Rockland track: Grandmother helps grandson & others medal, North Rockland county team champs

WEST NYACK — After landing a jump Thursday during the Rockland County track and field championships, Theo Lodge looked across the runway at his grandmother.

But it wasn't for simple family support.

Betsy Evans was, of course, rooting for her 18-year-old grandson, an Albertus Magnus High senior. But she was also doing much more.

Kicking her knees high and raising her arms, Evans was doing what she'd done years ago for two decades aat Spring Valley High.

Betsy Evans was coaching.

Minutes later, Spring Valley's Kevin Dessalines jogged over to Evans, thanking her for a tip she'd given him.

Dessalines, who was dropping his feet a bit in the air when dropping his chin, had, as advised, kept his head up, his eyes focused on a point in the distance. His feet, in turn, remained up, giving him extra flight.

That, combined with the advice given by Spring Valley jumps coach Eudson Francois, who;d jumped for Evans at Spring Valley a coukle of decades ago, had helped Dessalines gain the county boys long jump title at 22 feet, 2 inches.

Magnus's Xavier Reyes went 21-10.5 for second place and Nyack's Ryan Cardichon was third (21-8.5).

Evans' grandson finished out of the medals. But Wednesday, during the meet's first day at Clarkstown South High School, Lodge, who'll study engineering and jump for Division I Manhattan College next year, took the county boys triple jump title at 45-2 with his grandmother on hand.

North Rockland's Shamell Roberts (42-11.75) caputred silver and Dessalines (42-7.5) took bronze.

Lodge, whose personal-best in the triple is 45-7, already has the state championships' super-standard to compete at the state championships. His goal is to hit 46-6 in the triple to qualify to compete in the top division at New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

This, although he only started jumping spring after joining indoor track that winter.

Part of the credit for his success clearly lies with Evans.

The Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame member, who, growing up pre-Title IX (she graduated from high school in 1963) never had any actual school sports teams to compete on, retired from 20 years of coaching and about a dozen years as Spring Valley's athletic director in 2007.

But retired from coaching might not be the correct phrase.

Last year, when (Theo) started (track), he wanted to try (jumping) and I said, "There are some things I may be able to help you with," said Evans, who described herself as "thrilled" with her grandson's decision to try track after years of soccer.

"It's so cool," Lodge said of having the support of his grandmother, who was Rockland County's first female athletic director. "It's like a book full of knowledge. She helps me out a lot."

And, as with Dessalines, has helped ountless others, as well -- decade after decade, officially and unofficially.

Francois, a 2004 Spring Valley grad who made the state meet in the triple jump and went on to compete in college, noted Evans first took him under her wing when he was a seventh-grader and she'd been like a mother to him.

Looking at his former coach, Francois, who'd also offered Lodge advice during his triple jumps, said simply, "It's where I got all my stuff from. It's family."

Johnson, Hansen win two events

It's hard enough to win one event at a big meet, but several athletes ended up with two individual county titles.

Among them were Nyack's Jayda Johnson, Clarkstown South's Maggie Hansen, both holding the promise of more to come, since they're only juniors.

Johnson ran 58.6 (just .01 off her personal best) to capture the girls 400 with Pearl River's Claire O'Sullivan (59.08) second and Suffern's Kayla Darius (100.74) third.

And Johnson got a big personal best of 25.28 to win the girls 200, a race in which the top six finishers all pushed each other to PBs.

Pearl River's Chrystelle Fignole was second in 25.49, Suffern's Zoey Orlando ( 25.57) edged Ramapo's Herricka Lorveus ( 25.68) for third.

Hansen competed both days.

Wednesday, she didn't celebrate her discus title, which came with her throwing 114-3 with Nanuet's Gabriella Vizcarrondo second (106-5) and Spring Valley's Ayanie Thomas (94-8) third.

While happy she won, she was disappointed with the distance, since her PB in the event is 136-8.

But Thursday, with Tappan Zee's Madeline Stiefel taking second at 34-3 and Nyack's Keara Dorvil a half inch behind in third (personal-best 34-2.5), Hansen was feeling much better.

Her winning 37-3 throw was a season-best mark and, moreover, pointed to the progress she's making after switching from a slide-step release to the harder-to-learn but potentially bigger-payoff spin release.

