Tallying Up the 2017 New York Track Sectional Wars

The world turns upside down in the D2 competition as Long Island's Sections 11 and 8 take a back seat, the PSAL mainly disappears, and the CHSAA also slides back a bit, though it is much stronger now in D2 than it used to be. Stepping into the gap with strong small-school cadres are Sections 1 through 6, 9, and the AIS. D2 is also where Sections 7 and 10 get a chance to breathe a bit.

On the boys side, after a tough battle with Section 1, the Section 5 guys rode 5 wins to the D2 title. The biggest events for S5 were a max-producing long jump behind Joshua McCleary and Brandon Burke in 1st and 2nd, a 1-3 finish by Kyle Rollins and Ethan Walters in the pentathlon, a 2nd and 3rd by Burke and Fonati Merriam in the triple jump, and 1sts by Burke in the high jump and the UPrep Rochester 4x100 team. Byron-Bergen's Burke tallied an impressive 24 points in D2 competition.

Section 1 had four wins in its 2nd place 95.5 total, as Jaheim Jones won the 100 meters and took 2nd in the 200 meters and a share of Lourdes' 5th place in the 4x400,  Ryan Gallagher won the 3200 meters and chipped in a 5th in the 1600 to go along with Matt Politis's 2nd in the event, Jack Zimmerman won the shot put and had a 2nd in the discus, and Pearl River won the 4x400 and had a 2nd in the 4x800.

Four teams scored above 50 in the battle for 3rd through 6th. Section 2 rode Jeff Derwin's 1st in the discus and 2nd in the shot put and 2nds by Shane Racey in the pole vault and Kabongo Barry in the 100 meters to score 63 points for 3rd place. Two sections tied for 4th at 58, as S4 was led by 1sts from Patrick Hazlitt in the 800 meters and Parker Stokes in the 3000 meter steeplechase, while S9 got three 1sts from Michael Mullally in both the 110 and 400 hurdles and Dagi Tadesse in the pole vault. The AIS finished 6th at 52 points powered by Onye Ohia-Enye's 1st in the 400 meters, Aidan Ryan's 1st in the 1600 meters, and Julien Hinz's 2nd in the 800 meters along with his share of Poly Prep's champion 4x800 team and 3rd place 4x400 squad.

The girls' D2 contest was a three-way affair at the top, with Section 1 holding off Section 3 and Section 6 by a 107-100-97 score. S1 took six 1sts helped by Bronxville's wins in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays and 4th in the 4x100, and the Bronco championship squads were anchored by 800 meter winner Kaitlin Ryan. Caroline Timm had a 2nd behind Ryan in the 800 and also a 1st in the 1500 meters, Samantha Morillo scored 20 with wins in the shot put and discus, and 2nds were chipped in by Miranda Edwards in the 100 meter hurdles and Antonia Hoyos in the long jump.

2nd-place Section 3 had four winners in its 100 point total as Brooke Rauber and Olivia Morganti had a 1-2 finish in the 2000 meter steeplechase and Rauber had a share of Tully's 3rd place in the 4x800, Skaneateles teammates Raenah Campbell and Mia Grasso combined for 1st and 3rd in the 400 hurdles and Grasso was also part of the 2nd place 4x100 team, Julia Cavanagh won the triple jump, and Jane Fahy and Ashley Bosco combined for 12 points with a 2nd and 4th in the shot put. Section 6 was three points behind in 3rd at 97 led by Nia Stevens' 1st in the 200, 2nd in the 100 meters and share of Tapestry's 1st place in the 4x100;  a huge finale by Samantha Spinella to win the long jump;  Emilee Hanlon's high jump victory; and Emma Seiders' 2nd in the 400 meters.

Three other squads hit 50 or better to fill out the 4th through 6th places. Section 4 had 63 points points behind Lansing teammates Emily Gallagher and Miya Kuramoto going 1-2 in the pole vault, Courtney McNeil's 1st in the 100 meters and 2nd in the 200, and Jaden Finch's 2nd in the discus. Section 5 scored 62 points led by Emily Lavarnway's pentathlon win and 2nds by Travasia Singletary in the 100 meters, Kelsey Hastings in the 400 hurdles along with a share of Letchworth's 4th in the 4x400, Kaitlin Bonczyk's in the triple jump, and Batavia in the 4x400 as it was runner-up to Bronxville. Section 2 was 6th at 50 points behind 1sts from Zhane Smith in the 400 meters and Ama Boham in the 100 meter hurdles and a 2nd by Sharde Johnson in the high jump.