college) in Kansas."

He said that through contacts of Aquinas coach Leroy Dixon he has been accepted at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas.

The medal haul totaled 55 Saturday, 38 for the boys, 17 for the girls. A year ago, Section V collected 38. Medals are awarded to the top six in the public school competition and top eight in the federation competition. They're contested together in each event.

Here are some other highlights from top medalists:

Quadruple golds

Midlakes sophomore Aiden Bryant makes horizontal jumping look like a walk in the park.

He ripped off another personal best in triple jump, clearing 49 feet and a half inch on his sixth and last attempt to beat everybody else by almost three feet. That's just 13 and a half inches from the Section V record, and two feet and change from the state record. It's the fourth longest in the country this year, too.

"When I hit the board and took off I knew it was a big one. Funny, too, because I'd used the wrong mark (on the runway) before."

His sequence of jumps leading up to it was 46-3, 46-10, 48-6 and a foul.

He wasn’t quite as dominant in long jump, where his 23-5.75 bested McQuaid sophomore Rhoan Kaulder by just three inches. Kaulder's came on his second try, Bryant his third.

"I was glad I got that one when I did. Earlier is always better than later," Bryant said.

It bodes well for New Balance nationals in Boston this week, too. He won the freshman triple jump there last year.

Forever seeking perfection

There's a bit of perfectionist in most all of us, but for the very elite of athletes, a sub-par day can be overwhelming.

That's what caught up with Webster Schroeder senior Corintia Griffith Saturday.

First the good news. She won another state triple jump title at 40 feet and change, she was third in long jump at 18-5.5 and she ran opening leg on Schroeder's fourth-place 800 relay. That's six medals at last count.

"It wasn't my best day," she said, looking glum after spending some alone time sitting by herself along the jumps runway. Her long jump distance was especially telling, more than a foot short of her season best.

It didn't help that she became nauseous after the relay and had to wait out the feeling bent over a trash barrel.

"We're hoping she’ll be okay," said her jumps coach, Mike Quagliata. "Don’t know what it was. She wasn't happy with her day, so maybe nerves factored in, too."

Griffith wasn't sure, either, other than feeling her stomach cramp up.

"I'll be okay," she said.

It's his time

Peter Northrup is another senior whose time has come.

When football is done – he is a tackle and middle linebacker in the fall – the Penfield shot putter and weight thrower who was a somewhat distant No. 2 to Warsaw's Matt Auble last year, says it's kind of liberating to be No. 1 in the Section V throws arena now.

"I know I don't have to press so much to get the distances to qualify," he said. "I can work on more of the little things.

He beat everybody in shot with a 57-.5 heave on his third try, while his silver medal in the weight throw came from a change he made in his turn counts.

“I do two turns normally, but I've been working on three some, too. My fourth and fifth throws were 55-0 and 55-6.5 with three turns. I wasn't satisfied, so I decided to go back to two."

He hit 63-5.75, beating the No. 3 guy by five inches.

"I credit my coaches for all this," he said. "Matt Parina here and Kevin Phipps at Cornell. That's where I'll be in the fall."

2, 4, 8

UPrep’s high jumpers led the way for some surprising medals, with McQuaid senior Brenton Paladino making it to the podium as well.

Senior Tyrell Simmons led the way with two silver medals after clearing 6-8, just an inch short of the leader, Brenton Baker of the Buffalo area's Sweet Home High School.

"It’s two inches better than I'd done before," Simmons said. "I'm very happy with that. I tried 6-9 but missed all three tries."

Freshman teammate Gavin White earned two fourth places with a 6-6 and Paladino came in eighth at 6-4. All are personal bests for them.

When a PR falls short

Rush-Henrietta junior Hailey Smith was thrilled with her first-place finish in the first of three heats in the 1,000.

"I'm hoping. I'm praying," she said, standing with her coach, Mike DeMay, and crossing her fingers for a chance at a podium finish. Her time of 2:58.67 was the first time she'd ever broken three minutes

But the second and third heats were seeded faster, and sure enough, the top eight all came from the third heat. No. 8's time beat Smith's by six seconds. Smith ended up 11th against public school finishers and 13 in the federations.

Another close one

Brighton junior Hannah Devine was also excited about her best time, but it turned out to be well off a medal finish.

She was 13th and 18th in the 1,500 but her time – 4:46.82 – blew past her PR by three seconds.

"I was supposed to pay attention to things," she admitted, "but I got in such a zone, I just . . . nothing was there. I just ran.

"This is my third time running on a banked track. I pushed a little harder going up."

