NEW YORK − Three years from now, people may say this is when it started.
Now or perhaps last fall when he finished in the upper 8% of runners at the state Federation championship in cross-country.
As a freshman.
Horace Greeley’s Ryan Sykes didn’t win the boys 3,200 race at Sunday’s Section 1 state indoor track and field qualifier at The Armory.
But he certainly turned heads with his performance.
Sykes passed some of the section’s top runners and finished second behind Division 1 Stony Brook-bound Arlington senior Ethan Green to qualify to compete in the state championships March 2 at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island.
In a come-from-behind effort, another youngster, sophom*ore Ryan Tuohy of North Rockland, got by Lakeland/Panas senior Bobby Mayclim for third and also hit the qualifying standard to go to states.
Second-place finishers in individual events, automatically earned a state slot with third place also going if making the qualifying standard either during the meet or at any other sanctioned meet during the season.
Green ran a personal-best and, for the season, NY No. 3 9:12.2. Sykes clocked 9:15.02 and Tuohy 9:24.73.
Sykes’ time, a personal best by more than 18 seconds and current No. 4 in New York, is a state all-time indoor freshman record. The previous record-holder was Tuohy, who’d clocked 9:32.09 last year.
But more significant, Sykes' time in the event is now the second-fastest ever run by a freshman in the country.
He’d planned to stay behind Mayclim and Tuohy until late in the 16-lap race but moved earlier to position himself right behind the leader, Green.
“I don’t know what happened. I had the energy. … I said, ‘OK, I can do this,’ “ said Sykes, whose goal for the state championships is to simply run even faster.
Triple jump newcomer heading to states
Spring Valley senior Kevin Dessalines only started competing in track and field as a junior last spring.
And it wasn’t until this winter that he tried the triple jump, an event that requires good technique that often takes a long time to develop.
When Dessalines first tried it, competing on the rubbery surface at Rockland Community College, his shoe fell off.
Coming into mid-January, he still hadn’t hit 39 feet.
And Dessalines had no illusion of reaching the state championships in the event.
But a lot has changed in a very short period of time.
Dessalines, who started seeing improvement when he switched to track spikes, is now hoping for a top-10 finish at states and to compete in the event in college.
He won the event Sunday at 43-4.5, which was actually 3.5 inches off his personal best.
Shamell Roberts, who finished second at 43-1.5, will also go to states.
Dessalines said he wouldn't have believed it if someone had told him earlier this season that he'd qualify for the state championships.
“I’m a beginner to this,” Dessalines noted.
Winning with personal-best marks and times
The top four finishers in the girls 1,500-meter racewalk all set personal-best times, although only the first two qualified for states.
New Rochelle senior Jennifer Oliveros-Valerio clocked 7:47.05 for the win with Hen Hud sophom*ore Chloe Howard taking silver in 7:47.51.
Entering the meet, Oliveros-Valerio’s top time in the event was 7:59.42 and Howard’s was 7:57.72.
Oliverios-Valerio, who didn’t start racewalking until last spring, said she started picking up speed in the fourth and fifth laps of the eight-lap race, got faster still in the sixth and seventh and during the last 100 meters of the final lap did the equivalent of a racewalk sprint, only within the event’s rules, which require one foot to always be in contact with the ground and the knee of the front leg to always be straight.
Oliverios-Valerio, who said it took about six months for her to become consistent with the required form, wants to pursue the sport during college.
“I am really proud of this achievement. … I’m so proud of myself,” said Oliverios-Valerio, whose goal at states is to cut her time.
Clarkstown South junior Grace Camerlingo had to be convinced to do track. Camerlingo's favorite sport is softball, where she’s a fast out-of-the box, lefty slap-hitter.
She showed just how fast, winning the girls 55-meter dash in a personal-best 7.27 seconds with North Rockland’s Desirae Hernandez second (7.31) and Pearl River’s Chrystelle Fignole, who was third in 7.33, also qualifying, having met the state standard.
“I felt very driven after my last race. I placed first,” Camerlingo said, noting she knew Hernandez would be her biggest competition.
She said her goal in joining track was to increase her fitness for softball but track coach Pete Modafferi told her from the get-go that she’d make states.
“I thought that was crazy but here I am now,” she said.
Of course, she wouldn’t be without being nudged by multiple people into trying track.
“I had some bad experiences with other sports,” Camerlingo said. “But I was told by coaches I had the talent for it. It (joining track) was the best decision I’ve ever made. My loved ones drove me to do it.”
Camerlingo also clocked a personal-best 41.34 for fourth in the girls 300.
