Section 9 schools brought home a total of 47 top-three medals from the state track and field championships, a number of them ending years of drought. The girls claimed 28 and the boys 19 in the all encompassing Federation portion, plus the large- and small-school medals from the state’s public schools.
Minisink Valley freshman Ella Michelitch claimed her school’s first gold medal among females, winning the high jump at the height of 5 feet, 9 inches – it is the best clearance by any Section 9 athlete in state-meet history.
In the same event, Ellenville senior Amelia Benjamin won the Div. II gold, her school’s first since Danielle Borriello won the Div. II discus in 2012.
Another first-time gender winner was Rondout Valley’s Kayla Oakes in the Div. II long jump. Rondout’s last female medalists were embers of the 2016 400 relay that earned Div. II silver.
It’s been 10 years since Pine Bush claimed a female gold as Ella Galloway won the Div. I and Fed pole vault. The previous gold was Malaika Palacios in the 2013 Div. I long jump, and Taylor Pannell was the last medalist with bronze in the 2018 Div. I long jump.
Marlboro went nine years without girls gold, Juliana Juras claiming the top spot in Div. II discus. Juras also won medals in 2022 but the previous gold was Courtney Warden in the 2014 Fed 100 hurdles.
New Paltz’s Ady Laurie earned silver in the Div. II pole vault, repeating the feat of Samantha Kaplan back in 2016.
Monroe-Woodbury’s drought ends at five years with Kaylen Tenemille earning bronzes in both the Div. I and Fed triple jumps. The last medal came in 2018 with the Crusaders’ 1,600 relay claiming Div. I silver.
Warwick’s Rachel Venter followed the 2022 lead of teammate Lily Beattie, taking Div. I and Fed bronze in the pole vault.
Boys history
James I. O’Neill produced a haul of five medals. Standout sprinter Jadon Spain won Div. II and Fed gold at 100 meters, establishing a meet record – those were the first golds since pole vaulter Robb Quiller won Div. II gold and Fed silver in 2008. Spain’s two finishes of 10.47 and 10.53 seconds are the top-two marks by Section 9 runners since 1975. Jackson Smith and Jeremy Stoll placed first and third among Div. II runners in the 800. The Raiders also won bronze in the Div. II 400 relay. The last time O’Neill medaled was 2019 when Carl Tyce took bronze in the Div. II 800.
Warwick went nine years without gold, ended as Luke Beattie won the Div. I gold and Fed silver in the pole vault. The 2014 Warwick team brought home five golds with the 1,600 relay, 3,200 relay and Todd Uckermark in the Div. I pole vault. The last Wildcat medalist was Kesigh Deloatch in 2017, taking bronze in the Div. I triple jump.
Monroe-Woodbury went eight years without gold, ended as Collin Gilstrap won the Div. I and Fed at 3,200 meters. The previous gold was Jack Jibb in the 2015 Div. I and Fed steeplechase, and last medal was Richmond Boateng in the 2019 400 hurdles, taking Fed silver.
Goshen’s Jaden Bisono won the Div. I gold and Fed silver in the five-event pentathlon. It was the Gladiators’ first medal since 2018 when Liam Higgins won the Div. I steeplechase (with Fed silver) and earned two silvers in the 800, plus Louis Greco taking bronze in the Div. I steeplechase.
It had been 15 years since Tri-Valley medaled as Adam Furman claimed Div. II silver in both the 1,600 and 3,200. Tanzeel Khan was the previous medalist in 2008, taking Div. II silver in the shot put.
Section 9’s newest members, Beacon and Our Lady of Lourdes claimed their first medals under the new banner. Beacon’s Javan Verdile won Div. I bronze in the high jump. Matthew Ferrari of Lourdes won bronze in the Div. II 1,600 – it was four years earlier that Marlboro resident Jaheim Jones won his last double gold medals in the 100 and 200 as a Section 1 member. Verdile and Pine Bush’s Plaxico Brooks each cleared 6-4, tying them for the sixth among Section 9 jumpers since 2013.
Record charts
In Section 9 girls state-meet marks dating back to 1990, there were notable top-10 efforts:
Karrie Baloga of Cornwall took over the top spot in the 2,000-meter steeplechase (6:21.31), 10 seconds better than Roosevelt’s Sarah Trainor in 2019. Baloga also owns the No. 3 and 4 marks. At 3,000 meters, Baloga is No. 2 (9:24.86), trailing only Cornwall Aisling Cuffe.
Ella Michelitch of Minisink Valley is tops in the high jump at 5 feet, 9 inches, erasing the 5-7 marks of Loreen Brawner of Goshen and her own 2022 effort. Only two others have reached 5-6. Amelia Benjamin of Ellenville cleared 5-5 for the second year in a row, tied for No. 6 all-time.
Madison Williams of Pine Bush took over the No. 4 and 5 spots in the long jump, clearing 18-8.75 with her best; she did the same thing in the triple jump, jumping 39-1.75 with her best.
Juliana Juras of Marlboro threw 134-9 in the discus, ranking No. 3 behind two efforts from Sarah Thornton of Saugerties. Juras also ranks No. 7 (132-10).
Ella Galloway of Pine Bush owns the second-best mark of 12-6 in the pole vault, behind two 13 footers from Kaeli Thompson of Warwick in 2018 and 2019.
Kessler Hirsch of Minisink ranks No. 7 in the 100 meters (12.30 seconds in semifinal) and No. 3 in the 200 (24.82). Charissa Logan of Goshen is No. 9 in the pentathlon with 2,918 points.
For the boys, Warwick’s Luke Beattie jumped 15-3 in the pole vault, the third-best Section 9 mark since 1966.
Marlboro’s Drew Heimink went 21-10 in the long jump, tied for sixth-best since 2013. Damani DeLoatch of Beacon posted the No. 8 and 10 marks since 2013; the better was 45-6.25.
Fun facts
Since 2014, the highest top-3 medal totals (Fed and public) for Section 9 athletes per event are:
Boys – 1,600-meter relay (15); 400 hurdles and pole vault (11); 3,000 steeplechase and high jump (10); 100, 800 and pentathlon (9); 110 hurdles (8); 200 and 3,200 relay (7)
Girls – Pole vault (18); 2,000-meter steeplechase (14); long jump (10); 400 hurdles and high jump (9); and, 1,600 relay (8).
Emptiness
Since 2014, Section 9 male athletes have not top-3 medaled in Div. I 1,600 meters, 110 hurdles, shot put and discus; Div. II 1,600 relay; and Fed 1,600, long jump and discus. Over the same period, Section 9 female athletes have not top-3 medaled in the Div. I 1,500, 3,200 relay, discus and pentathlon; Div. II 200, 400, 800, 1,500, 3,000, steeplechase, 3,200 relay and pentathlon; and Fed 200, 400, 1,500, 3,200 relay and pentathlon.
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR