Category: Indoor track

Albany Academy for Boys, Averill Park, Ballston Spa, Bethlehem, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Colonie, Columbia, Guilderland, Home, Indoor track, Niskayuna, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, Saratoga Springs, Schalmont, Schenectady, Shaker, Shenendehowa, Stillwater

Shea Weilbaker, Donald Jones win titles at state indoor track championships

Saratoga Springs’ Shea Weilbaker and Albany Academy’s Donald Jones earned individual titles at the New York State Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday, March 2, at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island.

Weilbaker was one of three Section 2 runners to place in the top 10 of the boys 3,200-meter run. Weilbaker finished first with a time of 9:04.62, while Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake’s Tyler Berg placed third with a time of 9:09.16. Berg’s teammate, Aidan Gillooley, finished ninth with a time of 9:24.53.

Jones cleared the bar at 15 feet, 3 inches in fewer attempts than Gates-Chili’s Dustin Meyer to win the boys pole vault. Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk’s Shane Racey took third place after he cleared the bar at 15 feet.

Saratoga and Shen each turned in sub 8-minute times in the boys 3,200-meter relay. Saratoga’s team of Noah Flanders, Peter Moller, Ryan Postlethwait and Ezra Ruggles claimed the state title with a time of 7:56.60, while Shen’s Odin Schaepkens, Aidan Hickey, Nolan Hickey and Alex Hislop finished third with a time of 7:58.70.

Section 2 added a victory in the boys intersectional distance medley relay. The team of Evan Brennan (Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Anthony Cozzy (Columbia), Isaac Menis (Schenectady) and William Wallace (Colonie) finished with a time of 8:55.07.

On the girls’ side, Shen’s Chidera Anameze had the top individual performance for Section 2 with a second-place finish in the shot put. Anameze’s top throw was 41 feet, 6 inches. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake’s Rory Graham took third place in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:52.98.

In the girls’ relays, Shen’s team of Jade Dennis, Madeleine Festin, Hannah Belleville and Jada Dennis was second in the 3,200-meter event with a time of 9:17.38. Section 2’s team of Lily Dingman (Shen), Leonni Griffin (Shaker), Kaiden Ring (Columbia) and Gillian Roeder (Bethlehem) finished third in the girls intersectional distance medley relay with a time of 10:23.53. Continue reading “Shea Weilbaker, Donald Jones win titles at state indoor track championships” →

Albany Academy for Boys, Amsterdam, Averill Park, Ballston Spa, Bethlehem, Broadalbin-Perth, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Colonie, Columbia, Greenwich, Guilderland, Home, Hoosic Valley, Hudson Falls, Indoor track, Mohonasen, Niskayuna, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, Saratoga Springs, Schalmont, Schenectady, Scotia-Glenville, Shaker, Shenendehowa, South Glens Falls, Tamarac

State indoor track and field qualifiers: Josiah Kemp, Ella Kurto among Section 2 athletes who won two events

ALBANY – Section 2 held its state indoor track and field qualifier Sunday, Feb. 24, at the University at Albany.

Colonie’s Josiah Kemp and Averill Park’s James Cocca each won two individual boys events. Kemp took first place in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.57 seconds, and he finished first in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.52 seconds. Cocca swept the throwing events, winning the shot put and the weight throw.

On the girls’ side, Saratoga Springs’ Ella Kurto won the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:49.15 and the 3,000-meter race with a time of 10:04.13. Guilderland’s Isabella Bruno finished first in the long jump and the triple jump, while Shenendehowa’s Chidera Anameze earned victories in the shot put and weight throw.

The top two finishers in each event automatically qualified for the New York State Indoor Track and Field Championships, which take place Saturday, March 2, at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Facility on Staten Island. Third-place finishers qualified if they met the state meet standard. Continue reading “State indoor track and field qualifiers: Josiah Kemp, Ella Kurto among Section 2 athletes who won two events” →

Albany, Albany Academy for Boys, Bethlehem, Broadalbin-Perth, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Christian Brothers Academy, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Colonie, Columbia, Fonda-Fultonville, Greenwich, Guilderland, Hoosic Valley, Indoor track, LaSalle, Mohonasen, Niskayuna, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Scotia-Glenville, Shaker, Shenendehowa, Stillwater

Section 2 indoor track: Shenendehowa sweeps Division 1 team titles for fourth consecutive year

Shenendehowa swept the boys and girls team titles for the fourth consecutive year at the Section 2 Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships Sunday, Feb. 17, at the University at Albany.