Fourth place in most events meant staying home for states. But, in the 300, 600, 1,000 and 1,500 (girls)/1,600 boys races, the fourth-place finisher (or third-place finisher, if the third-place finisheer didn't have the state qualifying standard) qualified to represent Section 1 in the intersectional relay.
So, Camerlingo will compete in two events at states.
Qualifying to compete in the individual 300 were Somers’ Haylie Donvan, who ran a personal-best 39.64 for the win, Nyack’s Jayda Johnson (second place, 40.51) and Mamaroneck’s Arielle Nickerson, who ran a 41.19 PB.
With her time, Donovan moved up three slots to No. 3 among high school girls in the state this season.
Donovan will have familiar company in Staten Island. Teammate Andrew Fasone also ran his best ever in the boys 300, winning in 34.87.
Also qualifying were Horace Greeley’s Seamus Finn (PB 34.92) and Mount Vernon’s Karran Riley (PB 35.43).
Somers will also send a relay.
Suffern (Mason Garagliano, Anthony Couch, Uriah Dieujuste and Micheal Cromwell) won the boys 4x400 in 3:26.74.
Somers (Arjun Ojha, Sam Parsons, Aiden Mezza and Fasone) qualified in second in 3:31.41.
Alexander Hamilton’s Carlyle Roberts, finishing fourth in 36.02, qualified to run the 300 for Section 1 in the intersectional relay.
Running 1:24.04, New Rochelle’s Ryan Temistokle captured the boys 600.
Ojha was runner-up (1:24.07) and third-place finisher Will Squarek of Rye (1:24.84) will also go to states because he ran the qualifying time at an earlier meet.
At 13-7, Suffern’s Todd Korman won the pole vault. That height was a one-inch personal-best for the junior.
Horace Greeley’s Rylan Toner (12-0) was second.
The top four finishers in the girls 600 all ran personal-best times.
Pearl River’s Claire O’Sullivan won in 1:36.52.
Nanuet’s Sam Dow was second (1:37.02, Suffern’s Karen Augustin was third (1:37.73) and Bronxville’s Kara Kochansky ran 1:38.94 for fourth place and to qualify for the intersectional relay.
Kochansky also anchored Juliet Winiecki, Ella McCalla and Eva Mihova as Bronxville ran a season-best 4:07.47 to win and qualify for states in the girls 4x400 relay.
The top two finishers in the boys weight throw hit personal-best marks.
Pleasantville finished one-two with seniors Aiden Kiayizzi throwing 60-7.75 and Gannon Traymore going 59-8.25.
Third place went to Horace Greeley’s Daniel Ye, who threw 59-4.5 and qualified having made the state standard.
Kayizzi, who has been doing track for four years and Traymore, in his second overall season and first in indoor track, went into the competition with their sights on qualifying and throwing better.
“We’ve been underperforming,” Traymore said, with Kayizzi calling them “practice merchants.”
Kayizzi said he’d been measured at 61-3 in practice and Traymore said he’d exceeded 60 there.
Kayizzi and Traymore, who both plan to throw in college but have yet to commit to schools, want to hit the podium at states, figuring that will be possible with throws in the low to mid-60s.
Schutzbank wins two events
Nyack’s Matt Schutzbank, who captured bronze last winter in the state championships in the 1,600, won both that race and the boys 1,000.
Schutzbank ran 2:33.41 for the 1,000 win. He's currently ranked No. 1 in the state for the season at 2:29.09.
Qualifying in second was Briarcliff’s Miles Chamberlain (2:33.86) and qualifying with the state standard in third was New Rochelle’s Anderson Krasner in 2:34.7, a personal best for Krasner.
Pearl River’s Jayden Lloyd McKenna (2:36.32) qualified for the intersectional in fourth place.
The 1,600’s top heat was jam-packed with talent. All seven runners had the state qualifying standard.
Schutzbank ran 4:19.94 for the win. That was his season-best time, as was the 4:20.09 logged by Ketcham’s Connor Hitt, the runner-up.
North Rockland sophom*ore Claudel Chery qualified for states, running a personal-best 4:20.14 for third with a great kick.
Also PB’ing was Bronxville’s Kieran McBride in a fourth-place 4:22.65. His placement put him in the intersectional relay.
A blink between finishes
Chery also had a huge role in one of the most exciting events of the day.
Anchoring Tuohy, Devon Piccone and Daniel Affoumani in the boys 4x800 relay, Chery put on an incredible kick and caught and passed Pearl River and New Rochelle right at the finish.
The teams finished in 8:15.12. 8:15.24 and 8:15.91 with Pearl River second and New Rochelle, which had the lead until a couple of strides from the finish, in third.
“This one is a different breed,” Tuohy said of his buddy, Chery.
