DelBene eyes state meet
By Christopher Hunt
LAGRANGEVILLE – Peekskill senior Lawrence Campbell needed to make a decision on what type of runner he was going to be. He decided he’s a front-runner.
He decided he would own the pace and leave it up to the field to follow. That’s how he approached the 800 meters at the Section 1 state qualifier and everyone knew it when he careened through the first 400 in 53 seconds.
“I looked at it and whenever I’m running from the front, no one can stay with me,” Campbell said.
At least for this race, he was right. Campbell won the 800 at Arlington High School in 1:54.5, a personal best and by far his best race of the spring season. New Rochelle’s Aki Bajulaiye finished second in 1:56.1. Campbell said he needed to reassert himself among the top middle-distance runners in the state.
“It feels good because a lot of people started to feel like they could beat me,” he said.
The Hampton-bound Campbell has indeed run some of his best races when he controlled the tempo and he said he would carry the same style of racing into the state meet, regardless of the increased competition.
“I’m not scared of anybody,” he said. “I love competition. It’s not going to change the way I run.”
Pawling’s Colby DelBene took a more reserved approach in the boys 3,200. DelBene hung behind the pack until about six laps remaining and worked his way to the front. With a mile left, he gapped the field and won in 9:16.6.
“I just wanted to win,” DelBene said. “I can’t wait to race against (Pat) DuPont from Fairport. I just want to face off with the best in the state.”
DelBene wanted to chase the section record Thursday and asked Scarsdale’s Julian Sheinbaum, who ran 9:01.3. But Sheinbaum decided to race the 1,600 Friday, on the second day of competition at Suffern High. The record is 8:57.99 by Hakon DeVries of John Jay-East Fishkill in 2004.
DelBene said he wants to break the record at the state meet.
“I’m going to race as fast as I can,” he said. “I mean, I’m going to race strategically but if DuPont doesn’t go with the pace then I’m going to take it.”
Carmel junior Ashley Maurer didn’t enjoy the luxury of running away from the field. She got squeezed into a box at the start of the second half of the girls 800 and in a dangerous position in fourth.
North Rockland’s Lisa Lungaro led most of the race. Then Urusline’s Rosie Crean surged with 300 left. But Caitlin Hudson of Bronxville, Maurer
and Scarsdale’s Michelle Yousefian all switched gears with 200 to go.
“Right around the 420 mark, I got boxed in,” Maurer said. “I don’t know but whenever something bad happens in a race I get really pumped. Everyone starting going and at the 150 I heard (Carmel coach Eric) Schwark scream, ‘You’re still in this,’ and I gave it all I had.”
Maurer won in a personal best 2:14.6. Hudson and Lungaro were clocked at 2:14.7 and Hudson was declared the Division II winner and Lungaro second in Division I. It is Maurer’s first time individually qualifying for the state meet but she looked at the bigger picture.
“I knew I had to run a fast time for college,” she said. “We saying that his is about more than just states. It’s also about college.”’
The sprints produced a series of tight finishes. First, Antoine McGill edged Chris Rones in the boys 110 hurdles. He finished in 14.2, Rones in 14.3. Mount Vernon’s Sasha Richards dominated the field in the girls 100 in 12.0. But the boys 100 showed another blanket finish with Jesse Drinks of Ossining and Ramapo’s Kevin Malivert.
Both finished in 10.5. Malivert was awarded the win.
“I’m focused but I don’t know what’s wrong,” Malivert said after a close race knowing that Drink earned an upset at the Class A meet. “I just have to prove my point when it comes to states.”
Arlington’s Sean Reilly won the high jump in 6-7. Suffern’s Jen Clayton won the long jump in 18-8 1/4 while her sister, Janelle, won the high jump in 5-4.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.