Running the Numbers for Great State Expectations

So it's a new year and did this year's Indoor States meet change the picture on who rules the roost in NY and whether some new kings and queens could reign at CNS?

The answer using an 8 place scoring system for the indoor championship is that some things stay the same and some change big time. Some of the big changes may again be due to the fact that some key athletes skipped the States meet for other action, including preparation for the Nationals meet held at the Armory. The two extra places included for the indoor scoring help to compensate for the fewer events than outdoors 19 total, with the girls having their core 16 plus the race walk and the guys having one fewer because of their exclusion from the RW. I also added in the intersectional distance medley relay to the sectional scoring, because if there's any event that is a key grudge match between the regions, the medley is the one.

On the girls' side, Section 1 again ruled with 126 points led by New Rochelle's Monae Cooper's 1st in the weight throw and 2nd in the shot, and 1sts from Suffern's 4x400m and Mamaroneck's 4x800m relays along with an intersectional medley win. Section 5 was 2nd at 87 jet fueled by a Rush-Henrietta team that racked up an incredible 5 1sts by itself with Sammy Watson taking the 600m and 100m and Lanae-Tava Thomas copping the 55m and long jump and combining with two other Royal Comets to take the 4x200. S5 also got wins from Midlake's Aubrianna Lantrip in the high jump and Gates-Chili's Erica Ellis in the pole vault for an impressive 7 golds. Section 11 with Lauren Harris of Sachem East leading the way in the race walk was 3rd at 79. The PSAL was 4th at 78 behind Paul Robeson's Amanda Crawford and Alyssa Sandy with wins in the 300m and 55m hurdles. Section 2 was 5th at 72, and Section 8 beat Section 4 for 6th by 2 points at 52 as North Shore's Diana Vizza captured the 1500m and Westbury's Denisha West took the triple jump.

The Section 11 guys again ruled by amassing 129 points with 1st from Huntington's Infinite Tucker in the 55m hurdles, Smithtown East's Daniel Claxton in the high jump, and Huntington's 4x400m relay. Section 5 was 2nd at 104 points behind Wilson Magnet's Kelly Brown's win in the 55m. Section 1 was 3rd at 79.5 with 1sts from Beacon's Terrel Davis and Rayvon Greys in the long jump and triple jump and Lakeland-Panas's Cameron Thompson in the weight throw. Section 2 got 1sts from Saratoga's Aidan Tooker in the 3200m and Tom Conboy in the pole vault to take 4th with 67.3, the CHSAA got 5th with a win from Iona Prep's Andrew Cannistraci in the shot put, and Section 9 was 6th at 59.3 aided by a 1st from Poughkeepsie's Malik Lewis in the 300m, and relay wins by Warwick Valley in the 4x800m and the intersectional medley squad. The PSAL squad was quiet with 30 points after a 1st by South Shore in the 4x200m.

What it all added up to in the combined competition was a tight win for Section 11 over Section 1 by a score of 208-205.5. Section 5 was close behind in 3rd at 191, Section 2 was 4th at 139.3, the PSAL was 5th at 108, and Section 9 was 6th at 100.3.

For those interested in which teams had the most prowess at indoor States, the answer is naturally 1. Rush Henrietta 60 (56 girls + 4 boys), 2. Lancaster 47 (31 girls + 16 boys), 3. Saratoga 44 (24 boys + 20 girls), 4. North Rockland 43 (38 girls + 5 boys), 5. St. Anthony's 40 (23 boys + 17 girls).