Track: Hogan, Estabine, Baloga, Brightman, Bronxville relay win gold at state championships
CICERO — Myles Hogan will run for Princeton next year. But the Hastings resident has made his last year at Fordham Prep memorable.
Hogan, who won state Federation (public and private schools of all sizes) titles in the boys 1,500- and 3,200-meter runs in the winter after a second place Fed finish in cross-country, Friday took gold again in the Federation boys outdoor 3,200 race during day one of the state track and field championships at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
Hogan's time of 8:52.42 broke a 35-year-old meet record.
"(It's a) wonderful year for a fine young man. He'll be missed at the Prep but what a fine legacy he'll leave," Rams coach George Febles said.
Hogan's time wasn't a personal best but he knew early on that wouldn't be in reach due to wind on the back straightaway that he called "brutal."
But his senior year has been anything but that.
"It's been perfect. The whole time I've had my team with me," said Hogan, whose list of highlights is topped by making Foot Locker Nationals in cross-country, seeing his team win the Catholic intersectional cross-country title for the first time in more than half a century and getting to run at the Penn Relays in the distance medley relay with teammates.
Hogan, who'll compete in the Brooks PR Invitational Wednesday in Seattle, Washington before finishing his high school career at Nike Nationals in Oregon, wasn't the only Hudson Valley athlete to excel.
Shot put gold and bronze
Rockland's best female shot putters showed they're also two of the best in the state.
North Rockland's Deborah Estabine threw 41.-1.5 to capture gold. Clarkstown South's Skylar Rosenberg hit 38-7.25 for bronze among Division 1 (large-school) throwers.
"I knew I had a chance of getting gold," Estabine said, adding, though, it was hardly guaranteed with multiple competitors having thrown around 40 feet.
"Anybody could get it. It was up in the air," she said.
The junior said her approach was to stay calm and "try not to let nerves get to me."
Estabine, who'll compete at New Balance Outdoor Nationals next week, is now throwing about seven feet farther than she was last year.
She credited her improvement to work last summer on her technique and winter weight room workouts.
But regularly facing Rosenberg has also been a plus.
"It's not a rivalry," Estabine said. "We help each other get better."
Baloga's hot season continues
Cornwall's Karrie Baloga, who recently committed to run for the University of Colorado, continued her phenomenal junior season by winning the girls state public and Federation 3,000-meter title after winning the indoor title at this distance this past winter and also capturing the state Fed cross-country title and finishing fourth at cross-country nationals.
Baloga clocked 9:37.5 to win by more than 12 seconds.
Yorktown's Sydney Leitner, who'll compete for Division I Binghamton next year, medaled in sixth in a personal-best 9:52.39.
Bronxville girls relay golden
Bronxville (Juliet Winiecki, Milly Koenig, Danielle Dragoni and Donna Napolitano) clocked 4:02.23 to win the girls Division 2 (small-school) 4x400 relay.
Winiecki, Dragoni, Napolitano and Koenig also clocked 50.07 for third place in the girls D2 4x100 relay.
Suffern (Maraly Hector, Julia Ross, Karen Augustin and Kaya Duran) finished in 4:06.37 to medal in fourth place in D1 in the girls 4x400 among New York State Public High School Association (public/non-New York City) schools. Monroe-Woodbury (Emily Dovico, Alexa Thomas, Emeline Clark and Yasmine Peralta) was fourth (4:09.29).
Pawling's Brightman wins D2 800
Pawling's Noah Brightman won the boys D2 800 title in 1:54.87, which placed him fifth overall.
Bronxville's Ellis Goodson (1:56.5) was fourth among D2 public school league runners.
Mamaroneck's Matt Doherty (1:57.53) was fifth among D1 public league runners in the 800.
With a personal-best 22-5.5, Deion Joseph of Albertus Magnus captured bronze in the boys D2 long jump.
Croton's Carter Trasgallo, a Fordham Prep senior, medaled at fourth overall at 14-6 in the boys pole vault.
Valhalla relays strong
In the boys public school division 4x400, Valhalla (Chris Purchia, AJ Shikapwashya, Thomas Casale and Gabe Franchi won silver in 3:28.5.
In a Valhalla school-record 43.16, Jecaryous Poteat, Casale, Drummond and Franchi captured third in the boys D2 public school division 4x100 relay.
James O'Neill (Evan Maasik, Jordan Thompson, Keegan Trubenbach and Jadon Spain) ran to fifth in 43.88.
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Other medalists
Washingtonville's Elijah Mallard clocked 52.8 for the boys 400 D1 hurdles win.
Yonkers' Jack Gallagher (56.51) was fifth among NYSPHSAA finishers.
Stepinac's David Davitt (56.22) was sixth overall to earn a place in Sunday's Federation final.
Valhalla's Tyler Drummond's 45-2.75 won him silver in the D2 boys triple jump. That was a personal-best for Drummond and the top triple jump this season by a Section 1 athlete.
James I. O'Neill's Evan Maasik was fourth at 44-6.
Cornwall (Jiles Addison, Charles Cypress, MarcSean Montero and Christian Sterling) ran 42.62 for silver in the boys D1 4x100 relay.
Mamaroneck (Nicholas Obregon, Oliver Smeal, Vincent Repoulis and Anthony Alves) medaled in fourth in that race in 43.1.
Cypress, Montero, Avo Sarkissian and Victor Perez also clocked 3:21.94 for third in the boys D1 4x400.
In 3:29.58, Yonkers (Derrick Touba, Toluwani Alao, Nosir Leslie and Gallagher) took fifth among NYSPHSAA schools.
Somers' Brian Luciano, with a 146-1 throw, finished fourth in the boys D1 public school-league discus.
Nanuet's Samantha Dow ran 1:05.08 for third place (public)/fourth place (overall) in the girls 400-meter D2 hurdles.
Briarcliff's Kevin Callaghan clocked 50.7 for fifth place among public school D2 runners in the boys 400.
At 38-1.75, Scarsdale's Diya Shadaksharappa, medaled in fifth in the girls Division 1 triple jump.
Spring Valley's Simara Miller (37-5.75) was sixth.
Clocking 58.74, Suffern's Duran was fifth among NYSPHSAA athletes in the girls D1 400-meter race.
Cornwall's Cypress (51.1) was was fifth in public in the boys D1 400.
Ardsley's Caitlin Maher medaled in sixth in the girls D2 triple jump at a personal-best 36-1.25.
North Rockland (Gabriella Cabrera, Esther St. Fort, Dami Modupe and Skylah Zamor) ran 49.37 for sixth among public schools in the girls D1 4x100 relay.
Other noteworthy finishes
Senior Maddie Chalfin cleared a personal-best 11-3 in the girls pole vault.
That left her out of the medals in 10th place. But the height lifted the future UConn vaulter into a tie for the best all-time outdoor vault by a Clarkstown South female athlete.
Chalfin, who has the school's indoor record at 11-1, nearly cleared 11-6 Friday. That would have qualified her for upcoming New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Pennsylvania.
"But I'm happy," she said of her performance.
Warwick Valley took third and fourth in D1 in that competition with Lily Beattie clearing 12-0 and Rachel Venter clearing 12-0 in more attempts.
The top Hudson Valley finisher in the D2 boys 400 hurdles was New Paltz's Alexander Peyser in 57.1.
While finishing just outside a medal, Nanuet's Shane O'Neill threw the discus a personal-best 129-1 for seventh place in boys D2.
New Paltz's Aidan Ifkovits was fifth at 145-8.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at both @HaggertyNancy and at @LoHudHockey.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Track: Hogan, Estabine, Baloga, Brightman, Bronxville 4x4 state champs