Shen topped Saratoga Springs 130-100 in the boys team standings, while the girls had a comfortable 181-106 margin over the Blue Streaks.

Colonie’s Josiah Kemp took home two individual Section 2 titles in the 55-meter dash and the 55-meter hurdles. Saratoga’s Shea Weilbaker earned victories in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races.

Rachel Sterle led Shen’s girls team with victories in the 55- and 300-meter dashes. Guilderland’s Isabella Bruno won the long and triple jumps, and she placed second to Saratoga’s Anna Evans.

Continue reading “Section 2 indoor track: Shenendehowa sweeps Division 1 team titles for fourth consecutive year” →

Albany, Averill Park, Ballston Spa, Bethlehem, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Christian Brothers Academy, Colonie, Columbia, Guilderland, Home, Indoor track, Niskayuna, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Shaker, Shenendehowa

Indoor track: Colonie boys, Shenendehowa girls win Suburban Council titles

ALBANY – Colonie earned the boys team title, and Shenendehowa won the girls team title at the Suburban Council Indoor Track and Field Championships Sunday, Feb. 3, at the University at Albany’s SEFCU Arena.

Colonie used its dominance in the sprint events to outdistance Saratoga Springs 101-70 for the boys team title. Michael Hermance won the 300-meter dash, tied teammate Josiah Kemp for the 55-meter dash title and helped the 800-meter relay team take home a victory to lead the Garnet Raiders. Colonie also swept the top three places in the 55-meter hurdles, with Kemp earning the victory over teammates Cristian Hubbard and Connor McCauslin.

Shen had success in the field events to pull away from the rest of the girls teams at the league meet. Chidera Anameze won the shot put and weight throw to lead the Plainsmen, who finished with 127 points. Annabel Flatland added a victory in the pole vault. Continue reading “Indoor track: Colonie boys, Shenendehowa girls win Suburban Council titles” →

Albany, Bethlehem, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Christian Brothers Academy, Colonie, Columbia, Emma Willard, Green Tech, Home, Indoor track, Mohonasen, Niskayuna, Saratoga Springs, Shenendehowa, Stillwater

Weekend indoor track round-up: Nino Seidou-Bakari wins at Ocean Breeze High School Invitational

Colonie’s Nino Seidou-Bakari took first place in the boys Red Division weight throw at the Ocean Breeze High School Invitational indoor track and field meet Saturday, Jan. 26, on Staten Island.

Seidou-Bakari posted a distance of 61 feet, 9 inches to win his division at the regional meet. Josiah Kemp contributed a third-place finish in the Red Division 55-meter hurdles (7.58 seconds) and a fifth-place finish in the Red Division 55-meter dash (6.62 seconds) for the Garnet Raiders, and the Colonie boys 1,600-meter relay team placed fifth. Nathanial LaSorba added a third-place finish in the boys White Division 800-meter race with a time of 2:03.01.

Shenendehowa twin sisters Chidera and Chidalu Anameze had top-10 finishes in field events at Ocean Breeze. Chidera took second place in the girls Red Division weight throw with a distance of 46 feet, 3 inches, while Chidalu placed third with a throw of 44 feet, 2.75 inches. In the Red Division shot put, Chidera finished sixth with a throw of 37 feet, 6.25 inches, and Chidalu was eighth with a throw of 37 feet, 2 inches. Continue reading “Weekend indoor track round-up: Nino Seidou-Bakari wins at Ocean Breeze High School Invitational” →

Academy of the Holy Names, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Catholic Central, Columbia, Greenwich, Home, Indoor track, LaSalle, Mohonasen, Scotia-Glenville, Shaker, Shenendehowa

Indoor track and field: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls distance medley relay team wins Yale Invitational

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake took first place in the girls distance championship medley relay at the Yale Invitational last weekend in New Haven, Conn. The Spartans finished with a time of 12:10.41 – the second-fastest national time by a high school team this season.

BH-BL also placed second in the 55-59 boys distance medley relay with a time of 10:51.61 and finished third in the championship boys 3,200-meter relay with a time of 8:07.56.

