Track: Schutzbank, Lawrence, Hrouda, Fenton, Nanuet among many who excel at class meets
Ideally, athletes peak during championship weeks.
Many local track and field competitors appear to be doing just that as evidenced by results from some of last week's Section 1 class championships.
And, as might be expected, teams are peaking, as well.
Case in point, Nanuet.
It won the Section 1 Class B boys team championship for the first time since 1978.
Coach Larry Beckerle, who began coaching track and field as an assistant at Nanuet the following year, noted with some amusement that he overheard some of his athletes comment their parents weren't even born when the Golden Knights claimed that crown.
The win wasn't wholly unexpected. Nanuet won its league and thought it had the horses to finally beat powerhouse Pearl River for the section title, which, with 15 teams scoring, it did, 141-102.
"Pearl River has had such great success with its program. It was a dream to be able to catch and beat them," Beckerle said.
And, whether sounding trite or not, the 2023 win came as a team effort with kids expected and not expected stepping up to score.
Beckerle cited multiple difference-makers, including senior Dan Nyamollo, who scored in four individual events, including the triple jump, which he won, and the long jump, where he was third in a personal-best 20-8.
Shane O'Neill won the discus and was second in the shot, contributing to a 26-point contribution from Nanuet's throwers.
In fact, overall, 17 athletes scored for Nanuet.
And the team needed almost all of them to do so after Pearl River gained 15 points in the opening steeplechase, where Nanuet didn't have an entrant.
"Little things went well," Beckerle said of the win.
And big things, too.
Three kids scored for the team in the pentathlon, headed by event winner Dan Paneto, a junior who recorded a personal-best finish, helped by his third-place showing in the pent's hurdles, although he's only still learning how to hurdle.
"It was a great day for the Golden Knights," Beckerle said.
Big individual finishes
And the sectional class championships proved to be a great day for many.
Bronxville was Bronxville, a hugely successful program that won both the girls and boys Class C titles.
In Class AA, where North Rockland swept team scoring, the Red Raiders' Javon Lawrence recorded personal-best times in winning both the boys 100-meter and 200-meter titles.
Lawrence clocked 10.78 in the 100 and 21.85 in the 200. Both are the top times in Section 1 this season. His 200 time is currently seventh best among high school boys in the state.
At the same meet, Arlington sophomore Riley Pettigrew won the girls 100 and 200 girls races. Her 200 24.74 was her season-best clocking, the top girls time in Section 1 this spring and is a 2023 NY No. 7 among high school girls.
And Pettigrew's 11.96 100 was a personal best, Section 1 No. 1 for 2023 and the fourth fastest clocking in the state this spring by a female high school athlete.
North Rockland senior Dami Modupe, who'll run for Division I Binghamton next year, was second to Pettigrew in the 100 in a personal-best 12.14 and also won the girls 100 hurdles.
Her prelim hurdles time of 14.23, a personal best, stands No. 1 in Section 1 and is No. 3 currently among NY high school girls for the season.
Ketcham's Hailey Hrouda at least temporarily took the No. 1 girls discus spot in Section 1 from fellow senior Prizila Negrete of Ursuline by four inches with a personal-best 127-8. That puts Hrouda in the No. 8 spot and Negrete at No. 9 statewide at this point.
And while weather conditions were far from ideal (wet track, wind and some rain), Tappan Zee junior Sofia Fenton ran a personal-best 7:07 in the girls 2,000-meter Section 1 Class B steeplechase, which was held, with all steeplechase races, days before the actual Section 1 Class B championships.
That time places Fenton at No. 1 among girls this season in the section and No. 10 statewide.
In Class A, Seamus Finn clocked 48.88 in the boys 400, a personal best, Section 1 season best and state No. 10 time for the 2023 outdoor season.
And there were three top Section 1 girls performances at the Class A meet with Ursuline's Sarai Sealy securing the lead in long (18-2.5) and triple jump (38-8.5) and Eva Gibney of Scarsdale amassing 2,957 points in the pentathlon.
In the Class C meet, Rye Neck's Nathan Shpilberg threw the discus more than 10 feet farther than he ever had in competition, winning in a 2023 Section 1 No. 1 147-2.