Hansen, whose personal best is 37-7 with the slide step, noted she surpassed 37 feet twice Thursday.

Part of the reason appeared to be greater comfort with the spin and part determinaiton after her discus disappointment.

"I was definitely trying to get better today. Jimmy was telling me to give it my all," she said, referring to her throws coach, Jimmy Kiernan.

Hansen said swtiching to the spin had initially proved "very frustrating," so much so that her coaches asked her if she wanted to return to the slide.

"I said, 'No, I have to stick this out and get it down,' " she said. "Now it's a lot better. ... I'm very excited and hopeful."

North Rockland and, yes, North Rockland

By meet's end, North Rockland was also very excited.

The Red Raiders won both the boys and girls team titles, the boys notching their third consecutive and the girls giving coach Steve Sutton his first outdoor county title.

The girls competition came down to the end with North Rockland edging Suffern 127-121 and Tappan Zee not far behind at 112. Pearl River (69) and Nanuet (50) rounded out the top five with 11 schools scoring.

The Red Raider boys dominated.

North Rockland finished with 177 points.

The only thing in doubt as the meet ran down was who was going to be second. And that was Suffern -- by a hair. The Mounties finished with 71.5 points, Pearl River just a point behind at 70.5 and Nanuet in the mix, finishing fourth at 68. Nyack had 50 for fifth with 10 teams scoring.

The girls got a big boost from junior Desirae Hernandez, who, like Johnson and Hansen, was a double individual winner.

Hernandez ran big 12.3 personal-best time (her previous was 12.75) to capture the girls 100-meter dash.

That race, like the boys 100, carried with it a trophy both named after and presented by former Spring Valley sprinting standout and coach Jimmy Ashcroft.

Pearl River's Fignole (PB 12.32) was second in the girls 100 and Suffern's Zoey Orlando (PB 12.5) edged Spring Valley's Tanyiah Joseph (PB 12.56) for third.

Hernandez also equaled her personal best in the high jump, clearing 5-2 for the win.

Suffern's Kyra Skoglund was second at 5-0 and North Rockland's Nya Thomas (4-10) was third.

Thomas captured first-place points for her squad in the girls 100 hurdles (14.83) with Hernandez taking second (15.03) and Tappan Zee's Pilar Fernandez (season-best 15.36) third.

Claudel Chery was a big winner for North Rockland's boys.

He captured the 1,600 in 4:22.14, just edging Suffern's JD McKenna (4:22.98) with Nanuet's Shane Ethakkan taking third (4:28.53).

Chery also ran a personal-best 1:59.09 to finish second behind Nyack's Matt Schutzbank (1:54.99) in the boys 800. Nanuet's Sebastian Figueroa grabbed the third spot (2:02.35) just ahead of Pearl River's Max Prunty (PB 2:03.78).

Chery also joined with Ryan Tuohy, Devon Piccone and Dan Affoumani in capturing the boys 4x800 relay.

The four clocked 8:25.57. Pearl River (8:33.44) was second and Clarkstown South (8:43.6) was third.

Running 9:31.46, Tuohy took the boys 3,200 win.

Clarkstown South's Harrison Caprara, who was with Tuohy in a three-man lead until Tuohy pulled away late, ran a personal-best 9:37.19 for silver.

Third went to Nyack's Sam Gunther in 9:41.99. He'd led for several laps.

Tuohy, who'd raced five days earlier and already has the super-standard to race at the state championships, dialed things back and "chilled" a bit, his sights set on just a top-two finish, not a personal-best time.

He wasn't anticipating Gunther and Caprara going out so fast and continuing the quick pace.

"It was good I was able to kick toward the end," said Tuohy, who went into the lead with about two laps to go.

North Rockland also got big points in the boys 110 hurdles.

It swept the top three spots with all three athletes running personal-best times.

Darwin Almonte won in 15.02. Isaiah Theagene ran 15.31 for second and Yunior Sanchez clocked 15.6 for third.

Jaquan Johnson also ran a personal best, finishing in 10.92 to give the Red Raiders first-place points in the boys 100 dash.

Tappan Zee's Sam Alves (PB 10.99) was second and Dessalines of Spring Valley (11.27) was third.