Of both qualifying in the relay and in an individual event, Chery said, “It’s great. It’s a wonderful opportunity. I’m always grateful.”
“This is amazing,” Tuohy added.
Other state-bound athletes
At 6-4, Nyack’s Ryan Cardichon won the boys high jump.
Albertus Magnus’s Xavier Reyes (second place, 6-3) and Suffern’s Collin Pringle third place, 6-2) will also compete at states.
The boys long jump went to North Rockland’s Yunior Sanchez, whose best distance was 22-0.
Reyes was second (21-5.75).
John Jay-East Fishkill’s Maia Perillo qualified in the girls pole vault, winning at 11-0.
Ardsley’s Gabrielle An (9-0) was second.
An was also second in the girls high jump at 5-1. Suffern's Kyra Skoglund won at 5-2.
Ursuline will send two hurdlers to states.
Elena Olson, who just days ago won the prestigious Con Ed Award for her athletic and academic performances and community service, took the girls 55 hurdles in 8.47.
Teammate Ivana Richards (8.48) was second and also qualifying was Nya Thomas of North Rockland in third place (8.53).
Three girls will compete at states in the 3,000.
Hastings' Caitlin Thomas clocked 10:08 for the win with Ketcham's Abby Kowalczyk edging John Jay-Cross River's Sloan Wasserman (10:11.48-10:11.60) for second place. Wasserman's time was a personal best.
Bronxville had two individual winners.
Wyatt Gravier ran 7.73 to win the boys 55 hurdles. North Rockland’s Darwin Almonte (7.8) took second.
And Mady Williams ran a season-best 4:47.53 to win the girls 1,500. Rye Neck’s Ainara Schube Barriola (4:54.8) was second.
Greeley senior Niko Wright and two North Rockland juniors qualified in the boys 55 dash.
Wright tied his personal best of 6.44 for the win. North Rockland’s Jaquan Johnson (6.54) was second and Javon Lawrence (6.61) was third.
Wright also had the leadoff leg on the winning boys 4x200 relay.
He, Ben Ho, Kyle McKenney and Will Weis ran 1:30.76 for the win.
Also qualifying was second-place Tappan Zee (Adrian Kupi, Sam Alves, Moromichi Kawasaki and Caleb Alexandre). TZ ran 1:32.57.
Tappan Zee will also send two girls relay teams to states.
Sofia Fenton, Mia Dellolio, Cassidy Donovan and Bridget Dunn clocked 9:21.54 for the girls 4x800 win.
Also qualifying was Scarsdale (Dichter, Laia Patel, Eva Gibney and Shannon Kelly). That group ran 9:29.22.
Nanuet’s Shane O’Neill (48-1.75) won the boys shot put. Briarcliff’s Ethan Weiss ( 43-7.5) was second.
Three girls weight throwers will make the trip to compete ob Staten Island.
Nanuet’s Gabriella Vizcarrondo, the current girls state leader at 51-8.75, won at 49-2.5.
Ketcham’s Angie Odeniyi was second (45-7.75 ) and Tappan Zee’s Madeline Stiefel (43-2.75) also qualified in third.
At 35-0.75, Clarkstown South’s Maggie Hansen captured the girls shot put. Stiefel took second at 32-3.5.
Suffern’s Karen Augustin (36-1.25) won the girls triple jump. New Rochelle’s Sofia Ochoa went 35-5.75 for second place.
Three girls qualified in the long jump.
North Rockland’s Thomas won at 17-6.25 with New Rochelle’s Ryann Joseph second (17-8).
Ardsley’s Mioko Martin was third in 16-11.25, which was below the state qualifying standard. However, at an earlier meet, she went 17-2.25 , one-quarter of an inch above the qualifying standard, so she has qualified.
Eastchester’s Ava Pennachio ran 2:58.18 for the girls 1,000 win.
North Rockland’s Kaelyn Prince (3:00.49) was second and also qualifying was Scarsdale’s Zoe Dichter (3:00.49) in third.
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New Rochelle eighth-grader Olivia Solomon, who ran 3:01.81, earned the intersectional relay spot in fourth.
New Rochelle, running three ninth-graders and an eighth-grader, took the girls 4x200.
Eighth-grader Elisa Crisp, Alexis Smith, Alivia Smith and Joseph ran a collective 1:44.16 , edging second-place qualifier, North Rockland (Cyan Theodore, Thomas, Gabby Cabrera and Hernandez). The Red Raiders closked 1:44.24.
“We knew were were going to be pretty decent but we didn’t know we’d get this far,” said Crisp, who said her team accomplished its goal, "really pushing" to break 1:45.
Alexis Smith thinks the team might be able to chop its time to 1:42.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track &field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at@HaggertyNancy.