Nyack's Matt Schutzbank ran a personal-best 4:15.44 in winning the Class B 1,600. The junior's time is second among New York high school boys for this season.
Moreover, it broke the Section 1 Class B 1,600 meet record, which was set in 2002.
Schutzbank is considered one of the athletes to watch at the state championships.
His coach, Adam Klein, describes the 1,600 as Schutzbank's "sweet spot for racing," although noting he's also excelling at the 800 and the 3,200, where he's hoping to go sub-nine minutes before season's end.
"... The 1,600 mixes the strength/endurance, along with his ability to flip a switch and go fast when it’s time to go. That’s let him run some exciting races," Klein said.
While Schutzbank's time is now etched into the meet's history book, Klein, who said his runner went out faster than planned and was hurt by that, thinks he can get down to 4:10.
Still, he termed the time, accomplished "without good execution," a "good confidence booster" for running against the state's top competition.
"It’s super exciting to be along for the ride with him as his coach and to watch him make history with records like this," Klein added. "He’s incredibly coachable and just understands what it takes to succeed both in training and when racing."
Schutzbank's efforts helped Nyack to a fourth-place finish in the Class B boys team competition.
Section 1 Class A championship: Suffern wins Class A boys and girls titles, Ursuline, Greeley, Scarsdale also excel
Catholic track states: Iona Prep wins state Catholic title, Fordham Prep second, Stepinac sixth
Section 1 class championships team scoring
Top 5 by class for classes AA, B and C
Class AA girls
11 teams scored.
1. North Rockland (174), 2. New Rochelle (114.33), 3. Arlington (100.33), 4. Ketcham (85), 5. Lakeland/Panas (19.33)
Class AA boys
12 teams scored.
1. North Rockland (199), 2. Mount Vernon (74_), 3., Ketcham (52), 4T. White Plains and Arlington (51)
Class B girls
15 teams scored.
1. Tappan Zee (90.75), 2. Pearl River (84), 3. Somers (77), 4. Ardsley (73), 5. Nanuet (49)
Class B boys
15 teams scored.
1. Nanuet (141), 2. Pearl River (102), 3. Brewster (59), 4. Nyack (47), 5T. Somers and Tappan Zee (45)
Class C girls
18 teams scored.
1 Bronxville (149), 2. Rye Neck (59), 3. Irvington (47.5), 4. Pleasantville (43). 5. Valhalla (42).
Class C boys
13 teams scored.
1 Bronxville (143), 2. Briarcliff (100), 3. Rye Neck (85), 4. Valhalla (58). 5. Irvington (55)
Winners by class
Class AA girls
100 — Riley Pettigrew, Arlington
100 hurdles — Dami Modupe, North Rockland
200 — Riley Pettigrew, Arlington
400 — Esther St. Fort, North Rockland
400 hurdles — Alexis Smith, New Rochelle
800 — Lily Day, Lakeland/Panas
1,500 — Ariel Esposito, New Rochelle
2,000 steeplechase — Rosie Palmer, New Rochelle
3,000 — Abigail Kowalczyk, Ketcham
Pentathlon — Gabrielle Barnett, New Rochelle
High jump — Aarysa Moore, Ketcham
Long jump — Sierra Kraemer, Arlington
Triple jump — Abigail Coachy, North Rockland
Pole vault — Maia Perillo, John Jay-East Fishkill
Discus — Hailey Hrouda, Ketcham
Shot put — Deborah Estabine, North Rockland
4x100 relay — Arlington
4x400 relay — North Rockland
4x800 relay — Arlington
Class AA boys
100 — Javon Lawrence, North Rockland
110 hurdles — Eloha-Karmiel Yitzchak, Mount Vernon
200 — Javon Lawrence, North Rockland
400 — Nathaniel Johnson, John Jay-East Fishkill