Her coach, Shannon Times, said she told Devine to "just run your race.

"She'd made such wonderful progress. She makes it fun and she's super coachable."

Surprise finish

Four guys who didn't know each other eight days ago are best buddies now after winning gold medals for Section V in the 3,400 distance medley relay.

The DMR, which is only raced at states, combines those who just missed qualifying for individual events at the 1,600, 600, 200 and 1,000 distances.

In other words, four whose hopes were crushed by missing out at qualifiers a week ago Friday.

There was Dickerson, Wayne senior Ian Johnson, Churchville-Chili senior Ricardo “Ricky” Lagares and Pittsford Mendon junior Alexander Leduc-Etile.

"No doubt," said Spencerport senior Toby Dickerson, who missed qualifying for the 1,600 by one second. "It was a low point. None of us were happy. But then we found out we were going as part of this relay.

"I got on Instagram and contacted the other guys and we worked on a plan. We met for the first time here yesterday and did some things, like handoffs. We've all run relays, but at different distances and handing off at different speeds.

"Toby's been kind of our captain," Leduc-Etile said. "He got us together. To be here now, with medals, on the podium, who would have thought that a week ago? It's amazing."

Healthy at last

Fairport senior Jake Passalugo had a career day in his 3,000 specialty, after fighting respiratory infections for much of the season.

He ran what turned out to be a smart race, holding back for the first three laps.

"It feels so good to feel good again," he said. "I've been on medications for awhile and it's helping."

He ran a 9:09.33, breaking John Farrell's school record and lowering his previous best time this season of 9:21.15, set just last week at state qualifiers.

"I got boxed in at the start," he said. "Then I sat back a bit before I made my move with three laps to go.

"For all the stuff I've had, it takes just one good race to get the ball rolling. It's great."

And finally . . .

State indoor track girls chairman Dave Hennessey, the former Penfield coach, has been voted out of his state position. "I'm not high tech enough," he figures. "I was mad for about five minutes, then I got over it." He remains Section V co-chairman, however, with Victor coach Bob Goodell . . . Section V had 107 athletes entered. Fairport had the most – 14, followed by McQuaid with 12, Hilton 10, Webster Schroeder seven and Victor six.

Jim Castor, retired assistant sports editor of the Democrat and Chronicle, has covered high school sports in the Rochester area for more than five decades. He can be reached at jcastor@jimcastor.com

Results

State Indoor Track and Field Championships

At Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, Staten Island

Finish listings for public and federation (public-private-parochial-independent) places (ex. 1,3). PSAL- Public School Athletic League; CHSAA-Catholic High School Athletic Association, NYSAIS-New York State Association of Independent Schools. Medals to top six public school finishers, top eight federation finishers.

BOYS

55 meters: 1,1. Nicholas Wright (Horace Greeley, Sec. I) 6.37 seconds; Section V: 3,4. Tyler Pagano (McQuaid) 6.47; 4,5. Perrion Williams (Franklin/Northeast College Preparatory High School/School of the Arts/World of Inquiry) 6.48; 5,6. Rhoan Kaulder (McQuaid) 6.48.

55 wheelchair: 1,1. Logan Corteaux (Red Creek-V) 14.74.

300: --, 1. Jaylin Santiago (Fordham Prep-PSAL) 33.92; Sec. V: 1,3. Perrion Williams (Franklin/NE/SOTA/WOI) 34.35; 10,17. Jaden Simmons (Edison/School Without Walls) 35.34: 15,22. Jalen McCoy (East Rochester) 35.62.

300 wheelchair: 1,1. Logan Corteaux (Red Creek-V) 1:17.13.

600: --,1. David Davitt (Archbishop Stepinac-CHSAA) 1:19.53, 1,2. Rylee VanAlstine (Broadalbin-Perth-II) 1:19.91; Sec. V: 8,14. John Elliot (Penfield) 1:23.26; 13,20. Michael Prentice (Wayne) 1:24.09; 17,24. Connor Hashim (Fairport) 1:24.83.

1,000: 1,1. Matthew Schutzbank (Nyack-I) 2:33.65; Sec. V: 9,11, Ethan Shea (Pittsford Mendon) 2:36.11; 10,13, Brandon Yanguas (Irondequoit) 2:36.54.

1,600: 1,1. Logan Schaeffler (Sanford H. Calhoun-VIII) 4:11.00; Sec. V: 10,13. Ryan Giglia Jr. (Churchville-Chili) 4:19.59; 11,14. Nathaniel Fisher (Brockport) 4:19.65; 15,18. Austin Bubel (Fairport) 4:20.40.

