Track: Nyack's Schutzbank, Lakeland/Panas's Arbid win gold at Armory Coaches Hall of Fame

NEW YORK − Matt Schutzbank can run long distances with the best of them.

He just prefers playing soccer in the fall over running the 3.1 miles of a normal, high school cross-country course.

It remains to been seen if he'll be able to escape cross-country next year when running track for Yale.

But the Nyack senior showed no ill effects Saturday from foregoing cross-country when winning the boys invitational mile during the Janbar Armory Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational.

The meet served the dual purpose of hosting 4,500 athletes in high-level competition and honoring six new inductees into the Hall of Fame. Included were coaches Fred Singleton of White Plains, Dan Doherty of Pearl River and George Febles Sr., a longtime Yonkers resident, who has spent the last few decades at Fordham Prep.

The invitational included large-school, small-school and invitational events.

Schutzbank, who won gold at 1,600 meters during the past school year at both the indoor and outdoor state championships, raced in the invitational mile (1,609 meters) and looked at home from the get-go. He held the first or second position throughout the race before hitting the tape in 4:17.67, .30 ahead of Isaac Cohen of Hunter College High.

"I'm happy with it. It's my first mile of the season. I'm faster than I was (at this time) last season," Schutzbank said. "All the other guys get to run cross-country. I have to work harder. That's what I do."

And he's hoping that extra work ends up earning him a spot in the Millrose Games high school mile in February.

"I've always wanted to do it. Thatt's the goal," Schutzbank said.

Lakeland/Panas's Arbid continues upswing with gold

Lakeland/Panas junior Hannah Arbid won the girls large-school weight throw at 40-1.5.

That's particularly significant since her top throw last year was 33-8.

"Practice makes perfect," Arbid said when asked about her quick and marked improvement.

Last winter was her first in indoor track after throwing outdoors as a freshman.

"At first I really didn't like it. But I developed a love and a connection," she said, noting her favorite events are hammer, followed by discus, then the weight.

Despite her initial throw going into the net for a foul, Arbid, who acknowledged a fondness for sitting in the throwing circle on spring days and meditating to "become one" with throwing, joked of the weight, "We're pretty much good friends."

She said she hopes to hit 45 feet this winter.

Stepinac's Davitt takes the 500, Fordham Prep's Santiago second in 300

Stepinac's Penn-bound David Davitt captured gold in the boys invitational 500, clocking 1:04.17, just .03 off his personal-best in the event.

His win was a bit of a no-doubter. In control throughout, he finished 1.14 seconds ahead of runner-up Nicholas Steed of Maryland's Bishop McNamara High School.

At this time next year, Mount Vernon resident Jaylin Santiago will also be running for a Division I school, the University of Houston.

But in the meantime, the Fordham Prep senior has some big goals.

Saturday he won the top-seeded heat of the boys invitational 300 in 34.41, which he called "not the best" time but better than the 35.7 he clocked early last winter.

His time won him silver because Bishop McNamara's Mason Samuels was .03 faster in was expected to have been the slower heat.

Santiago didn't appear fazed, perhaps because his sights are set on bigger things.

His goal is to break 33.1 to get the state record.

"This year I've been practicing way harder. I feel like I can get it," he said.

Newburgh boys finish 1-2 in varsity mile, setting personal-best marks

Newburgh Free Academy has long enjoyed success in sprints and sprint relays.

Saturday was no exception with its boys 4x400 relay team of David Pinnock, DeJuan McKenzie, Anthony Barrett and Brady Danyluk winning in 3:24.71.

But the Goldbacks also showed they can run long.

Juniors and training partners Devin Batelic and Danyluk both broke the meet record for the non-invitational mile and set personal-best times with Batelic winning gold in 4:24.67 and Danyluk a blink behind in 4:24.77.

Prior to the race, Batelic told his coach he wanted 4:26.

Danyluk said he was looking for a sub-4:30 time.

Their finishes were huge, especially because Batelic's previous personal best was 4:38.95 and Danyluk's was 4:37.07.

The two started cross-country in eighth grade but it wasn't until last year that Batelic convinced Danyluk to do track.

Danyluk noted both push one another in training and Batelic said that's been a positive mentally, as well as physically.

"One more rep. We can do it," he said of their mindset.

And that mindset got a big boost Saturday.

"We're just going to keep on climbing up the ladder," Batelic said, suggesting the next step might be cracking 4:20.

"That would be everything," he said.

Other local winners, including 'large-school' Nyack, and top finishers

Nyack is a small school but for one race Saturday the RedHawks ran with the big teams, no doubt to the regret of those big-school teams.

Coach Edgar Lambert noted girls 4x400 relay lead-off runner Junibel Fernandez was due to catch a flight Saturday with her family to the Dominican Republic for the holidays. With large schools running early in the day, small schools starting later and running well into the night with the relay the track's last scheduled event, she could either get on the plane or run the relay, not both.

So, Lambert asked and received permission for Nyack to run early in the day in the large-school division's 4x400.

The RedHawks weren't overmatched.

Fernandez, Taitu Forest, Jayda Johnson and Hailie Vasquez combined to run 4:06.02 to win the 32-school event with room to spare. Runner-up Bishop McNamara was more than a second-and-a-half behind in 4:07.4.