Several individual BH-BL runners excelled at the Yale Invitational. Nick Hunziker was second in the boys mile with a time of 4:23.24, while teammate Aidan Gillooley placed 10th with a time of 4:29.85. Rory Graham placed third in the girls 1,000-meter race with a time of 2:56.26, and Tyler Berg finished fourth in the boys 3,000-meter race with a time of 8:38.06. Rece Gobel took 10th place in the boys 600-meter race with a time of 1:24.63. Continue reading “Indoor track and field: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls distance medley relay team wins Yale Invitational” →

Amsterdam, Home, Indoor track, Saratoga Springs, Shenendehowa

Indoor track: Shenendehowa takes team titles at Springfield Invitational

Shenendehowa won the boys and girls team titles at the Springfield Invitational indoor track and field meet Sunday, Jan. 6, at Springfield College in Massachusetts.

Shen earned the girls team title by seven points over runner-up Saratoga Springs. Lily Gould led the Plainsmen with a victory in the weight throw, and the Shen 800-meter relay team of Rachel Sterle, Antonia Brancato, Lauren Daigle and Haylee Evertsen tied Amsterdam’s team of Charli Beekman, Gabby Stanavich, Emma Gomez and Lauren Santiago for first place with a time of 1:51.71.

Beekman (55-meter dash), Santiago (300 dash) and Stanavich (55 hurdles) won individual events for Amsterdam. Kelsey Chmiel took first place in the 1,000 and 1,500 for Saratoga Springs, while twin sisters McKinley and Sheridan Wheeler swept the top two places in the 3,000 for the Blue Streaks.

Shen’s boys team cruised to the team title with 115.42 points. Alex Hislop (3,200) earned an individual victory for the Plainsmen, while the 800 relay team of Mingrui Liu, Tyler Reese, Jaylin Sykes and Colin Tower brought home a first-place trophy. Continue reading “Indoor track: Shenendehowa takes team titles at Springfield Invitational” →

Home, Indoor track, LaSalle

Indoor track and field preview: LaSalle Institute Cadets

Team: LaSalle Institute

Head coach: John Leonard

Playoff results: Placed second at Colonial Council Championships; finished eighth at Section 2 Division 2 meet

Returning athletes: Ronan Coughlin (800-3,200 meter runner), Joe Marchese (800-3,200 runner), Jackson Delaney (pole vault, sprints), Tom Wainaman (hurdler), Colden Ottati (sprinter), Patrick Kayayan (sprinter), James Gallagher (shot put, weight throw) Continue reading “Indoor track and field preview: LaSalle Institute Cadets” →

Home, Indoor track, Mohonasen

Girls indoor track and field preview: Mohonasen Mighty Warriors

Team: Mohonasen

Head coach: Bill Sherman

Playoff result: Section 2 Division 3 champion

Returning players
Kate Sherman – 1,500-meter champion, 3,000-meter champion
Emma Sinisgalli – runner-up in 600-meter and 1,000-meter races
Christina Esposito – 600- and 1,000-meter specialist
Matti Muller – runner-up in 1,500-meter race
Anna Sherman – 1,500- and 3,000-meter specialist
Loren Cuomo – 3,000-meter specialist
Bailey DeCocco – shot put champion, weight throw champion
Lena Calkins – pole vault champion
Emily Racana – pole vault specialist
Zionna Perez-Tucker – 55- and 300-meter specialist
Natalia Sawyer – 300- and 600-meter specialist
Courtney Bush – 55-meter hurdles specialist

Graduated: none

Newcomers
Navi Shaw – sprint specialist (transfer from Colonie)
Jocelyn Countryman – 1,500- and 3,000-meter specialist

Outlook for the season 
After winning its first ever Sectional title in 2018, Sherman said Mohonasen is looking to repeat this season, but it will be more difficult with the addition of Averill Park to the Mighty Warriors’ division.

“Traditionally, our team has been anchored by our distance squad,” said Sherman. “That looks to be the case in 2018-19 with all of our top runners returning and the addition of several new distance runners.”

Kate Sherman is back to defend her Sectional titles in the 1,500 and 3,000 after what her coach and father described as “an outstanding [cross country] season, which leads me to believe she will improve during her track seasons.” Coach Sherman added that Kate will be “supported by at least seven other strong distance runners.”

