Bashir Praileau is a senior hurdler and long jump standout for the Albany Academy boys’ track and field team.
Saturday, the Northeastern University commit secured the Federation championship at Middletown High School in the long jump with a winning distance of 22 feet, 8 ½ inches. That helped the Cadets claim the Federation team title with 26 points.
Praileau, a four-year varsity competitor and the 2023 indoor state champion in the long jump, finished third in the event in Division I Friday and added a pair of second-place showings in both the Division I and Federation 110 meter hurdles.
Q: I would have to imagine you would have liked to leave Middletown with more than one title, so how would you rate your overall experience at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships this year?
A: Yeah, you kind of said it. I wish and definitely hoped to bring home more titles, but I can’t really be upset as I was able to take home the Federation title, which is overall, not just your division. I was able to finish runner up to a pretty impressive hurdler (in Freeport junior Jordon Quinn).
Q: You were able to bounce back from coming third on Friday in the Division I long jump to taking the Federation championship in the event Saturday. How pleased were you to earn the championship Saturday?
A: I was so happy. In the indoor season, I was the state champion. I really wanted to repeat as state champion. Coming up short in the division was tough. I felt great in the warmups. With my first three jumps, there was kind of a long period between warmups and when the actual jumps started. During that period, my legs sort of lost it. So with those first three jumps, there was no pop. It got a little better each time. I kept telling myself it is getting better. I was able to get into the division finals. I refocused, warmed up and started to feel it a little bit again in my legs. That is when I hit a 22-2 on my first jump of the finals. Those last two fouls felt like amazing jumps. Even at 22-2, I was pretty behind the board. My legs felt pretty good out of nowhere. I ended up being way over the board, but those still felt like amazing jumps. They would have been at least over 23 (feet). Being able to come back on Saturday and having the mindset of knowing what went wrong Friday helped me. My focus was where am focusing on my mark and am I looking at the board and running through it. I was about to have an overall successful day Saturday and I was really happy about winning the Federation title. Losing to the same person in the hurdles was hard, but I had PRs (personal records), so it is tough to be really upset. It does hurt a little, but getting that Federation title definitely brightens the whole experience. What really does it for me is the fact that me and my teammate Zhi (Luncheon-Lowrie, who finished in the high jump at 6-6) won the Federation championship for our entire team. Two athletes in three events managed to win the title and I was able to score 18 of our 26 points. To be to do that for my team and my school, the first time in school history to win a state title in outdoor track and field was amazing.
Q: In comparison to other venues, how did you feel about competing in the state championships at Middletown High School.
A: Since there was COVID, I only was able to compete in two outdoor state championships. Last year, it was at Cicero-North Syracuse. I think Middletown might be a little bit nicer. It was run extremely well as all of the officials kept everything on time and we got through everything nice and smooth. It was well-attended and there were a lot of great competitors and a lot of hype surrounding it. I think it was a really great event.
Q: What are you doing next?
A: I am going to the New Balance Nationals next week where I will compete Saturday and Sunday where I will complete in the championship hurdles and long jump. I am really looking to refocus this week and recover from the state meet. During indoor season, it was a problem going from the state meet to nationals. I want to heal up, feel good and go down to Philadelphia and try to get an All-American title — the last thing to go into my collection.