Local athlete gets national title

BALDWINSVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT – In between his two NYSPSHAA championship gold medals and getting his diploma as a high school senior, Solomon Holden-Betts offered a fitting capstone to his high school career.
Going to Philadelphia to take part in the New Balance Nationals, all Holden-Betts did was pull away to win the 2,000-meter steeplechase against the best runners in the United States in that event.
The New Balance Nationals are held at historic Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania, annual site of the Penn Relays each April.
Three sections are run, all of them taking place at the end of the Friday session on June 16, a mere six days after Holden-Betts had won the state 3,000 steeplechase and, running the anchor leg, rallied to help Baldwinsville also take state honors in the 4×800 relay.
At the shorter distance in the steeplechase, Holden-Betts finished in five minutes, 45.56 seconds, less than a second ahead of William Horne, from Heriman High School in Utah, who was second in 4:56.50.
Also in Philadelphia, Holden-Betts, paired again in the 4×800 with Jeff Ragonese, Logan Hayes and Jack McAllister, finished 25th in the national field in 7:55.07.
On that same weekend, Herkimer’s Hailey Couchman was victorious in the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, topping 12 feet 2 ½ inches.
Holden-Betts’ win in Philadelphia concluded a senior year which not only included the state titles won outdoors in the spring, but also an individual state Class A championship in cross country back in the fall, plus team indoor and outdoor sectional Class AA titles.