Coach Sherman also addressed two of Mohonasen’s weaker areas: sprints and field events. He added two new coaches, Tom Howley (sprints and jumps) and Bob Stranahan (throws), to work with his athletes in the hopes of creating balance throughout the various events.

“The field squad is led by three seniors – Bailey DeCocco, double champion in the shot put and weight throw, and the pole vault duo of Lena Calkins and Emily Racana,” said Sherman. “After the first day of Sectional competition last year, these three athletes gave our team 38 points, which contributed greatly to our Sectional championship by 68 points. However, questions remain in the horizontal jumps and the high jump.

“Our returning sprints squad is very young with Zionna Perez-Tucker and Natalia Sawyer providing the best opportunities to score. We look to Zi as the short sprints specialist and Natalia more in the 300-400 meter range. However, both are very young and have not yet reached their potential,” added Sherman. “The addition of Navi Shaw is a potential game changer. Assuming Navi makes a successful transition to Mohonasen, we expect she will greatly bolster our sprint events and relays.”

Fonda-Fultonville, Home, Indoor track

Section 2 indoor track preview: Fonda-Fultonville Braves

Fonda-Fultonville lgoTeam: Fonda-Fultonville

Coaches: Ashleigh Griswold, Dave Petersen, Tom Carpenter

Playoff results
Boys: Third place Independent League Championships; first place Division IV Sectionals
Girls: First place Independent League Championships; third place Division IV Sectionals

Returning athletes
Boys: Myles Anderson (senior), Brady Myles (senior), Liam Viscosi (senior), Gabe Mormile (junior), Trevor Cline (sophomore), Adrian Claburn (junior), Mike LaVoie (junior), Tom Maurceri (junior), Christian Pearce (junior), Ryan Shopmeier (junior), Michael Coonradt (sophomore), John Hall (sophomore), Eric Hesch (sophomore), Shane Viscosi (sophomore), Carter Petersen (freshman)

Girls: Katelyn Babiarz (senior), Andrea Casey (senior), Kaitlyn Gray (senior), Emilia Vardai-Davidson (senior), Madison Nichols (junior), Julia Bagnardi (junior), Shelby Crahan (junior), Marisa Mycek (junior), Haley Clear (sophomore), Kianna Hanson (sophomore), Delena James (sophomore), Shianna Kemmer (sophomore), Ashley Krohn (sophomore), Mackenzie Monette (sophomore), Anissa Mosconi (sophomore)

Graduated
Boys: Anthony Gatto, Matt Klotz, Lief Morford, Austin Oliver, Chris Yarush, Aidan ZenZen

Girls: Brittany Castelluccio, Katie Dunham, Sierra Grant, Meaghan MacDougall, Emma Rhodes, Alyson Shirley

Newcomers
Boys: John Cressy (senior), Scott Valachovic (senior), Gus Snow (junior), Nathan Curtis (sophomore), Noah Ferrucci (sophomore), Dylan McCrea (sophomore), Osvaldo Sanchez (sophomore), Charlie Susi (sophomore), Camden Woodman (sophomore), Nick Butler (freshman), Jeffrey Hattat (freshman), Michael Putnam (freshman), Marc Tommell (freshman), Michael Carpenter (eighth grader), Bennett Melita, Braxton James, Joe Oathout, Jagger Teffault

Girls: Adriana Butler (junior), Guiliana Capparello (junior), Jocelyn Miller (junior), Sierra Rose (junior), Stella Williams (junior), Chelsi Brunell (sophomore), Jadyn Cary-VanNostrand (sophomore), Gianna Changa (sophomore), Megan Mormile (sophomore), Amaya Vainauskas (sophomore), Kaylee Freeman (freshman), Grace Hotaling (freshman), Eliana Montano (freshman), Janiece Roman (freshman), Kimberly Snell (freshman), Evelyn Yun (freshman), Amelia Petersen (freshman)

Coach’s comments
On boys team: “We have a strong group of returning athletes, as well as some talented newcomers. We are looking forward to watching our young athletes grow, while continuing to strengthen our most veteran runners and field individuals.

“We are looking forward to working with a larger group of athletes this season, and as always, we hope to be in the top groups at the league championships and Sectionals.”

On girls team: “We have a dedicated group of returning girls, and also quite a talented group of newcomers. We’re looking forward to watching this group improve throughout the season. We would like to see these girls have a strong presence at the Sectional and Independent League championships this season.”