3,200: 1,1. Riley Hubisz (Ithaca-IV) 9:01.42; Sec. V: 4,7. Jake Passalugo (Fairport) 9:09.33; 8,12. William Tempest (Pittsford Sutherland) 9:16.44; 18,23. Connor Domoy (Oakfield-Alabama) 9:32.60.

55 hurdles: 1,1. Tawakal Omar, Syracuse Corcoran-III) 7.37; Sec. V: 9,11. Diavantae Simmons (True North Rochester Preparatory Charter School/Uncommon Schools Rochester Prep) 7.89; 10,12. De’Andre Leonard (Franklin/NE/SOTA/WOI) 7.90; 19,23. Kevin Brown (Webster Schroeder) 8.14.

High jump: 1,1. Brenton Baker (Sweet Home-VI) 6-9; Sec. V: 2,2. Tyrell Simmons (University Prep) 6-8; 4,4. Gavin White (University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men) 6-6; 8,8. Brenton Paladino (McQuaid) 6-4.

Long jump: 1,1. Aiden Bryant (Midlakes-V) 23-5.75; Other Sec. V: 2,2. Rhoan Kaulder (McQuaid) 23-2.75; 19,23. Jahsiah Arnold (Rush-Henrietta) 19-9.75.

Triple jump: 1,1. Aiden Bryant (Midlakes-V) 49-0.50; Other Sec. V: 6,8, Manny Robinson (Hilton) 43-8; -- Jaylyn Melton (TN/Rochester Prep) fouled, no mark.

Pole vault: 1. Luke Beattie (Warwick Valley-IX) 16-0; Sec. V: 10,10. Nathan Sinclair (Rush-Henrietta) 13-6; T11,T11. Oren Welch (Marion/Gananda) 13-6,; 13,13. Luke Collison (Penfield) 13-0.

Shot put: 1,1. Peter Northrup (Penfield-V) 57-.50; Other Sec. V: 8,9. Ethan Canfield (Dansville) 51-6.25; 10,11. Sheldon Siverling (Batavia) 50-2.

Shot put wheelchair: 1,1. Logan Corteaux (Red Creek-V) 11-.75.

Weight throw: 1,1. Aidan Ifkovitz (New Paltz-IX) 69-7.25; Sec. V: 2,2. Peter Northrop (Penfield) 63-5.75; 13,13. Sheldon Siverling (Batavia) 56-7.25;  --. Ethan Mitrano (Penfield) fouled, no mark.

800 relay: 1,1. Horace Greeley-I 1:29.07; Sec. V: 2,2. Hilton (Jake Palermo, Jason Pellechia, Robert Lowry, Robert Taddeo) 1:29.65.

1,600 relay: 1,1. Newburgh Free Academy-IX 3:23.06; Sec. V: 3,4. McQuaid (Rhoan Kaulder, Tyler Pagano, Allen Nesmith, Corinthian Reed) 3:24.27; 13,16. Hilton (Luke Schindler, Manny Robinson, Promise Kobela, Nolan Tydings) 3:31.18.

3,200 relay: 1,1. Saratoga Springs-II 7:53.72; Sec. V: 7,9. McQuaid (Alex Morey, Luke Schickler, Logan Canfield, Max Schnittman) 8:06.69.

Intersectional distance 3,400-meter medley relay (1,600, 600, 200, 1,000): 1,1. Section V (Toby Dickerson, Spencerport , Ian Johnson, Wayne; Ricardo Lagares, Churchville-Chili; Alexander Leduc-Etile, Pittsford Mendon) 8:47.25.

GIRLS

55 meters: 1,1. Sariah Doresca (Baldwin-VIII) 6.93; Sec. V: 5,8. Tamara Dorval (Pittsford Mendon) 7.19, 7.18 in prelims; 8,12. Reese Cialini (Penfield) 7.29, 11,16. Dallis Jones 7.39.

300: 1,1. Ashley Fulton (Elmont Memorial-VIII) 38.15; Sec. V: 9,13. Anais Martinez (Franklin/NE/SOTA/WOI) 40.81; 17,24. Marykate Rudnicki (Fairport) 42.13; 26,35. Tamara Dorval (Pittsford Mendon) 43.32.

600: -1. Dylan McElhinney (Hunter College-PSAL) 1:31.06; Sec. V: 12,17. Stella Riley (Brockport) 1:38.01; 19,25. Rebecca Schroeder (Webster Schroeder) 1:39.66; 22,29. Lia Brasacchio (Victor) 1:41.29.