"Awesome," a grinning Lambert said of his squad's slay-the-giants win.

Fernandez, whose family is from the DR, probably had a happy plane trip. In addition to that gold, she ran the small-school girls 55 hurdles, which was early enough not to interfere with the flight.

And Fernandez clocked a personal-best 9.26 to win silver.

She was probably airborne when her teammate, Ryan Cardichon, took to the air himself.

With The Armory clearing out, but a handful of fans and athletes staying to cheer them, Cardichon and Manville, New Jersey's Professor Ceo, the last two small-school high jumpers left in that competition, both cleared 6-4.

Neither cleared the next height, 6-6, although Cardichon came close on his second of three attempts.

He got the win because he had fewer attempts.

Cardichon seems an unlikely candidate for high jumping, standing a mere 5-9. But the senior is hoping to clear 6-8 this winter to enhance his chances of winning a college scholarship.

"It's really confidence and confidence in my coaches," Cardichon, whose personal best is 6-5, said of his success. "People underestimate me because of my height."

He was also finished fifth in boys small-school long jump at 20-5.

Fordham Prep senior Aden Bedford, who lives in Yonkers, tied for first in the boys large-school high jump. Bedford and Ethan Rich of Connecticut's Lyman Hall both cleared 6-6. That height was a personal best for both boys.

Hen Hud (Princess Golden, Ava Schembari, Oona McManus and Lindsay Tellez) captured the girls small-school 4x400 relay in 4:23.65.

Briarcliff's Miles Chamberlain clocked 4:31.62 to finish second in the boys small-school mile.

North Rockland won silver in the boys large-school long jump as Christopher Sejour went 21-2.25.

The Red Raiders also picked up a bronze in boys large-school triple jump with Shamell Roberts' 42-6.75 effort.

Rye Neck's Brian Chin took silver at 58-2 and Aiden Kayizzi of Pleasantville threw 56-6.5 for bronze in the boys small-school weight throw.

Somers' Haylie Donovan, clocked 39.94 for third in the girls invitaional 300.

At 40-9.25, Albertus Magnus's Theodore Lodge won bronze in the boys small-school triple jump. Magnus's Mikkahel Toussiant went 46-2.5 for fifth.

New Rochelle's Manasi Simpkins, at a personal-best 41-4.5, was sixth in the boys large-school triple.

John Jay-Cross River's Aya Schwartz captured second in the girls small-school triple jump at 32-10.

In 10:16.77, John Jay-CR's Sloan Wasserman crossed in fifth place in the girls invitational 3,000.

With a clear of 5-0, North Rockland's Desirae Hernandez was third in the girls large-school high jump.

New Rochelle's Lincey Bazile threw 26-4 for fourth in the girls large-school shot put.

New Paltz's Ady Laurie cleared 11-0 to win the girls small-school pole vault.

Running 23.13, Jake Mason of Masters was third, Briarcliff's Chase Sedacca (23.16) was fourth and Dobbs Ferry's Jayden Smith was fifth i(23.19) the boys small-school 200.

In 51.98, Nanuet's Jarell Gibbs finished fourth in the boys small-school 400. Masters' Nicholas Moutsatsos (52.51) was fifth.

Charles Sullivan a Somers sophomore entered the boys large-school weight throw as a super long shot. But the long shot took fifth with a huge personal-best throw. Sullivan whose previous top weight toss had been 33-8.25, unleashed a mammoth 52-10 throw.

Pleasantville's Clara Shingler ran 5:36.31 and teammate Genevieve Agati clocked 5:38.34 to finish third and fourth, respectively, in the girls small-school mile. Briarcliff's Zoe Franks was fifth (5:42.34).

Magnus's Xavier Reyes cleared 5-9 for fourth in the boys small-school high jump.

Ursuline's Elena Olson clocked 8.49 for fifth in the girls large-school 55 hurdles.

Edgemont's Ava Thomas ran a personal-best 9.78 for fourth in the girls small-school 55 hurdles. Teammate Nura Aggour (9.97) was sixth.

Edgemont's Philasande Mkhize went 31-7 for fourth in the girls small-school triple jump and went 15-1.5 for sixth in the girls small-school long jump.

Three local coaches honored: Armory Coaches Hall of Fame welcomes Fred Singleton, Dan Doherty, George Febles, 3 others

Hastings' Samantha Guilfoyle cleared 4-6 for fourth in the girls small-school high jump. And Hastings' Danae Morgan (29-7.5) was fifth in the girls small-school weight throw.

Woodmia Laguerre of North Rockland threw the weight a personal-best 33-4.5 for fourth in the girls large-school division.

Hen Hud's Jessica Redmond took second in the girls small-school long jump, going 15-10.5.

Section 1 girls went 2-3-4 in the small-school triple jump with John Jay-Cross River's Aye Schwartz going 32-10, Hen Hud's Redmond 32-4 for third and Edgemont's Philasande Mikhize 31-7 for fourth.

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 both @HaggertyNancy and at @LoHudHockey.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud track: Schutzbank, Arbid win at Armory Coaches Hall of Fame Invite