STATEN ISLAND – No less than four area high schools brought top indoor track and field athletes to Staten Island for last weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at the Ocean Breeze complex.
West Genesee would see Michael Gomes climb to the medal podium in the boys 1,000-meter run. With a time of two minutes 30.2 seconds Gomes improved upon his previous 2:33.50 by more than three seconds and edged Fayetteville-Manlius runner Will Ditre (2:30.65) for fifth place overall, fourth among public-school runners.
The Wildcats were also in the 4×200 relay where Rhison Williams, Logan Scott, Will Fettig and Dylan Frost had a time of 1:31.29 during the fall but here could only manage 1:32.02 and claimed 13th place in the Division I (large school) race.
Skaneateles had Mara Stanton in the girls weight throw where she was one of the medal favorites in Division II after a top throw this winter of 47 feet 4 inches.
Stanton went 46’8 1/2” on her first throw and, though not advancing tot he final round with the top eight, still took 10th place overall. Pulaski’s Nora Tighe finished sixth with 48’2 1/4”.
The Lakers’ Lucy Fleckenstein took part in the 1,500-meter run where, in a time of 4:54.93, she finished 24th overall. In the boys pole vault Skaneateles’ Ryan McCrone topped 12 feet and finished in 20th place.
Westhill earned a girls medal in the public-school portion of the Division II 4×200 relay, getting to the top five there and finishing eighth overall as Allison Langham, Emma Murphy, Ava Baty and Dericka Trotman posted 1:48.31. The Warriors also had its boys 4×400 relay quartet of Eric Holstein, Nick Scheel, Gage Talucci and Owen Mulholland finish 12th in 3:35.65.
Marcellus was in two different relays. The girls 4×200 relay team of Corrine Aldrich, Madison Foy, Sophia Pilon and Dorothy McMahon earned a time of 1:49.52 for 14th place in Division II behind Westhill.
Meanwhile, in the boys Division II 4×800 relay the Mustangs had Ay-Zoh Shaw, Jameson Palen, Tobey Niland and Liam Eldridge on hand, qualifying ninth-fastest in 8:30.05 but improve to 8:28.24 here for eighth place in Division II.
