Somers Lions Joe Wynne Invitational: Arlington, New Rochelle, Scarsdale among top teams

SOMERS — Taylor Rhett is hardly someone to avoid a challenge.

An honorable mention all-state linebacker in football last fall, who made it to the Section 1 championships at 189 pounds in wrestling in 2023, the New Rochelle senior traditionally took the spring off from sports.

"I didn't do anything," Rhett said.

But that has changed in a big way, leaving New Rochelle boys track and field coach Joe Intervallo to wonder what might have been had Rhett joined his team sooner than this winter for the indoor season.

Rhett, who gave up wrestling last winter to compete in indoor track, where he was fourth in the Class AA championships in the 55 hurdles, may have found his real niche in the sport at the Somers Lions Club Joe Wynne Invitational.

There, over Friday and Saturday, Rhett captured the 19-athlete boys pentathlon title by finishing first in the 110-meter hurdles, second in shot put, tied for third in high jump and eighth in long jump before hanging on to finish 14th in his least favorite event, the 1,500-meter run.

What made the win special is not just that his 2,503 points place him first in Section 1 and in the top 20 statewide this season, but also the fact Rhett had never tried the pent before the Somers meet.

"It was amazing," Rhett said of the win. ... "I'd love to try to qualify for states."

While the 1,500 was a bit of a struggle, Rhett, who'll play football for Alfred State University this coming fall, had no worries about finishing. His dad, Geoffrey, was a New Rochelle football player, but his mom, Tracy, who's also a New Rochelle grad, is a runner and Taylor used to join her in 5K road races.

While it seems a pretty good guess he'd have trouble keeping up with her in marathon races, which she has also done, Rhett says the shorter races are now his.

"She can't beat me in the mile anymore," he said.

But that didn't stop his mom from rooting for him as he circled the Somers track four times in the 1,500 before finishing in a respectable (particularly for a non-distance runner) 5:37. 9 to complete his pent win.

"I heard her," he said of his mom's cheers from the stands.

Putnam Valley senior Nicholas DiMichele finished second overall with 2,494 points. Pleasantville senior Shane Horigan was right behind in third with 2,487.

Kelly breaks girls meet record in 800 as Scarsdale girls have huge meet

Unlike Rhett, Scarsdale senior Shannon Kelly's affiliation with track is long and her promise pretty well known.

She began running as a freshman and has committed to run for Division I Holy Cross.

But even by her standards, Saturday was special.

Kelly knocked more than five seconds off her open (non-running start relay) time in winning the girls open 800 in a school-record 2:13.74 .

That time also broke the 44-year-old Somers Lions Joe Wynne meet mark.

Wtih 56 runners doing the girls 800, Scarsdale swept the first three overall spots.

Zoe Dichter took second in a personal-best 2:17.38 and Leia Patel third in a personal-best 2:17.82.

Later, Kelly joined with Dichter, Maria Roberts an d Ari Sobel in winning the girls 4x400 relay in a school-record 3:59.88 with New Rochelle (4:11.38) second and Rye Neck (4:12.13) third.

"It's everything we wanted," said Kelly, who added she hopes to improve on her 800 time and hopes her squad's relay time can drop even more at the upcoming Loucks Games.

Roberts also led a 1-2-3 Scarsdale sweep in the girls 400.

She clocked an outdoor personal-best 58.42. Patel was second in a more than four-second PB of 58.84 and Sobel took third, also PBing, in 59.23.

"I've got to put them at a tie. Both are special experiences for me," the sophomore Roberts said of her relay and her individual 400 win.

She also pointed to the Loucks Games, which run this Thursday through Saturday, as a meet where the high-level competition could help her and her team lower their Somers times.

One of her goals there is to run 57-high to break the Scarsdale girls 400 record.

John Jay-EF's Pittore, Hen Hud's Peske take javelin titles

The javelin may be an afterthought or no thought at all at many meets. But it's popularity at Somers Lions Joe Wynne couldn't be questioned.

Forty-seven girls and 57 boys threw Saturday.

The top finishers were John Jay-East Fishkill's Emma Pittore and Hen Hud's Kyle Peske.

Peske uncorked a better-than-two-foot personal-best 151-9 after barely qualifying for the final.

Mamaroneck's Oliver Smeal, with a five-foot-plus PB of 148-8, was second in the boys competition and Hen Hud's Ismael Andrade was third at 146-6.

Peske, a senior who began throwing the javelin last year and who threw 149-7 at a league meet days before the Lions meet, said he "knew 150 was right there."

Last year, he really wanted to qualify for nationals but, at 143-6, wasn't anywhere near the 152-foot throw he needed.

Now, he almost has that but the national standard has been moved to 174.

That may be out of reach but maybe not.

He credits his current improvement to Hen Hud javelin coach Tom Yee.

Yee, he said, blamed his inconsistency on thinking too much about his technique in the process of running and throwing, as well as not moving fast enough right before his release.

