Trackside
Developmental Meets At West Point Afford A Window Into Ongoing Progress of Indoor Track Athletes As They Prepare For Division, League and Sectional Championships As Well As The State Qualifier
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Runners, Jumpers and Throwers Compete In Indoor Track At West Point In A Developmental Meet. Sullivan West's Hannah Feinman excels in the triple jump, Monticello's Shane Jackson wins his heat in the 55 and Tri-Valley's Mareena DiMilia leads all shot putters with yet another throw over 38 feet. Earlier this season she set a personal best and a new school record with a heave of 38-11.75.
WEST POINT, NY—In many respects, the Indoor Track season is unlike any other sports endeavor in the high school year as it is considered by many as a training ground for spring track.
That is not to say that the meets, championships, personal bests and records that are part and parcel of the indoor season don’t constitute the trappings of a sports season that is separate and distinct from cross-country and spring track that sandwich it and often includes a fair number of the same athletes. Distance runners are often three-season athletes who go from X-C to indoor and on to spring track.
Boys indoor times and distances
The work that goes on during the indoor season is great preparation for the intense albeit all-too-short outdoor track season, the zenith of the year for runners, jumpers and throwers.
Winter can be bleak and grueling and those long trips to West Point, particularly when night meets are involved mean many hours and far less sleep for the weary warriors. But most grit their way through it recognizing the potential rewards within the season itself and as mentioned, for the spring to come.
Girls indoor times and distances.
Developmental meets like the one staged at Gillis Field House on January 15 are not scored. But coaches diligently time and monitor their athletes in their events to assess their progress and to modify if necessary, their techniques and training regimens for soon those same sprinters, long jumpers, pole vaulters, relay racers, middle and long distance runners, triple jumpers, shot putters, hurdlers etc will be up against the competition in meets that count, particularly the championship meets that bring their own special brand of distinction, honor and rewards.
For this photojournalist, a veteran of many meets at West Point, the mission is to efficiently circulate among the various venues in the Field House to photograph athletes at their craft. As usual, my particular concentration is on young men and women from Sullivan County but certainly not limited to them.
The reach of this website extends to the far reaches of Section Nine and as I am unabashedly a staunch supporter of the sport and the often severely under-covered athletes who give it their all, I pride myself on my knowledge of the sport, its history, its record-setters and seek to cover it sufficiently during the season to do it justice.
I am admittedly a bit later than usual with my first salvo to that end. But fear not, it’s going to get hot and heavy from here on out.
With so many teams and so many individual athletes within its realm, it is impossible to go into great detail especially when a meet has no scoring. That said, some things are noteworthy up to this juncture. Here’s a thumbnail sketch of just some of the winter progress of a few Sullivan County athletes.
Tri-Valley’s Dominique Darby has qualified for the Millrose Games in the weight throw for the third year in a row. This time out her distance was 47-1. Mareena DiMilia is Section Nine’s leader in the shot put with a heave of 38-11.75 at the Pearl River Invitational at Rockland County Community College.
Other current Section Nine leaders include T-V eighth grader Autumn Bender in the 1500 with a time of 5:11.92; T-V senior Jim Bernstein in the 3200 with a time of 10:01.54; Eldred junior Alex Campanella in the 1600 with a personal best time of 4:21.82.
Campanella ran a 4:26.84 in the mile at the Millrose Game Trials placing 16th. That followed a fifth place finish at the Hispanic Games at the Armory with a previous personal best time of 4:23.35.
Pictured above are comprehensive overviews of what times and distances were worthy of winning and record setting in the past year in terms of the OCIAA, Section Nine and NYSPHSAA Championships, as well as existing records in New York State and the U.S.A. To that end I annually research that information and try to give copies of it to coaches so they can then give copies to their team members so they have a better frame of reference with regard to what it takes to win in their particular events.
Unfortunately I left them in my car which was parked way far away from the Field House and so I am publishing them here for all to see.
Most teams have been competing not just at West Point but traveling to various other invitationals as well. Some have gone to the N.Y Armory and other major venues as well. During this whirlwind coaches have recorded the personal bests and medal acquisition of their team members.
Some big meet dates are as follows: OCIAA Championships at West Point 2/10-2/11
Sullivan County Championships 2/13
Section Nine A Championships 2/17 ; Section Nine B Championships 2/18
Boys State Qualifier 2/24; Girls State Qualifier 2/25.
State Meet March 3 at Cornell University.
For an album of photos from this West Point Developmental Meet visit:
www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
