Steeple/Hurdles
Boys
Break out your wind-gauges, as Jordon Quinn (Freeport) gets a shot at moving up the All-Time lists. Only wind record races count, and his 13.80 would have put him at #3 All-Time if wind-legal. Over the 400H, it's State Champion Neil Howard III (Taconic Hills) looking to move up those same lists, already at NY #10 All-Time in the event.
The Steeple is more wide open, with Matthew Kraszewski (Nathan Hale-Ray CT) having the top seed at 6:20.08, but of note is the second seed. Brother to a certain female distance standout, Vidal Macchia (Floyd) has already set the 8th Grade State Record in the event. More research is being done on the National Standard for that achievement, but any lowering of his personal bests could bring home another Record.
Girls
New York's #2 and #3 State Ranked athletes are going head-to-head as Parker Steele (Guilderland) leads Elena Olson (Ursuline) in the seeds. Indoor State Champ and NY #4 Chica Akazi (Uniondale) is waiting once again to pounce, however, and could steal another title.
The 400H is just as competitive, as NY #1 Ava Weiss (Columbia) will be challenged by NY #2 Kendall Barnhart (Guilderland) and NY #4 Caigan Leonard (Cornwall).
Loucks is typically the debut of the big Steeple marks, and this year is no exception. CT's Katherine Bohlke (Newington) wasted no time in ticking off a US #1 time of 6:37 way back on April 6th, and is ready to defend that honor. Zariel Macchia (Floyd) is the top challenger with plenty of speed in the open distances, but she hasn't hit a steeple barrier since 2022. Could that mean a fresh debut of a big performance? We'll have to see.