"I used to slow down," Peske said, noting he now puts power and speed into his cross-over karaoke steps.

Pittore also pointed to coaching as key, crediting her success in part to her coach, Glenn Miller.

While also throwing the shot put and discus, the junior considers the javelin her main event and would like to throw it in college.

Hackley's Maggie Yalmokas took second among girls at 85-11 and, at 85-5, Yorktown's Jane Hanson just edged North Salem's Freyja Smith (85-4) for third overall.

Arlington cousins take gold

"I guess it's in the genes," Arlington eighth-grader Bailey Guckian said with a smile, trying to explain how she'd won the girls 1,500 in a personal-best 4:50.65 and her cousin, Arlington senior Ethan Green, had run a personal-best 4:20.04 to take the boys mile.

Green, who'll compete for Division I Stony Brook University next year, was challenged but never caught by Horace Greeley freshman Ryan Sykes, who finished in a personal-best 4:22.25.

Green's mile time is currently the sixth fastest in the state among high school students and Sykes' time is No. 13 overall and No. 1 among freshmen. It's also third fastest in the country among freshmen.

Green also anchored Anis Abidar, Jake VanDermark and Arseniy Nechaev as Arlington captured the boys 4x800 relay in 8:21.5.

No one else approached that time, which currently stands as No. 3 in Section 1 this season.

Fox Lane (8:55.6) was second and Putnam Valley (8:59.3) was third out of 12 teams.

While Green would likely have a shot at a state championship medal at 1,600 meters (nine meters fewer than a mile, which isn't run at states), he said he'll likely run the 3,200 there.

He's currently No. 2 in the state at that distance, less than a second behind Nyack's Matt Schutzbank.

Guckian's 1,500 time was a personal best by a huge 16 seconds.

Guckian, who noted her dad, mom and an uncle are or have been runners, credited a strong field, saying, "The girls running helped me a lot."

Guckian's time places her No. 1 among girls this season in Section 1.

Her goal now, she said, is to break 4:50 and "get more competitive."

Guckian also anchored Bailey LaGuardia, Samantha Guckian (her sister) and Maddie Green (Ethan's sister and her cousin) to the 4x800 girls overall gold win.

The four easily won the title in 10:02.54.

New Rochelle (10:40.79) was second and Lakeland/Panas (10:58.2) was third.

Veteran Wright, 8th-grader Crisp win 100s and Crisp also nets relay gold

One is little more than a month from the end of high school track.

For the other, the future promises scores of scholastic races to come.

For both, Saturday was a day to show off their sprinting speed.

And neither Horace Greeley's Niko Wright nor New Rochelle's Elisa Crisp disappointed.

With 89 boys doing the 100 dash, Wright, the state indoor 55-meter champion and a UConn commit, took the overall win, clocking 11.05, his season-best time.

Briarcliff's Will McLay (11.42) was second and Dobbs Ferry's Jayden Smith (11.5) was third.

Crisp, an eighth-grader who won the girls freshman/sophomore 200 title in a time that would have taken varsity gold, captured the girls 100 in 12.63.

Horace Greeley's Gabriela Sangil Cantalapi (12.83) was second and Jairin Palache of Manhattan's Success Academy (13.1) was third.

"I just want to break 12 (seconds). I just want to improve my speed," Crisp said of her season goal for the 100.

Running the anchor leg, Crisp also joined Ryann Joseph, Alivia Smith and Alexis Smith in clocking 1:44.97 to capture the overall, multiple-class girls 4x200 relay title.

Arlington was second (1:47.91) and Mount Vernon (1:50.46) was third.

Alexis Smith also won the girls 400 hurdles in a personal-best 1:07.45.

Somers' Keira Cleary ran 1:08.66 for second and Mount Vernon's Emmanuella Mathieu (1:09.12) was third.

Other top-3 finishers

With 14 athletes competing, the girls pentathlon went to New Rochelle's Gabrielle Barnett.

Barnett, who was third at last year's Section 1 state qualifier, finished Saturday with 2,531 points.

Dobbs Ferry's Tessa Hunt was second at 2,251 and New Rochelle's Sophia Casimir took third with 2,208.

Clearing 10 feet, Edgemont's Sophia Kumar set an Edgemont girls pole vaulting record and won the girls meet title.

At 8-0, Fox Lane's Ashley Nappi and Patricia Wiltse and Somers' Eliana Hametz all tied for second.

There was also a three-way tie for first in boys pole vault with Sleepy Hollow's Aaron Bell, Irvington's Ben Kasoff and Horace Greeley's David Schifrin all clearing 12-0 in the same number of attempts.

Nanuet's Shane O'Neill was a double winner.

In a near six-foot personal best, O'Neill captured the boys discus championship with a throw of 151-4.

Pleasantville's Aiden Kayizzi (147-7) was second and Rye Neck's Nathan Shpilberg (131-8) was third.

O'Neill also captured the shot put at 50-8.

