Indoor track: North Rockland rules at Class AA championships

At some point Monday night, the question became how much would North Rockland win by in the team competition, not whether it would win at the Section 1 Class AA indoor track and field championships.

And that question applied to both the boys and girls team competitions.

That's what happens when you win 14 events and place in multiple others.

Estabine, double winner, No. 1 in state in weight throw

And no win was more impressive than Deborah Estabine's in the weight throw.

Estabine, who entered the competition third in the state this season in girls weight throw, leapfrogged to first with a 51-foot toss. Her personal best going in had been 47-11.25.

Her throw places the senior No. 6 in the country among high school girls this season.

The funny thing was before the weight landed and Estabine saw how far it had sailed, she'd mentally written it off.

"I thought it was going to be bad," she explained. "My spins were off," she said.

Red Raider throws coach Peter Zecchin, who has worked with Estabine since her freshman year, said she has always "wanted to be a big contributor to the team."

"This year, she picked it up. She exploded," Zecchin said, crediting her "desire to be good," which was evident with her working at throwing during the summer and fall.

With states on the horizon and nationals after that, Estabine is hoping to add distance.

And Zecchin has no doubt she can do that.

"Honestly, however far she wants, she can throw it. She wants to be the best out there," he said.

"My approach is I know I have more because my form is not good (right now)," said Estabine, who reveled not only in her huge throw but in her team winning the Triple Crown, having taken the league, Rockland County and section team titles, which, she noted, it hadn't done since her freshman year.

Estabine also grabbed first-place points for her team, winning the girls shot put at 39-3.5.

Fellow senior Dami Modupe was also a double winner. She captured the girls 55 hurdles in 8.62 seconds and took the 55 dash in 7.3.

Other individual winners for the Red Raider girls included Allanah Perkins in the 1,500-meter racewalk (7:47.99), Nya Thomas in the high jump (4-10), Abigail Coachy in the girls triple jump (34-1) and both the Red Raider 4x200 (1:46.51) relay and 4x400 (4:11.94) relay team.

With 11 teams scoring, North Rockland finished with 181 points.

New Rochelle (89), Ketcham (39), Mamaroneck (37) and Mount Vernon just a blink back (36) rounded out the top five.

North Rockland boys

North Rockland's boys didn't win any relays but they didn't have to, finishing with more than twice as many points as their nearest competitor in the team competition.

The Red Raiders had 147 and runner-up Arlington had 65.

Lakeland/Panas took third with 53 points and John Jay-East Fishkill and Mamaroneck tied for fourth with 44 points with 12 teams scoring.

As with the girls, weight throw was also a big event for North Rockland's boys.

Noely Vargas Jr., who started the season not reaching 40 feet, threw 51-5.75, a personal best distance by more than two feet.

Others taking gold for North Rockland included Oliver Zorrilla, who clocked 6.71 in the 55 with Lakeland/Panas's Brian Martins a close second (personal-best 6.73).

Tyler Italiano (35.75 in the 300), Mike LaCour (10-0 in the pole vault) and Zackery Ceasar (41-9.25 in the triple jump).

Ceasar was part of a 1-2-3 North Rockland sweep in the triple jump with Shammell Roberts jumping 41-8 and LaCour 40-2.5.

Doherty's and other top performances

Of course, North Rockland's athletes weren't the only ones to have big days.

Mamaroneck senior Matt Doherty, last year's state champion at 1,000 meters, moved to the No. 2 position in the state at the distance this season with his season-best 2:30.98 run.

Fellow Tiger Rosemary McManus ran a personal-best 41.63 to take the girls 600.

Maia Perillo of John Jay-EF pole vaulted better than any girl or boys, clearing 10-6, which was three feet better than the next highest girl.

Abigail Kowalczyk of Ketcham moved to No. 1 in Section 1 for the season at 3,000 meters, clocking 10:03.64. She also captured the 1,500 (4:51.17).

Lakeland/Panas's Bobby Mayclim recorded a better than five-second personal best in winning the boys 1,600 in 4:22.33.

The top four boys shot putters all had personal-best throws but Arlington's Colin Cubberly was the only one to break 40 feet, throwing 41-8.75.

John Jay-EF's Arianna Gonzalez ran a season-best 41.73 to win the girls 300.

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Other winners

In an eye-blink race, New Rochelle (season-best 3:35.64) edged Yonkers (season-best 3:35.65) for the boys 4x400-relay win.

The boys 4x200 was almost as close as Lakeland/Panas won in (1:33.88), edging Mamaroneck (1:33.92). Both were season-best times.

Yonkers did win a gold, though, with Ben Domingo (7.94) taking the boys 55 hurdles.

Arlington's Jake VanDermark ran 1:28.53 to edge John Jay-EF's Alec Malles (personal-best 1:28.66) for gold in the boys 600.

Kaitlyn Casas (3:04.16) won the girls 1,000 for New Rochelle, which also easily captured the girls 4x800 relay (10:28.21).

In 9:27.33, Arlington's Ethan Green took the boys 3,200. North Rockland picked up second- and third-place points as Ryan Tuohy clocked a personal-best 9:32.09 and teammate Claudel Chery also PB'd at 9:35.26.

Arlington's Sierra Kraemer (16-8.75) edged New Rochelle's Jaylee Hewitt (16-6.25) for the girls long jump crown.

Arlington also took the boys 4x800 relay, running 8:24.63.

The boys long jump was even closer with White Plains' Jacob Lee (20-8.25) taking first and Port Chester's Colin Taylor second in 20-7.25.

The boys high jump went to New Rochelle's Obinna N'Joku at 5-4.

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Track: Estabine #1 in weight throw in NY, North Rockland sweeps titles