1,000: 1,1. Zariel Macchia (William Floyd-XI) 2:49.23; Sec. V: 11,13. Haylie Smith (Rush-Henrietta) 2:58.67; 18,22. Elizabeth Tytler (Irondequoit) 3:03.26; 19,23. Campbell Riley (Batavia) 3:03.97.

1,500: --,1. Ella Cohen (Hunter College-PSAL) 4:27.99; 1,2. Lillie Bogdan (Frontier-VI) 4:30.47; Sec. V: 13,18. Hannah Devine (Brighton) 4:46.82; 15,20. Ari Reback (Fairport) 4:48.20.

3,000: 1,1. Emily Bush (Saratoga Springs-II) 9:20.40; Sec. V: 20,22. Mallory Hildreth (Pittsford Mendon) 10:14.90; 23,28. Alexa Briggs (Churchville-Chili) 10:37.63.

55 hurdles: 1. Chica Akazi (Uniondale-VIII) 8.21; Sec. V: 9,10. Emma Goodell (Victor) 8.51; 21,25. Jada Kendrick (Webster Thomas) 9.09.

1,500 race walk: 1,1. Taylor Farrell (Corning-IV) 6:40.09; Sec. V: 3,3. Desilets Dubois (Brockport) 6:54.48; 14,14. Jessica Sweet (Rush-Henrietta) 7:51.71.

High jump: 1,1. Miyannah Robinson (Nottingham-III) 5-6; Sec. V: 18,20; Shanell Miller (Irondequoit) 5-0; 22, T25. Cristina Paulk (Greece Olympia) 5-0.

Long jump: --,1. Shania Young (Dewitt Clinton-PSAL) 18-10.5; 1,2. Madison Williams (Pine Bush-IX) 18-7.75; Sec. V: 2,3. Corintia Griffith (Webster Schroeder) 18-5.5; 4,5. Elizabeth Brandt (Williamson) 17-9.5; 14,16. Shannon Schmieder (Alexander/Pembroke) 16-11.5.

Triple jump: 1,1. Corintia Griffith (Webster Schroeder) 40-3.75. Other Sec. V: 13,13. Elizabeth Brandt (Williamson) 36-2.25, 15,15. Elsye Klump (Keshequa) 35-9.

Pole vault: 1,1. Lily Beattie (Warwick Valley-IX) 13-0; Sec. V: 7,8. Paige Harding (Oakfield-Alabama) 11-0; 8,9. Alexis Gerig (Hilton) 10-6; 11,12. Heidi Tran (Gates Chili) 10-6.

Shot put: 1,1. Jillian Scully (Miller Place-XI) 42-11.50; Sec. V: 11,13. Jane Carey (Webster Thomas) 34-9.75; 13,15. Kaylee Oswald (Wellsville) 34-4.25.

Weight throw: 1,1. Gabriella Vizcarrondo (Nanuet-I) 52-7.75; Sec. V: 5,6. Avery Brunner (Pittsford Mendon) 46-9.50; 10,11. Ava Wierda (Batavia) 44-8.75; 11,12. Ella Manelis (Brighton) 44-7.50.

800 relay: 1,1. Baldwin-VIII 1:40.11; Sec. V: 4,4. Webster Schroeder (Corintia Griffith, Lauren Curry-Wilburn, Jordan Smith, Rebecca Schroeder) 1:45.42, 1:44.03 in prelims; 5,5. Fairport (Marykate Rudnicki, Kate Balland, Lauren Murphy, Brenna Goss) 1:45.61, 1:44.37 in prelims.

1,600 relay: 1,1. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake-II 3:54.78; Sec. V: 10,13. Victor (Julia Sodoma, Lia Brasacchio, Atasia Williams, Ellis McIlhenney) 4:12.53.

3,200 relay: 1,1. Cornwall-IX 9:05.63; Sec. V: 15,17. Fairport (Hannah Casler, Helena Painting, Emma Blodgett, Ari Reback) 9:54.18.

Intersectional distance 3,400 medley relay (1,600, 600, 200, 1,000): 1,1. Sec. XI 10:09.22; 8,10. Sec. V (Jillyan Ewing, Churchville-Chili; Bridget Courtney, Spencerport; Mallory Hildreth, Pittsford Mendon; Morgan Zimmet, Penfield) 10:44.33.

Full results are on www.nysphsaa.org, www.oceanbreezenyc.org and www.milesplit.com

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NY state indoor track championships results 2024: Section V athletes