400 hurdles — Logan McCormick, White Plains
800 — Connor Hitt, Ketcham
1,600 — Matt Doherty, Mamaroneck
3,000 steeplechase — Devon McCone, North Rockland
3,200 — Ethan Green, Arlington
Pentathlon — Eddy Corporan, Ketcham
High jump — Logan McCormick, White Plains
Long jump — Colin Taylor, Port Chester
Triple jump — Shamell Roberts, North Rockland
Pole vault — Will Dickson, Ketcham
Discus —Noely Vargas, North Rockland
Shot put — Freddy Vazquez, North Rockland
4x100 relay — Mount Vernon
4x400 relay — Mount Vernon
4x800 relay —Arlington
Class B girls
100 — Chrystelle Fignole, Pearl River
100 hurdles —Nura Aggour, Edgemont
200 — Haylie Donovan, Somers
400 — Haylie Donovan, Somers
400 hurdles — Samantha Dow, Nanuet
800 — Juliette Salazar, Peekskill
1,500 — Juliette Salazar, Peekskill
2,000 steeplechase — Sofia Fenton, Tappan Zee
3,000 — Claire O'Sullivan, Pearl River
Pentathlon — Alyssa Croke, Pearl River
High jump — Gabrielle An, Ardsley
Long jump — Mioko Martin, Ardsley
Triple jump — Aya Schwartz, John Jay-Cross River
Pole vault — Gabrielle An, Ardsley
Discus — Gabriella Vizcarrondo, Nanuet
Shot put — Madeline Stiefel, Tappan Zee
4x100 relay — Somers
4x400 relay — Nyack
4x800 relay — Tappan Zee
Class B boys
100 — Solomon Flowers, Nyack
110 hurdles — Evan Cruz, Pearl River
200 — Ronaldy Lizardo, Sleepy Hollow
400 — Jarell Gibbs, Nanuet
400 hurdles — Michael Malfitano, Pearl River
800 — Ryan Paradine, Pearl River
1,600 — Matt Schutzbank, Nyack
3,000 steeplechase — Pat Ford, Brewster
3,200 — Pat Ford, Brewster
Pentathlon — Dan Paneto, Nanuet
High jump — Dalton Boisseau, Rye
Long jump — Bradyen Richardson, Sleepy Hollow
Triple jump — Daniel Nyamollo, Nanuet
Pole vault — Trey Feirman, Hen Hud
Discus — Shane O'Neill, Nanuet
Shot put — Andrew Pfeffer, Brewster
4x100 relay — Nyack
4x400 relay — Nanuet
4x800 relay — Tappan Zee
Class C girls
100 — Juliette Sullivan, Valhalla
100 hurdles — Julianne Hickey, Pawling
200 — Juliette Sullivan, Valhalla
400 — Kara Kochansky, Bronxville
400 hurdles — Julianne Hickey, Pawling
800 — Phoebe Carmel, Rye Neck
1,500 — Ainara Schube Barriola, Rye Neck
2,000 steeplechase — Caitlin Thomas, Hastings
3,000 — Ainara Schube Barriola, Rye Neck
Pentathlon — Julia DiMichele, Putnam Valley
High jump — Kiera Nolan, Valhalla
Long jump — Juliette Sullivan, Valhalla
Triple jump — Luciana Forte, Irvington
Pole vault — Kate Neil, Albertus Magnus
Discus — Alanis Cruz, Westlake
Shot put — Jessica Nierman, Irvington
4x100 relay — Bronxville
4x400 relay — Bronxville
4x800 relay — Bronxville
Class C boys
100 — Will McLay, Briarcliff
110 hurdles — Alex DiMartino, Briarcliff
200 — Davis Patterson, Bronxville
400 — Davis Patterson, Bronxville
400 hurdles — Miles Demarest, Irvington
800 — Kornel Smith, Briarcliff
1500 — Ellis Goodson, Bronxville
3,000 steeplechase — Theo Lynch, Pleasantville
3,200 — Joe Lavelle, Rye Neck
Pentathlon — Jaden Snow, Rye Neck
High jump — Finn Sands, Bronxville
Long jump — Caleb Bronkema, Pleasantville
Triple jump — Miguel Diaz, Putnam Valley
Pole vault — Max Dicker, Bronxville
Discus — Nathan Shpilberg, Rye Neck
Shot put — Anthony Eanazzo, Alexander Hamilton
4x100 relay — Bronxville
4x400 relay — Alexander Hamilton
4x800 relay — Bronxville
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: See which athletes exceled at Section 1 class championships
