MileSplit HQ - It was billed to be one of the biggest showdown's in Section 1 history. Zola Golden (formerly of Arlington) was the nation's fastest over 400m outdoors. Symone Darius (New Rochelle) put numerous State Records on the books. Both would be back for the 2014-2015 season, seeing each other numerous times throughout both seasons, within Section 1.
Following in the footsteps of Mary Cain, also formerly of Section 1, both will forgo their future seasons to compete unattached.
Zola Golden, now of Gotham Sparks, has already made an impact on the scene. Running at the Princeton New Year Invitational, she put in a US #5 performance of 40.22 over 300m, winning the event over numerous collegians.
Likewise, Symone Darius, now unattached, trains under a club coach. Her absence at the Section 1 Kick-off meet confirmed the transition.
It would seem that Brenessa Thompson (Medgar Evers), is the only athlete left of the big sprint three we named as the #8 Most Exciting Moment of 2014. With Golden and Darius unable to attend the NYSPHSAA State Meet, who will challenge the city senior for the title? Both athletes will, however, be able to compete against HS'er's at meets such as New Balance Indoor Nationals, and the Armory Invitational.
Other notable movements include Emma Gallagher (Garden City) and D'Jai Baker (North Babylon), now running under Benjamin Cardozo colors, Leah Moran, D2 State Champ for Stillwater last spring heading to Holy Names, and Powell Deslandes (Sheapshead Bay), now running under Medgar Evers.
We saw transfer's take the world by storm this past XC season. Noah and Sam Affolder, formerly of Illinois, transferred to Carthage this summer. They were an immediate, positive impact to the team, garnering them Individual and Team titles. However, hockey will be calling this winter.
