Track and field: Iona Prep wins state Catholic title, Fordham Prep second, Stepinac sixth
He won the 200-meter dash at the vaunted Loucks Games in a time that now stands No. 1 for the season among high school athletes in New York.
He's top-10 in the state in the 100-meter dash.
And next year, he'll compete for Division I Binghamton.
Things have been going well for Iona Prep senior Marcus Nahim.
But they got a lot better over the weekend when he picked up the meet's track MVP award and helped lead the Gaels to the boys team title at the 95th annual Catholic State Varsity Intersectional Championship.
The victory marked the third time Iona Prep has claimed the boys team championship at outdoor Catholic track and field states. The others were in 1987 and 2018.
All have been under current coach Jan Mitchell.
Iona Prep, this spring's Westchester County boys team champion, finished with 46 points to top the other 21 teams that scored from across the state.
Bronx-based Fordham Prep, whose roster is dotted with boys from Westchester County, was second with 38.5 points.
And Stepinac was sixth at 18.5.
With athletes limited to competing in two individual (non-relay) events, Nahim won the 200 in 21.74 and was second by just .01 to Holy Trinity's Josiah Brown in the 100, Nahim clocking 11.07.
Teammate Terron Johnson was fourth at 11.33.
Gael junior Justin Hargraves also gained top honors, being named the meet's MVP for field events.
Hargraves jumped into the season's state top 10 for public and private schools in the triple jump with his winning 45-4 leap, a personal-best distance. Hargraves also garnered points for Iona Prep with his fifth-place, 20-1.5 long jump.
Fellow Gael Steven Dowdy Jr. captured silver in that event at 20-9.25.
Iona Prep thrower Matteo McIver took gold in the discus at 139-4 and in 159-3, Iona Pre's Jake Gherardi captured the javelin's top spot. Fordham Prep's Gaspare LoDuca, who's from Briarcliff, took bronze in the javelin with a personal-best 131-10. throw.
Stepinac's David Davitt ran 54.86 for the 400 hurdles win. Iona Prep's Peter Winter, in a season-best 58.22, finished fourth and Jonathan Bailey, a Fordham Prep sophomore from Yonkers, clocked 58.91 for fifth n that race.
Bailey won the 110 hurdles in 15.37 with teammate Aidan Bedford of Yonkers was second in 15.54.
Davitt took silver in the open 400 in 49.59 behind Wesley Noble of Bishop Loughlin (47.65).
Iona Prep's Tommy Flynn ran a season-best 9:46.25 to win silver in the 3,000-meter steeplechase behind St. Anthony's Aidan Brancaccio (9:39.89).
Iona Prep and Fordham Prep also gained team points in the relays
Nick Avery of Mount Vernon, Keegan Doody of Eastchester, Lucas Chrostowski of Stamford, Connecticut and Dakota Strain of the Bronx ran a collective 3:24.36 for Fordham Prep to finish second in the boys 4x400 behind Bishop Loughlin (3:17.96)(.
The 4x800 relay win went to Chaminade (7:59.76) but both Iona Prep and Fordham Prep medaled.
Fordham Prep (Jack Gallagher of Manhattan, Gabriel Kramer-Griffith of New Rochelle, Reidy from White Plains and Ergi Agai of Pelham) clocked 8:19.85 for third and Iona Prep (Winter, Quin O'Grady, Michael Rynne and Flynn) took fourth in a season-best 8:23.21.
Chaminade took the gold in 7:59.76.
And Iona Prep's 4x100 squad (Landen Wiley, James DeMaio, Kyle Stewart and Dominic Atuahene Jr. in the final and Declan McCaulay running in the trials) took bronze in 43.64. The win went to Mount St. Michael in 42.57.
Con Edison Athlete of the Week: Iona Prep runner Marcus Nahim
Section 1 track: Suffern wins Class A boys and girls titles, Ursuline, Greeley, Scarsdale also excel
Other top local finishers
At a personal-best 13-0, New Rochelle resident and Fordham Prep junior Oljivy Sanchez took silver in pole vault. ahead of bronze medalist Chris Nugent of Stepinac (11-6). Fordham Prep's Tyler Williams, a freshman from Yonkers, was fourth at 10-6 and his teammate Bedford grabbed fifth place at the same height but in more attempts.
The win went to St. Anthony's Matt Lourenco, who cleared 14-0.
Mount Vernon's Cassius Walker of Fordham Prep and Stepinac's Ryan Cardichon tied for second in the high jump at 6-0 with Stepinac's Nate Alvarezsilver also clearing 6-0 but in more attempts for fourth..
Gerald McCloud of Buffalo's Bishop Timon-St. Jude won at 6-2.
White Plains resident Sean Reidy of Fordham Prep ran 4:24.64 for second in the 1,600 behind Chaminade's Patrick Mulryan (4;21.84).
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Track: Iona Prep wins state Catholic team championship, Fordham Prep 2nd
