Newland makes amends, wins sprint double

By Brian Towey for DyeStat

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Ramone Newland was caught off guard in the 55-meter finals Feb. 19 at the PSAL City Championship when Christopher Columbus sophomore Michael Miller, Jr. edged him for the win, 6.33 seconds to 6.38. Newland wasn't about to let it happen again at Saturday's NYPHSAA New York State Indoor Championships.

"(Miller's) reaction time was better than mine (at the City Championship)," said Newland, a senior at Brooklyn's South Shore High. "I was working with my coach on my reaction time. Today I got it (right)."

Newland's 6.40 in the final held off McQuaid Jesuit's Noah Williams and Miller. After a sluggish semifinal, his coach had prodded him to get a quicker start off the line.

"I just got out and the momentum carried me," Newland said of the finals.

Newland added the 300-meter title later in the afternoon.

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, who had never run indoors before emigrating to New York in 2015, Newland's performances in both events showed why college programs like Ohio State and Tennessee are eager to sign him.

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Halle Hazzard's first push in the 55-meter final kept her in contention. But it was her explosion over the last 20 meters that carried her to a 6.86 win over Rush-Henrietta's Lanae-Tava Thomas (6.93).

"That's how I race," said Hazzard, a senior at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, N.Y. "That takes a lot of practice and work. Just getting your speed up. Learning to turn your legs over."

Hazzard added the 300-meter title, dipping below 39 seconds for the win.

Hazzard's next step is to the University of Virginia, where her brother Payton, another former St. Anthony standout, was a 400-meter standout.

"I think they're definitely going to push me up a little bit (to the longer sprints)," said Hazzard of her college projection. "But I think my event is going to be the 60 meters."

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One of the most exciting finishes of the day was the boys 1,000-meter final.

Sweet Home's Chris Nowak forced a breakneck pace through 800 meters, coming through four laps in 1:54. Fairport's Ben Bulkeley was easily 10 meters back at the bell, an improbable distance to overcome. Yet Bulkeley steamed down the backstretch, closing quickly, and as they approached the last turn, he was ready to strike.

"I know I can close," Bulkeley said. "I've been there so many times. I'm really confident."

Bulkeley charged the straightaway and caught Nowak, running 2:26.72 for the win.

"I can't believe it," said Bulkeley, a junior. "I thought about (winning a state championship) every day for so long. It's been my goal since the eighth grade."

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Junior Sophia Myers of the Queens High School for Teaching got her first taste of the state championship in the 55-meter hurdles in 2016. She came ready to win Saturday.

Myers showed command as she beat the field over the barriers in a time of 7.96 seconds, tying her PR of the previous week at the Hershey national qualifying meet. She leapt in celebration playfully, exuding joy over her first state win.

"It felt better this season," Myers said. "Last season it wasn't my best."

Myers, who has made a name for herself in the PSAL, next is aiming for a title in the 60-meter hurdles at New Balance Nationals Indoor.

"I've been working on my speed, just stabbing my leg faster over the hurdles," said Myers, who runs for Bruce Lovelace at QHST and for Charles Weekes with the Queens-based Ruff Kutz club team.

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Oluwatomide (Tomi) Alao has bolstered a proud hurdling legacy at Archbishop Molloy High School this indoor season. He added a state championship Saturday.

Alao's 7.40 win in the 55-meter hurdles cemented a sterling senior season that just kept getting better.

"He's had a heck of an indoor season," said Molloy hurdle coach Kawan Lovelace, a former triple jumper at St. John's and the University of Texas. "He was a city champion and a Brooklyn-Queens champion. He was an Eastern States champion and now a state champion."

Lovelace has prodded Alao, the CHSAA record-holder in the event, to quicken his starts. On Saturday, he got that.

"I was almost too comfortable at the end," Alao said following the race.

Lovelace retorted: "You can't do that next week (at New Balance Nationals)." 

Alao leads a Molloy hurdling corps that will combine for the shuttle hurdle relay at New Balance Nationals, where it placed fourth last year.

"They're going to have to run the races of their lives to be national champions," the coach said.

When Lovelace plucked Alao from the track to be a hurdler as a freshman, he knew he had a gem.

"He's a natural hurdler," Lovelace said. "You don't come across that very often. And he's a competitor. It's a good combination."

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In the boys 600 meters, Lockport's Treston White knew he wouldn't break into the first heat. However, he was undeterred.

"I wanted to be in the (unseeded) heat because I felt like I could control the race better," White said. "I'd say it was a blessing."

Out of the second heat, White's plan played out perfectly, as his 1:21.18 edged the 1:21.27 winner of the seeded heat, Suffern's Myles Solan.

White leapt from the infield when Solan's mark was announced.

"It felt so exciting," he said.

The senior said that Eastern Michigan, Penn State and Buffalo are recruiting him.

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North Rockland freshman Katelyn Tuohy is nothing if not gutsy. In the girls 1,500-meter championship, the freshman boldly sent a statement to the field.

Tuohy seized the lead early and pushed the field through splits of 69 seconds and 2:23, setting up an epic finish against one of the state's best, Corning senior Jessica Lawson.

Tuohy looked to be in charge of things. Then, with 150 meters to go, Lawson made her move.

Lawson attempted to pass Tuohy on the outside. Tuohy fought back. They ran shoulder to shoulder past the 100-meter mark, the freshman fighting off the senior. They entered the homestretch in the same fashion before Lawson, ever game, plugged ahead to gain the win, 4:25.66 to 4:25.86.

"I know Katelyn is a very confident and experienced runner," Lawson said. "She knows how to run fast. ... The middle of the race was tough for me. Katelyn ran a great race."

Added Tuohy: "I definitely thought I had the race through the middle of it. (Lawson) just found another gear I didn't have. That comes with experience."

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Corning's Kevin Moshier had never cracked 4:20 in the 1,600 nor had he ever run on a banked track heading into Saturday's 1,600-meter final. In a wide open field, however, Moshier showed some flash.

While Aidan Ryan of New York City's Trinity School controlled the race early, a pack of four, including Ryan and Moshier, broke apart from the others.

Ryan made his move at 1,300 meters. But Moshier had another gear. He took the lead and rolled through the final 200 meters alone, notching an impressive 4:13.79 PR.

"This is the first time he's ever run on a banked track and we knew he could run faster than 4:20," Corning coach Andrew Cartwright said.

"It played out perfectly," said Moshier, who has verbally committed to run at Binghamton.

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It was a banner day for Gates-Chili pole vaulters.

Erica Ellis, a sophomore who became the first New Yorker in her class to clear 13 feet earlier this winter, seized her second state championship with another 13-foot clearance. Ellis tried three times at 13-6.50, the national sophomore mark, but could not clear it. Still, it was another show of force by Ellis.

"I feel really good," Ellis said. "I'm progressing. I went for 13-6 for the national sophomore record just to try it."

Ellis returns downstate next weekend for the New Balance Nationals Indoor.

"I'm really focused on nationals next weekend," she said.

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Anton Kunnas of North Tonawanda won the boys pole vault with 15-3.

And yet again, Gates-Chili showed its influence. Sophomore Dustin Myers set a new state sophomore record, clearing 15 feet for fourth.