Theagene took the boys 400 hurdles in a personal-best 1:00.2.

Nanuet's Jordan Lafleur (PB 1:01.68) was second and North Rockland's Jared Troncoso (1:02.83) was thrid.

TZ's Alexandre, hoping for third or fourth in 200, gets win

Tappan Zee senior Caleb Alexandre is considering trying to walk on to the SUNY-Binghamton track team.

But if he keeps performing like he did Thursday, he might get an invitation instead.

Entering the boys 200 hoping for a third- or fourth-place finish, Alexandre clocked a personal-best 22.08 for the win.

North Rockland's Jaquan Johnson was second in a personal-best 22.16 and Nyack's Dimitry Magloire (PB 22.24) was third.

Alexandre's time, which is top-20 this season among high school boys in the state, was a .68-second improvement over his previous personal best.

"It's very, very exciting," said Alexandre, who foresees running even better, saying, "I feel like I can do better."

Alexandre also teamed with Alves, Adrian Kupi and Morimichi Kawasaki to win the boys 4x100 relay in 43.05.

North Rockland took second (43.09) and Nyack (43.75) was third.

Conquering steeple

Water is a key part of most steeplechase courses.

The water jump generally attracts a crowd because no one can predict who, instead of splashing down and quickly exiting, may take an unintentional plunge.

With light rain having just fallen Wednesday before the start of the girls 2,000-meter steeple, Cassidy Donovan was worried about that. Her concern was her jump onto and off of the barrier that's right before the water pit.

It was a bit slick.

"I was a little scared of slipping," the Tappan Zee junior allowed.

But Donovan didn't slip. Didn't go for a swim.

Instead, she clocked her best steeplechase time of the season, 7:15.34, winning the event and moving into the No. 2 spot in Section 1 in girls steeple, behind Hastings' Caitlin Thomas. Her time also moved Donovan just outside the top 25 in the country among high school girls at No. 27.

Thomas is a shoo-in for the state championships, having made the superstandard for qualifying with her time being not only No. 2 in the state but No. 6 this season among high school girls in the country.

But her school is small, a D2 school for states.

Tappan Zee is D1.

And Donovan said she wants to qualify in the event for states with teammate Sofia Fenton, a senior who Wednesday took runner-up honors in a season-best 7:27.69.

Nanuet sophomore Katie Schmid ran a personal-best 7:34.43 for third.

"The easiest part for me is just the running part," said Donovan, who noted her handling of the water jump has improved with time.

Still a work in progress is her hurdling of the course's large, non-water barriers.

she noted she tripped over one earlier this season because her steps were off and when she approached a barrier, she was forced to jump with her weaker, right leg extneded.

So, she plans to work on bettering that leg for the qualifier.

Her goal, she said, is to cut her time to 7:06 or 7:05.

With a personal-best 10:03.58, which moved him into the No. 4 spot in Section 1, Pearl River junior Tyler Walsh captured the boys 3,000 steeplechase title.

North Rockland's Austin Curry ran a season-best 10:09.77 for second and Suffern's Jack Bowman (10:10.99) was third.

Other Tappan Zee wins

Donovan also ran a season-best 4:56.89 for third in the girls 1,500, a race tammate Bridget Dunn captured in 4:50.05.

North Rockland's Kaelyn Prince grabbed second in a PB 4:54.35.

Dunn ran a personal-best 10:24.11 for the girls 3,000-meter title.

Donovan (season-best 10;49.57) was second and Nanuet's Schmid (season-best 11:04.55) was third.

Tappan Zee (Alyssa Connolly, Mia Dellolio, Ryan Donovan and Katherine Moloney) also captured the girls 4x800, clocking 9:59.83.

North Rockland (10;08.52) was second and Suffern (10:15.95) was third.

Augustin PBs in triple win, Suffern also wins boys pole vault, 400

The girls triple jump went to Suffern's Karen Augustin in a personal-best 37-9 on Wednesday.

The junior's distance is currently No. 2 in Section 1 among girls.

"I came here with good energy to help carry the grils through and lead the team with positivity," Augustin said.

While many shy from the triple jump because it's technically difficult and fouls are common, Augustin , who also long jumps, does the 400 hurdles and the 200 sprint, terms the triple jump "my baby."