Pleasantville took the next two spots with Kayizzi throwing 46-4 and Gannon Traymore 44-3.

Rye Country Day eighth-grader Payton Richardson ran 26.37 to capture the overall girls varsity 200 title.

Hen Hud's Lindsay Tellez was second (26.62) and Greeley's Sangil Cantalapi took the third slot at 26.71.

Richardson, who ran a personal-best 26.26 in the prelims, is a member of the AAU White Plains Future Stars team and has been running track for two years.

The boys 200 went to the Master School's Nicholas Moutsatsos. He won in a personal-best 22.30, edging Greeley's Seamus Finn (22.33) Third place went to Immaculate's Brenan McCabe (22.72).

Masters also took first-place honors in the boys 400 hurdles.

Clocking 58.4, Masters' Emmanuel Harris took the win.

Mamaroneck's Marco Repoulis (59.88) was second and New Rochelle's Max Pitocchi was third (1:00.03).

Cartier Joshua of Arlington and Taoig Cypher of Irvington tied for the boys high jump title at 5-9. John Jay-East Fishkill's Alex Kemlage was second at the same height but in more attempts.

Rye Neck's Samina Quli won the gold in the girls high jump at 4-9.

Ossining's Corinne MacElroy also, just an eighth-grader, also cleared that height.

In fact, 4-9 was popular with Carmel's Sandra Frazzetta also clearing it but taking third due to more attempts.

Quli, a junior who holds the Rye Neck girls record at 4-10, is hoping to reach 5-0 by the end of this season and 5-2 in winter.

Quli, who was put into the high jump freshman year at the league meet to help the Panthers get points, ended up taking to the event and wanting to continue doing it.

Now, she's even hoping to do it for a college team.

"I love so many aspects -- the fast run-up, the planting, the arc and how it comes together," Quli said, noting she's also enjoying the progress she's made.

While she would have liked to have gone 5-0 Saturday, Quli kept things in perspective, noting at the end of December, she was only clearing 4-6.

Last spring, Greeley's Daniel Ye's best hammer throw was 170 feet, 8 inches. Friday, he won the boys hammer with a throw of 200-6, a personal best.

The second overall slot went to Nanuet's Joe D'Adamo at 166-8. Somers' Charles Sullivan threw 157-3 for third out of 37.

Nanuet's Gabriella Vizcarrondo threw 141-4 for the girls overall hammer win, a nearly eight-foot personal best.

Mount Vernon's Charlotte Goncalves was second at 118-6 and Lakeland/Panas's Hannah Arbid took third at 110-10.

Albertus Magnus's Theo Lodge recoreded a personal-best 45-7.5 to win the overall boys triple jump crown.

New Rochelle's Isaac Evans, at 42-8, was second and Hen Hud's Demetrius Wells took third at 41-3.5.

Lodge was also third overall in boys long jump at 20-11.25.

The top two places went to Sleepy Hollow athletes.

Headless Horsemen sophomore Gilbert Onwe went 21-7.5 (a half-inch PB) for the win with teammate Evan Bowen second at 21-1.5.

On the girls side, New Rochelle freshman Alexis Smith sailed 17-11 for the overall long jump win.

Rye Country Day's Jocelyn Rice was second at 16-11 and New Rochelle's Joseph took third with a 16-8.5 leap.

At 36-8, the girls triple jump win went to New Rochelle's Sophia Ochoa.

Edgemont's Nura Aggour (34-11) was second and Lakeland/Panas' Alana Myke (33-5) was third.

Clocking 10:20.6, Hastings' Caitlin Thomas took the girls 3,000-meter title.

New Rochelle's Ariel Esposito ran 10:34.7 for second and North Salem's Isabella Fryer was third in 10:38.4.

Andy Condon of John Jay-Cross River clocked an outdoor personal-best 9:44.4 for the boys 3,200 crown.

Jeyvi Ramirez-Valencia of Arlington (9:50.25) was second and Somers' Christian Wissa (9:53.74) was third.

Immaculate's McCabe was the boys 400 winner in 48.68.

Hamilton's Jair Oliva Jr. (49.24) was second and, in 49.58, Somers Andrew Fasone was third.

More relay winners

As with the girls, the boys 4x200 relay win went to New Rochelle.

Isaac Evans, Ryan Temistokle, Manasi Simpkins and Obi Njoku ran 1:33.36.

Immaculate High of Danbury, Connecticut was second (1:33.54) and Brewster (1:33.04) was third out of 20 teams.

Alexander Hamilton's Carlyle Roberts, Lamine Diakhate, Jayden Torres and Oliva didn't approach their best time but still easily won the boys 4x400 overall relay crown with a 3:32.27 run.

Mamaroneck (3:39.07) was second and New Rochelle (3:43.16) was third out of 16 squads.

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 .

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Somers Lions Joe Wynne Invitational: Arlington, New Rochelle, Scarsdale among top teams