She started doing it when joining track winter of her freshman year and she took to it right away, finishing second at indoor counties and second in the Section 1 Class AA girls triple.

"I felt like (it gave me) a place on the team," Augustin said.

At 35-10.5, Pearl River's Fignole took second and, at 34-11, Tappan Zee's Fernandez edged North Rockland's Claudia Chery (personal-best 34-9.25) for third.

Conditions weren't great either day for the pole vault with workers having to drain rainwater from pole plant stop board.

But Suffern's Todd Korman still managed a strong, 13-foot clear for the boys win Thursday.

Clarkstown South's Vegas Patterson was second at 11-0, the same height Suffern's Jessup Whitehurst cleared for third place in more attempts.

While not heavy, the rain seemed to prevent any chance of personal-best performances in Wednesday's girls pole vault.

The win went to Suffern's Anna Riskin at 9-0.

Pearl River's Anna Dowling was second (8-0) and Tappan Zee's Karoline Lupi, one of four girls to clear 7-6, took the third-place medal in the fewest number of attempts.

Suffern also captured the boys 400, the girls 4x100 relay and the boys 4x400.

Michael Cromwell logged a season-best 50.68 for the boys 400 win.

Clarkstown South's Dan Burkholder was second in 51.13, a personal best. North Rockland's Naji Mosley ran a 51.86 for third.

Cromwell and Korman joined with Anthony Couch and William Weber in winning the 4x400 in 3:25.72.

Nanuet (3:26.47) was second and Clarkstown South (3:33.18) was third.

In the 4x100, Suffern's Zoey Orlando, Kayla Darius, Zoe Alexandre and Anna Riskin ran 50.69 for what amounted to a photo-finish win.

Nyack (Junibel Fernandez, Taitu Forrest, Imani Green and Johnson) were second, just .003 behind Suffern. Ramapo (51.26) was third.

Augustin was also second at 1:04.9 in the girls 400 hurdles .

For a third consecutive time, that county title went to Nanuet's Sam Dow, who ran a personal-best 1:03.74.

Nyack's Fernandez was third (1:06.18).

Nanuet also took the girls 4x400 relay with Alanna Wilson, Leila Mendez, Olivia Santos and Aliyah Wilson running 4:02.48.

North Rockland (4:06.59) was second and Suffern 94:10.6) was third.

O'Neill double winner and more field champions

A blink after winning the boys discus and taking third in boys shot put at the prestigious Loucks Games, Nanuet's Shane O'Neill was again adding to his medals collection.

The senior won the county boys shot put title on Wednesday with a 51-0.5 throw.

At a personal-best 46-4, Suffern's Christian Morales took second. Bronze went to Clarkstown South's Connor Sullivan at 44-10.5.

Thursday, O'Neill got another gold but, perhaps more importantly, a new personal-best mark in the discus.

He threw 165-2, a nearly four-foot PB.

Pear lRiver's Liam Reilly (133-11) was second and North Rockland's Noely Vargas Jr., (130-3) was third.

The pent people

Suffern's Collin Pringle entered the second and final day of counties having won the first two events in the boys pentathlon.

He ran a personal-best 15.82 in the boys pent 110-meter hurdles, then captured the boys high jump at 5-10.

And that, with a long jump (20-0.25) win and fourth-place finish in the pent 1,500 (4:51.19), was enough to give him the boys overall penathlon title with 2,933 points.

Suffern also struck gold in the girls pentathlon.

Despite a rough landing and only clearing 4-1 in the high ump, Elise Falcon was otherwise dominant in the girls pent.

Loucks Games final day:Ursuline's Olson, Hastings' Thomas, Bronxville's Gravier, Tri-Valley's Furman excel

Falcon won the 100 hurdles (16.02), the long jump (16-5.5) and the pent 800 (2:39.04) en route to gaining an overall 2,455 points.

Pearl River's Alyssa Croke was second (2,243) and Clarkstown North's Alysha Calvo took third (2,116).

Also garnering big points for Pearl River was the senior O'Sullivan, the 400 runner-up.

She won the girls 800 in a season-best 2:17.13.

Tappan Zee's Fenton was second in 2:18 and North Rockland's Prince took third in personal-best 2:20.36.

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.